---
title: "Dative Prepositions"
description: "German prepositions that always take the dative case — aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu, and others — with English equivalents and example sentences."
source: "https://germanforenglishspeakers.com/prepositions/dative-prepositions"
crawled: "2026-06-30"
---

# Dative Prepositions

| Preposition | English equivalent(s) | Sample usage and notes |
|---|---|---|
| _ab_ | from \[a point in time\] | _ab dem ersten Schultag_ (from the first day of school) |
| **aus** | from \[origin or source\] | _Ich komme aus den USA._ (I come from the US.) |
| | from (out of) | _Tomaten aus der Dose_ (tomatoes out of the can) |
| | from (made of) | _aus Metall_ (made from/of metal) |
| **außer** | except for, besides, apart from | _keiner außer mir_ (no one but me) |
| | out of | _außer Kontrolle_ (out of control); _außer Betrieb_ (out of order) |
| **bei** | at | _Wasser kocht bei hundert Grad._ (Water boils at 100 degrees.); _bei der Arbeit_ (at work) |
| | with/at the house of | _Ich bleibe bei dir_ (I'll stay with you / at your place) |
| _entgegen\*_ | towards | _Sie lief mir entgegen._ (She ran towards me.) |
| | contrary to, notwithstanding | _entgegen den Erwartungen…_ (contrary to expectations…) |
| _entsprechend\*_ | considering, according to, corresponding to | _den Umständen entsprechend…_ (considering the circumstances…) |
| _gegenüber\*_ | across from | _gegenüber der Strasse_ (across the street) |
| | to (a person) | _Mir gegenüber hat er nichts darüber gesagt._ (He didn't say anything to me about it.) |
| _gemäß\*_ | according to, in accordance with (often used legally) | _gemäß Paragraf 27 des Strafgesetzbuches…_ (according to Paragraph 27 of the criminal law code…) |
| **laut** | according to | _laut dem Pressesprecher…_ (according to the press spokesman…) \[can also be genitive\] |
| **mit** | with | _Bier mit Cola_ (beer with cola — popular German drink) |
| | over \[time\] | _mit den Jahren_ (over the years) |
| | at \[an age\] | _ein Kind mit 2 Jahren_ (a two year old child) |
| _(mit)samt_ | including, together with | _samt Familie_ (with one's whole family); _samt Gepäck_ (with all one's baggage) |
| **nach\*** | after | _nach der Arbeit/Schule_ (after work/school) |
| | according to | _nach meiner Meinung_ \[or _meiner Meinung nach_\] (according to / in my opinion) |
| | to | _Ich fliege nach Deutschland_ (I'm flying to Germany) |
| _nahe_ | near | _nahe der Natur_ (close to nature) |
| **seit** | since \[point in time\] | _seit September_ (since September) |
| | for \[time period\] | _seit langer Zeit_ (for a long time) |
| **von** | from (immediate origin) | _Ich komme von der Arbeit._ (I'm coming from work.) |
| | of | _die Königin von England_ (the Queen of England) |
| | by | _von Hand gemacht_ (made by hand) |
| **zu** | to | _Ich gehe zum Arzt._ (I'm going to the doctor.) |
| | at | _zu diesem Zeitpunkt_ (at this point in time) |
| | too (adverb) | _zu groß_ (too big) |

[Continue to next section >>](/prepositions/two-way-prepositions.md)