How to Say “Inside” in German

Ways to say it

The word 'inside' generally refers to being within the interior of a space or closest to a center point. Use innen as an adverb of location to describe a state of being inside a space. If you are referring to a person's internal emotional or spiritual state, use the adverb innerlich instead of innen. The phrase im Inneren is a common way to say 'in the interior' or 'on the inside' when referring to a specific physical or abstract space. For movement, hineingehen means to go inside and hineinschauen means to look inside.

Which one should you use?

While in can describe both position and movement, the construction in … hinein is used to specifically emphasize the direction of movement from the outside to the inside. Use innen when describing the state of being inside a space, whereas in is used to indicate a prepositional relationship with a specific object. Finally, innerhalb is used to mean 'within' or 'inside of' specifically in the context of a time frame or a certain area.

Related words

Interior or inner part (noun): Innenseite, Inneres.

Of or pertaining to the inner surface, limit or boundary (adj): Innen-, Inner-.

How does it change in a sentence?

The preposition innerhalb requires the genitive case to indicate being within a certain limit or time period.

How do you pronounce it?

/ˈɪnən/