How to Say "Where Is The" in German

wo ist das

The German phrase for "where is the" is wo ist das.

Which one should you use?

Use wo ist when asking about a single object, whereas wo sind is used for multiple objects.

How does it change in a sentence?

In German, the phrase must match the grammatical gender of the noun that follows it. Use wo ist die for feminine nouns and wo ist der for masculine nouns. For plural nouns, the verb must change to wo sind die to mean "where are the".

What mistakes should you avoid?

English speakers often forget that "the" must match the grammatical gender of the noun in German, whereas in English "the" is universal.

Did you know?

The modern word wo actually evolved from an ancient dative case of the word 'was'.
Although wo ist das looks like a simple question, the word das can also act as a demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that'. In a conversation, someone might simply ask Wo ist das? to mean 'Where is that?'

Examples in context

Wo ist das Klo?
Where is the bathroom?
This sentence is useful for asking where the bathroom is.
Tatoeba #976178 by Esperantostern, translation #2136 by brauliobezerra
Wo ist das Tor?
Where is the gate?
This sentence is useful for asking where the gate is.
Tatoeba #1397546 by Manfredo, translation #687650 by lukaszpp
Wo ist das Café?
Where is the coffee shop?
This sentence is useful for asking where the coffee shop is.
Tatoeba #608780 by virgil, translation #62268 by CK
Entschuldigen Sie, wo ist das Rathaus?
Excuse me, where is the town hall?
Können Sie mir bitte sagen, wo sich der Hauptbahnhof befindet?
Could you please tell me where the main train station is?
Wo ist die Bank?
Where is the bank?
Wo ist das Restaurant?
Where is the restaurant?
Weißt du, wo der Park ist?
Do you know where the park is?
Entschuldigen Sie, wo ist das Postamt?
Excuse me, where is the post office?
Können Sie mir bitte sagen, wo sich das Museum befindet?
Could you please tell me where the museum is?
Weißt du, wo die Bushaltestelle ist?
Do you know where the bus stop is?
59 more sentences on Tatoeba

Example conversation

Sarah and Lukas are walking through a new city.

Sarah

Lukas, wo ist das Hotel?
Lukas, where is the hotel?
Lukas

Ich weiß es nicht, Sarah.
I don't know, Sarah.
Sarah

Wo ist das nächste Reisebüro?
Where is the nearest travel agency?
Lukas

Dort drüben an der Ecke.
Over there on the corner.

Sources

Word origins: Wiktionary entries das, wo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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How to Say “Where Is The” in German