In English, we often just use the word "where" for everything. In German, the question word changes depending on whether you are asking about an origin or a destination.
Asking about origin: woher
When asking where someone or something is coming from, use woher (where from). To answer that you come from a specific country or city, use the preposition aus (from / out of).
Asking about destination: wohin
When asking where someone is going, use wohin (where to). This question word pairs closely with verbs of motion, such as gehen (to go), fahren (to drive), and reisen (to travel).
To state that you are traveling to a specific country or city, use the preposition nach (to / towards).
Vacations and modes of travel
You can also use wohin and nach with other modes of transport, like the verb fliegen (to fly).
When you talk about taking a vacation (der Urlaub) or visiting someone, you are typically describing an action happening at a fixed location, rather than movement toward a destination. For fixed locations in countries and cities, use the preposition in.
