Did you notice that, for feminine singular nouns, the genitive case and dative case are identical? So no worries about picking the right case with those!
In German, we use genitive prepositions to introduce a noun in the genitive case. Like other prepositions, genitive prepositions indicate how the noun they introduce is related to the rest of a sentence: does it describe the time an action happened, where it happened, who owned it, etc.
genitive prepositiongenitive case
Aufgrund des fehlenden Dokuments müssen Sie noch einmal kommen.
Because of the missing document, you have to come one more time.
In this post we’ll introduce you to these prepositions and give you some tips on how to use them correctly.
I was surprised when I recently read that these form the largest set of prepositions in German — but that they are also the least well known. Why is that? Well, that’s because they are used mostly in official writing (think legal texts), while in everyday speech they are replaced by less stilted alternatives. So, if you ever need to read some German documents, this post may prove to be the guideline you need!
What are the most common Genitive prepositions in German?
Though you’ll mostly see German genitive prepositions in written language, there are a handful of them that occur fairly commonly in everyday and spoken German as well. These include:
Genitive Preposition | English |
|---|---|
(an)statt | instead of |
anstelle / an Stelle | instead of |
trotz | despite |
während | during |
wegen | due to, because of |
Let’s have a closer look at each of these prepositions!
‘(an)statt’ and ‘anstelle’
Both anstatt and anstelle mean “instead of” but anstatt is a little more common:
prepositiongenitive
(An)statt des Bleistifts hat er einen Kugelschreiber genommen.
Instead of the pencil, he used a ballpoint pen.
Anstelle des Formulars muss man jetzt einen Online-Fragebogen ausfüllen.
Instead of the paper form one has to fill in an online questionnaire.
A couple more little notes:
You can freely drop the an- from anstatt with no difference in meaning: anstatt = statt.
The preposition anstelle can also be spelled an Stelle.
‘trotz’
The preposition trotz means “despite.”
prepositiongenitive
Trotz des Ausfalls sind wir noch im Zeitplan.
Despite our expertise we are still on schedule.
Regionally, trotz can also be used with the dative case, this is regionally limited to Southern German. As you’ll see below, the dative case can often “sub in” for the genitive in colloquial speech!
prepositiondative
Trotz dem Ausfall sind wir noch im Zeitplan.
Despite our expertise we are still on schedule.
→ regional, colloquial
‘während’
The genitive preposition während means “during.”
prepositiongenitive
Während des Wartens habe ich ein bisschen gelesen.
During the waiting period I read a little.
In casual speech, während can be used with the dative as well.
‘wegen’
The genitive preposition wegen can mean “because of” or “due to,” and introduces the cause of some situation:
prepositiongenitive
Wegen der fehlenden Unterschrift soll ich nochmal zurück.
Because of the missing signature I am supposed to return.
In casual speech, wegen can also be used before the dative.
Genitive prepositions that are common in written German
There is a larger number of genitive prepositions that you’ll find in the sort of formal written German you’re likely to encounter in everyday life: at work, in nonfiction, in formal announcements, or in more official documents.
Here’s a sample of some of the most important ones:
Genitive Preposition | English |
|---|---|
aufgrund / an Grund | because of, due to |
bezüglich | in regard to, concerning |
hinsichtlich | in regard to, concerning |
in puncto | in regard to, concerning, as for |
zugunsten / zu Gunsten | in favor of |
zuungunsten / zu Ungunsten | to the disadvantage of |
Let’s take a look at these friendly (but a little bureaucratic) prepositions!
‘aufgrund’
The preposition aufgrund means “because of” or “due to.”
prepositiongenitive
Aufgrund ihres kaputten Computers hat sie seit einer Woche nichts schreiben können?
Because of her broken computer she hasn’t been able to write anything for a week.
A couple notes:
The preposition aufgrund can also be spelled an Grund.
Aufgrund and wegen have the same meaning, but aufgrund is more formal: expect to see aufgrund mostly in the written language (or very formal speech).
‘bezüglich,’ ‘hinsichtlich,’ and ‘in puncto’
The propositions bezüglich and hinsichtlich are synonyms, meaning “in regards to” or “concerning,” and they are mostly used in written German. These are especially common in workplace communication:
prepositiongenitive
Bezüglich / Hinsichtlich ihrer letzten E-mail habe ich allerdings noch einige Fragen.
In regard to your last email, I do actually have a few more questions.
The preposition in puncto would also be translated the same way, as “in regards to” or “concerning,” but is used only to introduce a characteristic, in a context where you’re commenting on how an individual or institution performs “in regard” to that characteristic. You can think of this as a little more like “as for…” in English.
In puncto Pünktlichkeit lässt unser neuer Mitarbeiter viel zu wünschen übrig.
Regarding punctuality, our new co-worker leaves much to be desired.
‘zugunsten’ and ‘zuungunsten’
The genitive preposition zugunsten means “in favor of,” while zuungunsten is its opposite, meaning “to the disadvantage of.”
prepositiongenitive
Der Richter entschied zugunsten der Anklage.
The judge decided in favor of the prosecution.
Der Richter entschied zuungunsten des Angeklagten.
The judge decided to the disadvantage of the defendant.
Both of these prepositions can be spelled as two words:
zugunsten = zu Gunsten
zuungunsten = zu Ungunsten
And both of these prepositions may also be used as postpositions, but in this case they are used with the dative case instead.
dativepostposition
Der Richter entschied mir zugunsten.
The judge decided in my favor.
Das war mir zuungunsten.
That was to my disadvantage.
Which location prepositions take the genitive case?
