English asks "where" for three different things — where something is, where it is going, and where it comes from — and relies on context or extra words ("where to," "where from") to tell them apart. German has three separate words: wo, wohin, and woher. Choosing the right one is not just about the question; it also fixes the case of the answer, so this small choice ripples through the whole sentence. This page shows you how to pick.
The three-way split
| Question word | Meaning | Asks about | Typical answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| wo | where (at) | static location | dative (in/an/auf + dative) |
| wohin | where to | direction / destination | accusative goal, or nach / zu / in + accusative |
| woher | where from | origin / source | aus / von + dative |
The deciding clue is usually the verb: a verb of being or staying (sein, wohnen, bleiben, liegen) points to wo; a verb of going toward something (gehen, fahren, fliegen, reisen) points to wohin; and the source of a motion verb (kommen, stammen) points to woher.
wo — location (where at)
Use wo to ask where someone or something is. The answer describes a static place, and after a two-way preposition it takes the dative.
Wo bist du gerade?
Where are you right now?
Wo wohnst du?
Where do you live?
— Wo ist mein Schlüssel? — Er liegt auf dem Tisch.
— Where is my key? — It's on the table. (auf + dative)
The verbs here — sein, wohnen, liegen — are about being somewhere, not going somewhere, so wo is correct and the answer is a dative location.
wohin — direction toward (where to)
Use wohin to ask where someone or something is going — the destination. The answer is a goal, and after a two-way preposition it takes the accusative; with place names and people it usually uses nach, zu, or in.
Wohin gehst du?
Where are you going?
— Wohin fährst du im Sommer? — Ich fahre nach Italien.
— Where are you going in the summer? — I'm going to Italy. (nach + place name)
— Wohin soll ich die Blumen stellen? — Stell sie auf den Tisch.
— Where should I put the flowers? — Put them on the table. (auf + accusative)
The verbs gehen, fahren, stellen are directional — they move something to a destination — so wohin is correct, and the answer takes the accusative or a directional preposition.
woher — origin (where from)
Use woher to ask where someone or something comes from — the source. The answer uses aus (out of, from a place/country you were inside) or von (from a point, a person, a direction), both with the dative.
Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
— Woher kommst du? — Ich komme aus der Schweiz.
— Where are you from? — I'm from Switzerland. (aus + dative)
Woher weißt du das alles?
How do you know all that? (literally: from where do you know that)
The colloquial split forms
In everyday spoken German, wohin and woher are very often split apart, with hin or her moved to the end of the clause. This sounds completely natural and is extremely common — arguably more common in speech than the unsplit forms.
Wo gehst du hin?
Where are you going? (= Wohin gehst du?, split form)
Wo kommst du her?
Where are you from? (= Woher kommst du?, split form)
Wo soll ich das alles hinstellen?
Where am I supposed to put all this? (split, with hinstellen)
So if you hear Wo gehst du hin?, do not be confused by the wo — the trailing hin tells you it means wohin, "where to." The wo on its own would mean location, but the hin at the end redirects it to direction.
The hidden payoff: choosing the word fixes the case
Here is the insight most resources skip. Because wo asks for a location (dative) and wohin asks for a goal (accusative), choosing the right question word is the same decision as choosing the case after a two-way preposition. The three-way question split mirrors the two-way preposition case system.
— Wo ist die Katze? — Sie sitzt unter dem Bett.
— Where is the cat? — It's sitting under the bed. (wo → dative, dem Bett)
— Wohin läuft die Katze? — Sie läuft unter das Bett.
— Where is the cat running? — It's running under the bed. (wohin → accusative, das Bett)
Same preposition (unter), same bed — but wo pulls the dative and wohin pulls the accusative. If you know which question word fits, you already know the case of the answer.
Common Mistakes
1. Using wo for direction. English "where" covers "where are you going," so learners reach for wo when they need wohin.
❌ Wo gehst du?
Misleading — this asks where you ARE; for 'where are you going' use wohin (or Wo gehst du hin?).
✅ Wohin gehst du?
Where are you going?
2. Using wo for origin. "Where are you from" needs woher, not wo.
❌ Wo kommst du?
Incorrect — to ask origin, use woher (or the split Wo kommst du her?).
✅ Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
3. Answering a wohin question with a dative. If the question is directional, the answer must be a goal (accusative).
❌ — Wohin legst du das Buch? — Auf dem Tisch.
Incorrect — wohin demands a goal, so the answer takes the accusative.
✅ — Wohin legst du das Buch? — Auf den Tisch.
— Where are you putting the book? — On the table.
4. Confusing aus and von after woher. Use aus for coming out of a place or country, von for a point, a person, or a direction.
❌ Ich komme von Deutschland.
Incorrect for nationality/origin from a country — use aus.
✅ Ich komme aus Deutschland.
I'm from Germany.
Key Takeaways
- German splits English "where" into three: wo (location, where at), wohin (direction, where to), woher (origin, where from).
- The verb is your best clue: being/staying → wo; going toward → wohin; coming from → woher.
- hin = away toward a goal, her = toward the speaker from a source — and both are commonly split in speech (Wo gehst du hin? / Wo kommst du her?).
- Choosing the question word also fixes the case of the answer: wo → dative location, wohin → accusative goal, woher → aus/von + dative.
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- wo, wohin, woher (Location vs Direction)A2 — German splits English 'where' into three question words — wo (location), wohin (direction to), woher (origin) — and the choice is tied directly to case and the aus/nach system.
- Accusative vs Dative with Two-Way PrepositionsB1 — How to choose accusative or dative after the nine German two-way prepositions, using the wohin?/wo? boundary-crossing test.
- Adverbs of Place and Direction (hier, da, dort, hin, her)A2 — How German splits location (wo: hier, da, dort) from direction (wohin: hierhin, dahin) and encodes speaker-relative movement with hin (away) and her (toward) — three distinctions English's here/there collapse into one.
- Prepositions of Place and DirectionB1 — The full system of location, direction, and origin in German — built around wo / wohin / woher and the three-way split of English 'to'.
- nach vs zu (Destination)B1 — Both nach and zu mean 'to', but German splits them by destination type: nach for cities, article-less countries, and home; zu for people and specific places.
- W-Questions (Wer, Was, Wo, Wann, Warum, Wie)A1 — Information questions put the W-word in first position and the verb second — exactly like a statement with a question word fronted, and with no 'do' helper.