Nach is used before a common noun in one common expression: nach Hause(to(wards) home).
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How to use German dative prepositions?
By: Daniel Krausse Thu Jun 05 2025
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dative prepositiondative case
Am Montag, mit einem Hammer, beim Museum
On Monday, with a hammer, near the museum
The eight most important dative prepositions in German are: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, and zu. These words have a variety of uses, but they’re always followed by the dative. There are several other prepositions, though, that can be followed by the dative case in some circumstances.
In this post, we’ll quickly review how to form the dative case, then talk about when you will want to use the dative case after a preposition in German. Read on and all your questions will be answered!
Table of Contents
How to form the dative case in German?
Before we look at dative prepositions, let’s assemble our dative case toolbox by looking at a quick review of how to put nouns and pronouns into the dative case in German. Here are the most important rules to remember:
Nouns → Singular dative nouns look just like the dictionary form, but dative plural nouns in the dative case do have a special ending: -n. Add this ending to any dative plural noun that doesn’t already end in -n.
dative casedie Kinder → den Kindern
the children → to/for the children
Articles → German definite and indefinite articles have the following dative case forms:
German articles in the dative caseEnglishMasculineFeminineNeuterPluralthe
demderdemden & add -n to the noun
a / an
einemeinereinem—
Adjectives → The pattern depends on if there is an article before the adjective:
Add -en if there is an article before the adjective:
dative articledative adjectivemit dem neuen Freund
with the new friend
If there is no article, add the MRMN endings to the adjective
dative adjectivemit frischem Käse
with fresh cheese
Personal pronouns → The dative forms are illustrated in the table below:
German personal pronouns in the dative caseSingularPlural1st Person2nd Person3rd Person1st Person2nd Person3rd Personmir
to/for me
dir
to/for you
→ informalihm
to/for him
ihr
to/for her
ihm
to/for it
uns
to/for us
euch
to/for you
→ informalihnen
to/for them
Sie
to/for you
→ formalIhnen
to/for you
→ formal
What are the German dative prepositions and how to use them?
The eight dative prepositions that are commonly used in German are:
aus(from)
außer(except for)
bei(at)
mit(with)
nach(after)
seit(since)
von(of)
zu(to)
These prepositions are used a little differently from their English counterparts. Let’s get to know the most common uses of these dative prepositions.
‘Aus’
Aus expresses the origin of someone or something. Use it to:
Express being from a certain city, state, or country:
prepositiondative caseIch komme aus der Schweiz.
I am from Switzerland.
Express that something (or someone) is coming out of something:
prepositiondative caseRauch kommt aus dem Schornstein.
Smoke is coming out of the chimney.
‘Außer’
Außer is exceptional! Here is how:
You can use it to express exceptions to a rule or event:
prepositiondative caseAlle Kinder außer ihm essen Kuchen.
All the children except for him are eating cake.
Außer is also exceptional grammatically! Though it’s usually used with the dative case, it can also be used with the genitive case, in certain phrases and idiomatic expressions:
prepositiongenitive caseSie ist gestern außer Landes gegangen.
She left the country yesterday.
lit. She went out of the country yesterday.
→ idiomatic expression
‘Bei’
Bei is used to indicate long-term proximity.
Use bei in two main situations:
You are staying with someone:
prepositiondative caseWohnst du noch bei deinen Eltern?
Are you still living with your parents?
You are working for a certain business:
prepositiondative caseIch arbeite bei einer Computerfirma.
I am working for a computer company.
‘Mit’
The main meaning of mit is “with.” Use it to talk about:
Going somewhere with someone:
prepositiondative caseIch gehe mit Freunden ins Restaurant.
I am going to the restaurant with friends.
Making something with a certain ingredient or doing something with a specific implement:
prepositiondative caseMit meinem Schnellkochtopf koche ich ein Gericht mit frischem Fisch.
With my pressure cooker, I am cooking a dish (made) with fresh fish.
Going somewhere by some kind of vehicle:
prepositiondative caseIch werde mit dem Zug fahren.
I will go by train.
‘Nach’
The main meaning of nach is “after” or “past.” Use it to express:
That something happened after or past a certain point in time:
prepositiondative caseNach vielen Stunden bei der Arbeit kam sie um zehn nach neun zurück.
After many hours at work, she returned at ten past nine.
The order of occurrence:
prepositiondative caseNach mir ist Anna dran.
After mine it’s Anna’s turn.
That you are going to a city, state, or country:
prepositiondative caseFährst du bald nach Berlin?
Will you go to Berlin soon?