The last group of genitive prepositions we’ll discuss today are those that are used to describe locations more closely. We might use these to express a location in relation to a cardinal direction (e.g. “north of”) or in relation to some physical object (e.g. “to the left of”). There are four general groups of these.
Prepositions ending in ‘-halb’
These reference the location of something in relation to a three-dimensional object.
Genitive PrepositionEnglishaußerhalb
outside of
innerhalb
inside of
oberhalb
above
unterhalb
below, beneath
prepositiongenitiveInnerhalb der Höhle war es relativ warm, aber außerhalb der Höhle fiel Schnee.
Inside of the cave it was relatively warm, but outside of the cave, snow was falling.
Die Höhle lag Innerhalb der Baumgrenze, aber außerhalb des Berggipfels.
The cave was located above the treeline, but below the mountaintop.
Prepositions ending in ‘-lich’’
These prepositions are mostly based on the words for cardinal directions.
Genitive PrepositionEnglishnördlich
to the north of
südlich
to the south of
westlich
to the west of
östlich
to the east of
prepositiongenitiveWas ist nördlich der Post, südlich des Parks, westlich des Bahnhofs und östlich der Burg?
What’s to the north of the post office, to the south of the park, to the west of the train station and to the east of the castle?
Prepositions ending in ‘-seits’
These tell you where something is in relation to the “side” of an object or building.
Genitive PrepositionEnglishabseits
at a distance from, away from, far from
beiderseits
to both sides of
diesseits
on this side of
längsseits
alongside of
jenseits
beyond
prepositiongenitiveDer Bauernhof lag weit abseits des Dorfes.
The farm is located far from the village.
Beiderseits des Gartens gab es Wald und ein Bach floss längs(seits) des kleinen Waldpfades.
To both sides of the garden, there was forest and a creek ran alongside the small forest path.
Jenseits des Waldes the forest, there was the village, but diesseits des Waldes the forest was only the farm.
Beyond the garden, there was forest and a creek ran on this side of the small forest path.
Other locative genitive prepositions
These genitive prepositions of location don’t have any special endings, they just take the genitive case.
inmitten(in the middle of)
prepositiongenitiveInmitten der weißen Blumen stand eine einzige rote Blume.
In the middle of the white flowers was a single red flower.
unweit(not far from)
prepositiongenitiveUnweit der Schule war ein Spielzeugladen.
Not far from the school was a toy store.
fern(far from)
prepositiongenitiveDer Einsiedler lebte fern aller menschlichen Behausungen.
The hermit lived far away from all human habitations.
Why are some genitive prepositions sometimes used with the dative?
In German, a number of prepositions can be used with either the genitive or the dative case. In general, the genitive case tends to be more formal, while the dative is more likely to be heard in regional or colloquial speech, though in some cases both are equally acceptable.
Why? Like all languages, the German language is always changing. One change that has even received some in recent years is that the genitive case is gradually replacing the dative case. Genitive prepositions are no exception to this trend!
Here are a few examples of German genitive prepositions that are quite often used with the dative case in the modern language. Check out our table of German genitive prepositions for a more complete list.
dank(thanks to)
prepositiongenitivedativeDank seines Einsatzes / seinem Einsatz war das Projekt zum Abgabetermin beendet.
Thanks to his many overtime hours, the project was finished at the due date.
einschließlich(including) and inclusive(inclusive of)
prepositiongenitivedativeDie Übernachtung ist einschließlich / inklusive des Frühstücks / dem Frühstück.
The overnight stay includes breakfast.
lit. The overnight stay is inclusive of breakfast.
exklusive(excluding)
prepositiongenitivedativeDer Preis ist exklusive des Einbaus / dem Einbau.
The price does not include the installation.
lit. The price excludes the installation.
laut(according to)
prepositiongenitivedativeLaut ihrer Bewerbung / ihrer Bewerbung hat sie 2020 bei der Deutschen Bank gearbeitet.
According to her application, she worked at Deutsche Bank in 2020.
Tip
When can you use ‘von’ with a genitive preposition?
One way Germans manage to use the dative case after genitive prepositions is to follow the formula below.
genitive preposition
von
from, of
dative case
Anstelle von diesem langweiligen Film habe ich eine Episode meiner Lieblingsserie geschaut.
Instead of this boring movie I watched an episode of my favorite series.
Es geht immer alles zugunsten von dir.
Everything always turns out in your favor.
lit. Everything always goes in favor of you.
Es gibt Unkraut beiderseits vom Haus.
There are weeds on both sides of the house.
You can add von after the following prepositions, however, doing so is fairly colloquial in style:
anstelle / an Stelle(instead of)
aufgrund / auf Grund(because of, due to)
zugunsten / zu Gunsten(in favor of)
zuungunsten / zu Ungunsten(to the detriment of)
all the locative genitive prepositions
TipSpeak like a native!
Jenseits von Gute und Böse! is a cool phrase using a locative genitive preposition with von. It indicates that something is beyond common norms:
genitive prepositionvondative
Die Preise hier sind aber jenseits von Gut und Böse!
The prices here are abnormally expensive!
lit. The prices here are beyond good and evil!
Summary
In this post, we checked out a big set of German prepositions: genitive prepositions. Here’s what you should make sure to remember:
There are a lot of genitive prepositions in German, but they are most common in the written language, especially official documents.
The genitive prepositions (an)statt, trotz, während, and wegen are relatively common in spoken German as well.
Some genitive prepositions can also be used with the dative case, especially in colloquial contexts.
The locative genitive prepositions as well as anstelle, aufgrund, and zugunsten can be followed by von + dative case, in everyday speech.
Ready for more? Get studying with this complete table of German genitive prepositions! Or, if you’d rather put your skills to the test, check out our German genitive preposition exercises! Happy learning!
