All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| wo | where; at what place | location of an object or activity | question adverb; indirect clause verb-final |
| wohin | where to; in what direction | destination or target place | question adverb; also wo … hin |
| woher | where from; from what source | origin, starting point or information source | question adverb; also wo … her |
wo
Meaning and usage: Use wo for where someone lives, an item is, or an event occurs. It can also introduce a clause referring to a place. Conversational wo … hin is a split directional construction; it preserves the destination distinction.
Grammar: In a direct question, use finite-verb second position: Wo wohnst du? In an indirect question, put the finite verb last: Ich weiß, wo du wohnst. Wo itself does not govern dative. With two-way prepositions, a location answer often uses dative; other prepositions have their own case rules.
Wo liegt meine Tasche?
Where is my bag?
Ich weiß nicht, wo das Konzert stattfindet.
I do not know where the concert takes place.
wohin
Meaning and usage: Use wohin for where someone or something is going, being placed or directed. Putting a bag somewhere needs a destination even for a short movement; wohin does not require travel between cities.
Grammar: Direct question: Wohin stellst du die Tasche? Indirect question: Ich weiß, wohin sie fährt. Destination answers with two-way prepositions often use accusative: auf den Tisch. Do not conclude that every wohin answer is accusative; zu + dative also names a destination.
Wohin stellst du die Tasche? Auf den Stuhl?
Where are you putting the bag? On the chair?
Wohin fährst du morgen?
Where are you going tomorrow?
woher
Meaning and usage: Use woher for a starting place, origin or source. Woher kommst du? can ask where someone has just come from or where they are originally from, depending on the conversation. Woher weißt du das? asks for the source of information and need not describe physical movement.
Grammar: Direct question: Woher weißt du das? Indirect question: Sie erklärt, woher sie das weiß. Origin answers often use aus or von, both governing dative. The interrogative adverb does not itself impose that case on every possible answer.
Woher kommt dieses Paket?
Where does this parcel come from?
Woher weißt du, dass der Laden geschlossen ist?
How do you know that the shop is closed?
Overlap and context
Wo schwimmst du? asks for the place of swimming; Wohin schwimmst du? asks for the destination. A moving activity still has a location, and a placement action has a target. Learn each question with an answer phrase and its preposition. Do not reduce the three question words to three compulsory case rules.
Common mistakes
- Do not choose wohin just because the sentence contains movement; ask whether the destination is requested.
- Do not say every destination answer uses accusative: zu meiner Freundin uses dative.
- Keep the verb last inside indirect questions: wohin sie fährt, not wohin fährt sie.
Memory aid: Place, destination, source: wo, wohin, woher. Add a whole answer phrase, such as im Park, in den Park or aus dem Park, to retain the relation and grammar together.
Try it
You ask where your friend runs regularly, not which destination they run towards. Choose: Wo/Wohin läufst du normalerweise?
Show the answer
Wo
The question asks for the activity's location. Wohin would ask for a destination; a moving activity still has a location.