Nach is only used to mean “to” before the proper names of cities, states, or countries that do not begin with articles. In other situations, other prepositions are used:
nach Berlin(to Berlin)
nach Bayern(to Bavaria)
nach Österreich(to Austria)
in die Schweiz(to Switzerland)
in die Türkei(to Turkey)
an die Elfenbeinküste(to Ivory Coast)
zum Supermarkt(to the supermarket)
ans Meer(to the sea)
in mein Heimatland(to my home country)
Exception!
‘Seit’
Seit expresses the passing of time. Use it to say:
That time has passed since a certain event took place:
prepositiondative caseMeine Firma gibt es seit 1970.
My company has existed since 1970.
That something has been happening for a period of time:
prepositiondative caseIch arbeite seit vier Jahren dort, denn ich mag diese Firma.
I have been working there for four years, because I like that company.
Important
In German, we usually use seit in clauses with the present tense. This is different from the English prepositions “for” or “since,” which usually go with the perfect tense instead:
Sie leben seit 2002 in Iowa.
They have lived in Iowa since 2002.
lit. They live in Iowa since 2002.
‘Von’
Von is mainly used to express origin.
Use it in the following circumstances:
To express origin or source of something moving or being transported:
prepositiondative caseDieses Andenken ist vom Berliner Zoo.
This souvenir is from the Berlin zoo.
To express ownership, or that something is a part of something else, replacing the genitive case in colloquial speech:
prepositiondative caseDas ist das Auto von meinem Vater.
That's my father's car.
lit. That’s the car of my father.
→ instead of genitive: das Auto meines Vaters(my father’s car)Die Tür vom Auto ist kaputt.
The door of the car is broken.
→ instead of genitive: die Tür des Autos(the car’s door)
Important
When talking about coming from a city, state, or country, use aus and not von:
prepositiondative case
Ich komme aus einer Stadt / aus Berlin.
I come from a city / from Berlin.
Ich komme gerade vom Supermarkt.
I am coming from the supermarket just now.
‘Zu’
Zu is mostly used for destinations (“to”) but it’s also used in some other cases.
To express destination, similar to English “to”:
prepositiondative caseIch gehe zur Post und dann komme ich zu dir.
I will go to the post office and then I will come to you.
In many common idiomatic expressions:
zu Hause(at home)
zu Fuß(on foot)
zum Beispiel (for example)
zu Pferd(on horseback)
zum Glück(by luck)
I find the best way to remember phrases like these is to put them into little stories. You can even draw a picture, if it helps!
prepositiondative caseZum Glück war ich zu Pferd und nicht zu Fuß, sonst wäre ich noch nicht zu Hause.
By luck, I was on horseback and not on foot, otherwise I wouldn’t be (at) home yet.
Tip
To express destination, Germans also use two-case prepositions. These prepositions are more specific in their meaning than zu, for example:
Geh ins Haus und stell die Tasche unter den Tisch!
Walk into the house and put the bag underneath the table!
However, where zu is always used before the dative case, two-case prepositions are only used before the dative under certain circumstances. Check out our post on two-case prepositions in German to learn more.
What are the less common German dative prepositions?
The less common dative prepositions that are still important to know are: ab, gegenüber, and entgegen. Let’s see how and when to use them.
Ab is used to introduce a starting point in time or space. It is often used without a following article:
prepositiondative caseAb nächster Woche fährt Bus Nr. 9 ab Marktplatz eine neue Strecke.
Starting next week, bus no. 9 is taking a new route starting from the Market square.
Gegenüber is used to express that something or someone is “across from” something else:
prepositiondative caseGegenüber dem Haus war der Laden.
Across from the house was the store.
Gegenüber can be either a preposition or a postposition, meaning it can follow the noun or pronoun, rather than introducing it:
prepositiondative caseDem Haus gegenüber war der Laden.
Across from the house was the store.
When it’s used before the noun/pronoun, it is often followed by the preposition von.
prepositiondative caseGegenüber vom Haus war der Laden.
Across from the house was the store.
Important
It isn’t possible to use gegenüber in front of the pronoun without von:
prepositiondative case❌ Er stand gegenüber mir.
✅ Er stand mir gegenüber.
✅ Er stand gegenüber von mir.He stood across from me.
Entgegen is used to express that something happened “against” your wishes or “despite” someone’s opinions or advice.
prepositiondative caseEntgegen meinem ausdrücklichen Wunsch hat er das gelbe Auto gekauft.
Against my expressed wishes, he bought the yellow car.
Like gegenüber, entgegencan sometimes follow the noun or pronoun, though it is rather rare.
prepositiondative caseMeinem Rat entgegen hat sie den Regenschirm nicht mitgenommen.
Despite my advice, she didn’t take the umbrella with her.
Tip
In colloquial speech, entgegen is occasionally used with genitive case:
prepositiondative caseEntgegen meines Rates hat sie eine Katze gekauft.
