wohin gehst du?
In German, 'where are you going?' is translated as wohin gehst du?
This phrase is used to ask someone about their destination. While the default form uses a verb for walking, you should switch the verb if the person is traveling by vehicle like a car, bus, train or bike. In those cases, you would use wohin fährst du? instead.
What does it mean word for word?
The word wohin literally means 'where to', which emphasizes movement toward a destination.
Which one should you use?
It is important to use wohin for movement toward a destination, whereas wo is used when asking about a static location or where someone currently is.
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking formally, you can use either wohin gehen Sie? or the split construction Wo gehen Sie hin?
Did you know?
- The word du is a direct relative of the archaic English word 'thou'. Both evolved from a shared Proto-Germanic root used for the singular 'you'.
- The word hin can be thought of as a directional partner to her, where hin points 'away' and her points 'towards' the speaker.
- The construction Wo gehen Sie hin? is often more common in casual spoken German than the single-word version Wohin gehen Sie?
Examples in context
- Entschuldigung, wo gehen Sie hin?Excuse me, where are you going?
- Guten Tag! Wo gehen Sie hin?Good day! Where are you going?
- Hallo! Wohin gehst du?Hello! Where are you going?
- Wohin gehst du heute Abend?Where are you going tonight?
- Wohin gehst du?Where are you going?
Example conversation
Lukas and Julia meet in the hallway.
- LukasHallo Julia, wohin gehst du?Hello Julia, where are you going?
- JuliaIch gehe in die Küche.I am going to the kitchen.
- LukasKann ich mitkommen?Can I come along?
- JuliaJa, natürlich!Yes, of course!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries du, wohin, CC BY-SA 4.0.
