Breakdown of Wir freuen uns aufeinander.
wir
we
sich freuen auf
to look forward to (with auf)
aufeinander
on each other
Questions & Answers about Wir freuen uns aufeinander.
Why is it aufeinander as one word instead of auf einander?
When a preposition like auf is used with the reciprocal pronoun einander (each other), they combine into a single word. So auf plus einander becomes the fused word aufeinander.
If einander means 'each other', why do we still need the reflexive pronoun uns here?
The verb is sich freuen (to be happy / to look forward to). Because it is a strictly reflexive verb, it cannot exist without its reflexive pronoun (in this case, uns). The word aufeinander doesn't replace the reflexive pronoun; it just replaces the prepositional object to show what you are looking forward to.
Could I say Wir freuen uns übereinander instead?
Grammatically yes, but the meaning changes! The phrase sich freuen auf means to look forward to something in the future. The phrase sich freuen über means to be happy about something right now or in the past. So using übereinander would mean you are happy about each other right now, rather than looking forward to seeing each other.
Could we just use uns instead of aufeinander, like Wir freuen uns auf uns?
While people might understand you, it sounds very awkward and literally implies 'We look forward to ourselves.' To clearly say 'each other' or 'one another' after a preposition, you should always attach the preposition directly to einander.
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