Despite my advice she bought a cat.
Which prepositions use the dative only in colloquial speech?
Several prepositions that are officially used with the genitive case join the dative case team when they are used in colloquial speech. The most important ones are während(during), wegen(because of), anstatt / statt / anstelle(instead of), and trotz(despite).
While these are still generally used with the genitive case in written language, in spoken language you’re more likely to hear the dative case.
Tip
The genitive case is slowly disappearing from spoken German, and Germans may feel nostalgia when facing this inevitable language change.
In 2004, well-known journalist Bastian Sick wrote a bestselling book entitled “Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod”(The Dative is the Death of the Genitive) that humorously explains common grammar mistakes and interesting features of the German language. By the way, did you notice that it’s dem Genitiv (written in dative case) and not des Genitivs (written in genitive case) in the title? The author intended this pun to show that dative is indeed replacing genitive case!
Let’s take a closer look at each one.
‘Während’
Während means “during.” It is used with the genitive case in written language or formal speech, but colloquially, während is often used with dative case.
prepositiondative casegenitive case
Während dem Konzert / des Konzerts waren die Kinder still.
During the concert the children were quiet.
→ dative is informal; genitive is formal
There are two cases where während is used with the dative case, even in formal/written language:
When während introduces plural noun that is not preceded by either an article or an adjective:
prepositiondative casegenitive case✅ während Jahren / ❌ während Jahre
for years
If there is a genitive attribute between the preposition and its noun:
prepositiondative casegenitive casewährend des Professors langem Vortrag
during the professor’s long presentation
‘Wegen’
Wegen is used like “because of,” to give a reason for something. Like während, it is used with the genitive case in written and formal German, but colloquially, it is commonly used with dative case.
prepositiondative casegenitive case
Wegen dem Gewitter / des Gewitters sind wir heute zu Hause geblieben.
Because of the thunderstorm we stayed home today.
→ dative is informal; genitive is formal
There are a couple situations where the choice of case is not optional:
Like während, wegen always occurs with the dative case before a noun with no article or adjective:
prepositiondative casegenitive case✅ wegen Mäusen / ❌ wegen Mäuse
because of mice
Likewise, if a genitive attribute stands between wegen and its noun, the noun must also be in the dative case:
prepositiondative casegenitive casewegen seines Zuges langem Aufenthalt
because of his train’s long stopover
It sounds very formal, but wegen can also be used after the noun. In that case, it is always used with genitive case:
prepositiongenitive caseDes Sonnenlichts wegen müssen wir Sonnencreme auftragen.
Because of the sunlight we must apply sunscreen.
Pronouns that follow wegen will be in the dative case.
prepositiondative caseWegen dir waren wir zu spät und wegen ihm hatten wir keine Eintrittskarten!
Because of you, we were late and because of him, we had no tickets!
However, in formal speech, you’ll usually hear adverbs like meinetwegen(because of me), deinetwegen(because of you), and seinetwegen(because of him) used instead of wegen + pronoun.
Tip
Colloquially, you can use wegen + mir(me) to express that you have no objection to a request or suggestion:
prepositiondative caseSpeaker A:Kann ich den Keks dort essen?
Can I eat the cookie over there?
Speaker B:Ja, wegen mir.
Yeah, fine by me.
lit. Yes, because of me.
‘Anstatt’ / ‘statt’ / ‘anstelle’
Anstatt, statt, or anstelle can be used like “instead of” to talk about alternative choices. There is no difference in meaning between these three prepositions, and all three are used before the dative in informal language and the genitive in formal/written language.
prepositiondative casegenitive case
Anstatt / statt / anstelle einem Stück Kuchen / eines Stück Kuchens wollte sie eine Bratwurst.
Instead of a piece of cake, she wanted a bratwurst.
Tip
Anstatt, statt, and anstelle are frequently followed by the preposition von and dative case:
prepositiondative case
Anstatt / statt / anstelle von einem Bonbons wollte er ein Eis.
Instead of a piece of candy, he wanted ice cream.
‘Trotz’
Trotz expresses that something happened “despite” an expectation.
prepositiondative casegenitive case
Trotz dem trockenen Frühling / des trockenen Frühlings war die Ernte gut.
Despite the dry spring, the harvest was good.
In most parts of Germany, trotz is more common with the genitive case, but in Southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the dative case is the case of choice.
Summing up
Here’s what we found out about dative prepositions:
Dative prepositions introduce a noun or pronoun in the dative case.
The most important dative prepositions in German are: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, and zu.
A few other prepositions are also used before the dative case, but these are either less common or used before the genitive case in formal language.
Practice makes perfect! Check out these German dative prepositions activities to practice your skills.
