ich gehe zu
The German phrase ich gehe zu means "I go to".
This phrase is used to indicate that someone is moving toward a specific place or person.
Which one should you use?
While ich gehe zu is used for moving toward people or specific buildings, ich gehe in is used when the emphasis is on entering the interior of a space.
How does it change in a sentence?
The preposition zu always requires the dative case for the noun that follows it. You will often see contractions used with this phrase: zum is a contraction of zu and the masculine/neuter dative article dem, while zur is a contraction of zu and the feminine dative article der.
Did you know?
- Using ich gehe zu can mean you are visiting a person's home without actually mentioning the house. For example, ich gehe zu Maria means 'I am going to Maria's place'.
- The preposition zu is actually a historical merger of two different words, one of which was the ancestor of the English word 'to'.
- The phrase ich gehe zu is used for movements toward a destination, but if you are going to a city or country, you must use ich gehe nach.
Examples in context
- Ich gehe zum Markt.I go to the market.This sentence shows how to use ich gehe zu with the contraction zum.Tatoeba #4170590 by Wuzzy, translation #4170599 by Wuzzy
- Ich gehe zur Schule.I go to school.This sentence shows how to use ich gehe zu with the contraction zur.Tatoeba #708626 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #472089 by tamsanh
- Ich gehe zur Kirche.I go to church.Tatoeba #4105307 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #3825730 by CK
- Ich gehe nach Hause.I go home.
- Ich gehe nach Deutschland.I go to Germany.
- Ich gehe nach der Arbeit ins Fitnessstudio.I go to the gym after work.
- Ich fahre nach Berlin.I go to Berlin.
- Ich fahre nach Paris.I go to Paris.
- Ich fahre nach Hause mit dem Bus.I go home by bus.
- Ich gehe zu Lisa.I'm going to Lisa's.
- Ich gehe zu der Party.I'm going to the party.
- Ich gehe zum Supermarkt.I'm going to the supermarket.
- Ich fahr' zu meiner Oma.I'm going to my grandma.
- Ich fahr' zu Jan.I'm going to Jan's.
- Ich fahr' zum Konzert.I'm going to the concert.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sarah and Lukas are talking in the office kitchen.
- SarahIch gehe zu Lukas.I am going to Lukas.
- LukasIch bin schon hier!I am already here!
- SarahOh, ich gehe zu dir.Oh, I am going to you.
- LukasKomm schnell her.Come over here quickly.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ich, zu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
