All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| gegen | against; around; in exchange for | opposition; contact; competition; approximate times | preposition with accusative; unchanged |
| gegenüber | opposite; toward; compared with | opposite locations; behavior or attitudes; comparison | preposition with dative; before or after a noun phrase |
gegen
Meaning and usage: Gegen can oppose a proposal, identify an opponent, or describe something pressing or striking against a surface. It is not always hostile: a remedy gegen Husten acts against a cough. With a time, it can mean approximately, as in gegen acht Uhr.
Grammar: Preposition with accusative: gegen den Plan, gegen mich, gegen die Wand. Unlike two-way prepositions, it does not change to dative for a static situation. It normally precedes its complement. In exchange contexts, gegen names what is exchanged or required.
Ich habe nichts gegen deinen Vorschlag.
I have nothing against your suggestion.
Sie lehnt sich gegen die Wand.
She leans against the wall.
Wir treffen uns gegen acht Uhr.
We will meet around eight o'clock.
gegenüber
Meaning and usage: Gegenüber can place one location across from another. It also describes how someone behaves toward a person or relates to an idea. In comparisons, it supplies a reference point. It does not by itself mean resistance or opposition to someone's proposal.
Grammar: Preposition with dative: gegenüber dem Bahnhof. It can follow a noun phrase: dem Bahnhof gegenüber. With personal pronouns, the following position is common: mir gegenüber. This lesson concerns the preposition; the capitalized noun das Gegenüber is a separate use.
Die Apotheke liegt gegenüber dem Bahnhof.
The pharmacy is opposite the station.
Er ist seinen neuen Kollegen gegenüber sehr freundlich.
He is very friendly toward his new colleagues.
Gegenüber dem Vorjahr sind die Preise gestiegen.
Prices have risen compared with the previous year.
Overlap and context
Against a wall is gegen die Wand; across from a station is gegenüber dem Bahnhof. A person can be freundlich gegenüber jemandem without being against them. Duden also records comparison uses of gegen and older relationship uses such as freundlich gegen jemanden. These overlaps exist, but gegenüber is a clear current pattern for describing an attitude toward someone.
Common mistakes
- Do not use gegen as the ordinary spatial equivalent of “across from” a building.
- Do not write gegenüber den Bahnhof; use dem Bahnhof.
- Do not apply the movement-versus-location rule to gegen; it always governs accusative here.
- Do not interpret gegenüber as automatically hostile.
Memory aid: Gegen meets or opposes something; gegenüber faces a place or frames a relationship. Learn the cases with the words.
Try it
Choose the word and article: Die Bank liegt ___ ___ Supermarkt.
Show the answer
gegenüber dem
The bank is across from the supermarket. Gegenüber takes dative, so masculine der Supermarkt becomes dem Supermarkt.