There are a number of German words related to motion, direction, and location. Here are some of the more common ones, gathered together (with a few secondary meanings, thrown in as well):
Relative vertical position
Prepositions showing relative vertical position
über — over, above, or on top of something
über — about, via/by, across, beyond/past *
unter — under, underneath, below, or beneath something
unter — among or between **
* – shows a topic of discussion or a waypoint rather than a physical position
** – shows location relative to other things rather than up or down
Adverbs showing relative vertical position
hoch — in a high place
nach unten — downstairs
nieder — low (not tall), lowly
niedrig, tief — low, deep, or deeply
oben — above in a high location
oben, zuoberst, obenan — at the top
oben, am Himmel, in der Luft — at the top
unten — under, underneath, beneath, down below
Remember, an adverb can usually be converted to an adjective by adding a suffix
Adjectives showing relative vertical position
hoch- — tall
hoch- — great, superior, important, exhalted ***
höchste-, oberste- — lowest
nieder-, tiefer- — lower
am niedrigste-, tiefste, unterste — lowest
tief- — profound (as in deep thought)
*** – shows relative importance rather than a physical position
Position within a building
Adverbs showing position within a building
oben, nach oben — upstairs on a higher floor
unten, unten, nach unten — die Treppe hinunter/downstairs
Nouns showing position within a building
Erdgeschoss — ground- or entry level floor *
Etage, Stock — floor (as in 3rd floor)
Keller — cellar/basement **
Obergeschoss — upper floor (usually with a number)
Untergeschoss — underground floor (with a number if more than one)
Untergrund — underground (basement level or below or just underground)
Untergrundbahn, U-Bahn — subway train system
* – considered to be the 0th floor — the 1st floor is one flight above that
** – one flight below the ground floor, considered to be the -1 level
Vertical motion
Adverbs showing vertical motion
abwärts — downward
aufwärts — upward
Turning and rotation
Verbs showing turning
links abbiegen — left turn
rechts abbiegen — right turn
Adverbs showing rotation
im Uhrzeigersinn — clockwise
gegen den Uhrzeigersinn — counterclockwise
Directions and places on the earth
Adverbs showing direction
nord — north
nordost — northeast
nordwest — northwest
ost — east
süd — south
südost — southeast
südwest — southwest
west — west
The above words can also be use as nouns, meaning that area or territory that lies in that direction; as in Dixie is another name for the U.S. Southeast
Nouns naming places on the earth
Äquator — equator
Nordpol — north pole
Nullmeridian — prime meridian
Südpol — south pole
Wendekreis des Krebs — tropic of cancer
Wendekreis des Steinbocks — tropic of capricorn
Marine and aviation
Adverbs for marine and aviation use
leewärts — leeward (away from the wind)
sonnenwärts — sunward (towards the sun)
windwärts — windward (towards the wind)
Nouns for marine and aviation use
Backbord — port (left side of the craft when facing forward)
Lee — leeward side
Luv — windward side
Sonnenaufgang — sunrise/sunup
Sonnenuntergang — sunset/sundown
Steuerbord — starboard (right side of the craft when facing forward)
Horizontal position and direction
Adverbs for horizontal position and direction
gerade aus, voraus — straight ahead
links — left (on your left)
rechts — right (on your right)
richtig — right (what’s correct — like eating right)
rückwärts — backward
vorwärts, nach vorn — forward
Noun and Adjective
Recht — law *
Recht — right (such as the right to vote) *
übrig- — left/left over (what’s left over) **
* – having to do with politics, law, and the legal system, not a direction
** – the remainder after taking some away, not a direction
Various places
Adverbs for use with places
außerhalb, außen, nach außen, draußen — outside
dort — there
dort drüben, da drüben — over there
hier — here
von hier — from here
innerhalb, innen, nach innen, drinnen — inside
irgendwo — anywhere/somewhere
nirgends, nirgendswo — nowhere
überall — everywhere
woher, wovon — from where/whence *
wohin — to where/whither *
* – whence and wither are archaic English, but make the point that two separate words can be used to mean “from where” and “to where”
When you can’t decide whether a place is to be declensed into the dative or accusative case, choose dative when describing its current location, or accusative when describing its destination
Adjectives for use with places
außen- — outside
innen- — inside
Prepositions for use with places
aus — out/outside
außerhalb — outside
in — in/inside
innerhalb — inside
Nouns for use with places
Außenseite — outside/exterior
Geburtsort — birthplace
Innere — inside/interior (as in the interior of the stomach)
Innenseite — inside
Wohnort — place where you live
Miscellaneous
Adverbs
von innen nach außen — inside out
rechte Seite raus — right side out
Nouns
die Linke — the Left (political ideology)
das Recht — the Right (political ideology)
Untergang — downfall, total ruin, perdition
Look for Jennie’s German Language Classroom for English Speakers on a Wednesday near the end of the month.
Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Freeman. In particular, permission is not granted to assemble the parts of this series together and distribute them. You may of course post links to the individual posts.
