The Difference between the German Prepositions “nach” and “zu”

What Is the Difference between the German Prepositions “nach” and “zu”?

Gerrman prepositions nach and zu

In this article, I am going to explain you one of the most common doubts English speakers have when they learn German: the exact difference of use between nach and zu.

In English you use just one preposition to express movement (to), like in the expression “going to a house/street/city/country/island” or even “going to any place”.

In German we use different prepositions to express movement, depending on where exactly you are going. Two of the most used prepositions for this case are nach and zu.

When must I use nach?

There are at least half a dozen ways to say “to” in German. But one of the biggest sources of “to” confusion comes from just two prepositions: nach and zu.

Fortunately, there are clear distinctions between the two.

The preposition nach, except in the idiomatic phrase “nach Hause” ([to] home, homeward), is used exclusively with geographic place names and points of the compass (including left and right). Most other uses of nach are in its meaning of “after” (nach der Schule = after school) or “according to” (ihm nach = according to him).

Here are some examples of nach when it means “to”: nach Berlin (to Berlin), nach rechts (to the right), nach Österreich (to Austria). Note, however, that plural or feminine countries, such as die Schweiz, usually use in instead of nach: in die Schweiz, to Switzerland.

The preposition zu is used in most other cases and is always used for “to” with people: Geh zu Mutti!, “Go to (your) mom!” Note that zu can also mean “too,” functioning as an adverb: zu viel, “too much.”

Another difference between the two is that nach is rarely used with an article, while zu is often combined with an article or even contracted into a one-word compound, as in zur Kirche (zu der Kirche, to the church) or zum Bahnhof (zu dem Bahnhof, to the train station).

We use nach with cities, continents, single islands (no island groups) and with countries without article, as well as in the expression nach Hause (gehen/fahren/kommen/müssen/wollen).

Examples:

Ich fahre nach Berlin (= city).
Heike zieht nach Afrika (= continent).
Kommt ihr mal nach Gran Canaria (= island)?
Wir fliegen nach Spanien (= country).

Notice that there is nothing you need to decline.

When must I use zu?

We use zu for any other place (e.g. the bank, post office, restaurants, shops, etc.) as well as for going to someone’s place (e.g. Hanna’s place) or people in general (family, doctor…).

Examples:

Sie geht zur Post (= place).
Wir fahren zu Susanne/zum Arzt (= people).
Heute gehen wir zum Japaner (= sounds like a Japanese person but means restaurant).

Notice a couple of things:

You always have to decline the article in dative case. Remember that zu contracts with the article in singular to zum (zu dem: masculine & neuter) and to zur (zu der: feminine).
Only proper names (either of persons or places/restaurants) have no article.

Nach Hause and zu Hause

Both of these prepositions are used with Haus(e), but only nach means “to” when used with Haus. The phrase zu Hause means “at home,” just as zu Rom means “at/in Rome” in that poetic, old-fashioned type of construction. Note that if you want to say “to my house/place” in German, you say zu mir (zu + dative pronoun) and the word Haus is not used at all! The idiomatic expressions “nach Hause” and “zu Hause” follow the rules for nach and zu given above.

Here are some more examples of the uses of nach and zu (as “to”):

Wir fliegen nach Frankfurt.We’re flying to Frankfurt. (geographic)
Der Wind weht von Westen nach Osten.The wind is blowing from west to east. (compass)
Wie komme ich zum Stadtzentrum?How to I get to the city center? (non-geographic)
Ich fahre nach Frankreich.I’m going to France. (geographic)
Gehst du zur Kirche?Are you going to church? (non-geographic)
Kommt doch zu uns!Why don’t you guys come over to our place [to us]. (non-geographic)
Wir gehen zur Bäckerei.We’re going to the bakery. (non-geographic)

Gerrman prepositions nach zu

Direction/Destination

The preposition zu expresses the idea of heading in a direction and going to a destination. It is the opposite of von (from): von Haus zu Haus (from house to house). Although both of the following sentences can be translated as “He is going to the university,” there is a difference in the German meanings:

Er geht zur Universität. (The university is his current destination.)
Er geht an die Universität. (He’s a student. He attends the university.)

Those Tricky Prepositions

Prepositions in any language can be tricky to deal with. They are particularly susceptible to cross-language interference. Just because a phrase is said a certain way in English, does not mean it will be the same in German. As we have seen, both zu and nach can be used in many ways, and “to” in German is not always expressed with these two words. Look at these “to” examples in English and German:

ten to four (score) = zehn zu vier
ten to four (time) = zehn vor vier
I don’t want to = ich will nicht
to my delight = zu meiner Freude
to my knowledge = meines Wissens
bumper to bumper = Stoßstange an Stoßstange
to town = in die Stadt
to the office = ins Büro
to a great extent = in hohem Grad/Maße

However, if you follow the simple rules on this page for nach and zu, you can avoid making obvious mistakes with those two prepositions when you want to say “to.”