Chapter 7

Asking for Directions

In This Chapter

Finding the places you want to go

Discovering the German ordinal numbers

Going by car or other vehicle

The key to getting around is knowing how to get where you’re going. Before you hop on that bus or train, or set out on your journey by car or on foot, you naturally want to plan your trip. Being able to ask about the location of a train station, open-air market, or museum is a good start.

And, of course, you also want to understand the directions someone gives you to your destination. For example, someone may say that the market is across from the subway station, behind the hotel, or next to the post office. Or they may tell you to take the second street on the left, turn right at the third traffic light, and so on. If you don’t relish the thought of getting lost, read on. This chapter gets you on the right track.

“Wo?” — Asking Where Something Is

Where am I? Where do we go from here? Where would you be without the word “where”? Probably lost. Luckily, asking where something is in German is pretty easy. You start with the word wo (voh) (where) and frame your question like this:

Wo ist . . .? (voh ist . . .?) (Where is . . .?)

Whenever you ask a stranger a question, you sound more polite (and therefore are more likely to get more or better assistance) if you preface the question with the following:

Entschuldigen Sie bitte . . . (ênt-shool-di-gen zee bi-te . . .) (Excuse me, please . . .)

After you flag down a stranger and start your question with Entschuldigen Sie bitte, wo ist . . ., you can finish the question. You do so by supplying the name of the location you’re looking for, which could include any of the following:

der Bahnhof (dêr bahn-hohf) (train station)

der Taxistand (dêr tâx-ee-shtânt) (taxi stand)

die U-Bahnstation (dee ooh-bahn-shtât-see-ohn) (subway station)

die Bushaltestelle / die Straßenbahnhaltestelle (dee boos-hâl-te-shtêl-e / dee shtrah-sen-bahn hâl-te-shtêl-e) (bus stop / streetcar or tram stop)

der Platz (dêr plâtz) ([town] square)

der Hafen (dêr hah-fen) (harbor)

die Bank (dee bânk) (bank)

das Hotel (dâs hotel [as in English]) (hotel)

die Kirche (dee kirH-e) (church)

die Post (dee post) (post office)

der Markt (dêr mârkt) (market)

das Museum (dâs moo-zey-oom) (museum)

der Park (dêr pârk) (park)

das Theater (dâs tey-ah-ter) (theater)

Of course, if you’re in a town of any size at all, a general question like “Where is the bus stop?” or “Where is the bank” may be met with a quizzical look. After all, multiple bus stops or banks may be in close proximity. To make your questions as specific as possible, include the proper name of the bus stop, theater, church, or other location in your question. For example, you could ask any of the following:

Wo ist die Bushaltestelle Karlsplatz? (voh ist dee boos-hâl-te-shtêl-e kârlz-plâts?) (Where is the bus stop Karlsplatz?)

Wo ist das Staatstheater? (voh ist dâs shtâts-tey-ah-ter?) (Where is the Staatstheater?)

Wo ist der Viktualienmarkt? (voh ist dêr vik-too-ahl-ee-en-mârkt?) (Where is the Viktualien Market?)

If you don’t know the proper name of your destination, you can ask for directions to the nearest of whatever you’re looking for. You simply insert the word nächste (naiH-ste) (nearest) after the article of the location in question. Check out the following questions that use nächste:

Wo ist der nächste Park? (voh ist dêr naiH-ste pârk?) (Where is the nearest park?)

Wo ist die nächste Bank? (voh ist dee naiH-ste bânk?) (Where is the nearest bank?)

Wo ist das nächste Hotel? (voh ist dâs naiH-ste hotel?) (Where is the nearest hotel?)

When it comes to getting around and asking for directions, you can use this helpful verb to indicate that you don’t know your way around a place: auskennen (ous-kên-en) (to know one’s way around). Here’s an expression using this verb that you may want to memorize:

Ich kenne mich hier nicht aus. (iH kên-e miH heer niHt ous.) (I don’t know my way around here.)

The verb auskennen belongs to a group of verbs called separable verbs. They all have a prefix that separates from the main part of the verb and gets shoved to the end of the sentence. The prefix of the verb auskennen is aus-. Notice how this prefix appears at the very end of the sentence. For more information on separable verbs, read the scoop in Chapter 15.

“Wie weit?” How Far Is It?

Before you decide whether you want to walk someplace or take public transportation, you probably want to find out how far away your destination is. You have a few options that help you discover how distant a location is, and the key word to know is weit (vayt) (far):

Ist . . . weit entfernt / weit von hier? (ist . . . vayt ênt-fêrnt / vayt fon heer?) (Is . . . far away / far from here?)

You just fill in the name of the location you’re asking about. So, for example, if you’re headed to the art museum, you may ask someone one of the following:

Ist das Kunstmuseum weit entfernt? (ist dâs koonst moo-zey-oom vayt ênt-fêrnt?) (Is the art museum far away?)

Ist das Kunstuseum weit von hier? (ist dâs koonst moo-zey-oom vayt fon heer?) (Is the art museum far from here?)

Hopefully, you’ll get the answer

Nein, das Kunstmuseum ist nicht weit von hier. (nayn, dâs koonst moo-zey-oom ist niHt vayt fon heer.) (No, the art museum isn’t far from here.)

If you want to know specifically how far away a location is, you can use this question:

Wie weit ist . . . von hier? (vee vayt ist . . . fon heer?) (How far is . . . from here?)

You may also approach the issue the other way around and find out how close something is by using the word nah (nah) (near). You usually find the word nah in the following combination: in der Nähe (in dêr nai-he) (nearby). You can ask the question

Ist . . . in der Nähe? (ist . . . in dêr nai-he?) (Is . . . nearby?)

Going Here and There

The words hier (heer) (here) and dort (dort) (there) may be small words, but they play an important part in communicating directions. How? Well, as their English equivalents do, they make directions just a little more concrete. Look at the following sample sentences to see how hier and dort work in explaining directions:

Das Museum ist nicht weit von hier. (dâs moo-zey-oom ist niHt vayt fon heer.) (The museum isn’t far from here.)

Das Hotel ist dort, neben dem Café. (dâs hotel [as in English] ist dort, ney-ben deym café [as in English].) (The hotel is there, next to the café.)

Some key words that answer the question “where?” more specifically are easier to remember when you recognize them in commonly used word combinations. Try these combos on for size:

hier vorne (heer forn-e) (here in front)

dort drüben (dort drue-ben) (over there)

ziemlich weit / sehr weit (tseem-leeH vayt / zeyr vayt) (quite far / very far)

gleich um die Ecke (glayH oom dee êk-e) (just around the corner)

direkt gegenüber (di-rêkt gey-gen-ue-ber) (directly opposite)

Check out the following sentences that use some of the preceding expressions:

Der Hauptbahnhof ist gleich um die Ecke. (dêr houpt-bahn-hohf ist glayH oom dee êk-e.) (The main train station is just around the corner.)

Die U-Bahnstation ist dort drüben. (dee ooh-bahn-shtât-see-ohn ist dort drue-ben.) (The subway station is over there.)

Asking “How Do I Get There?”

When you want to ask “How do I get there?” you use the verb kommen (kom-en), which means both “to come” and, when used with a preposition, “to get to.” Refer to Chapter 6 for the conjugation of kommen.

The basic form of the question “How do I get there?” is

Wie komme ich . . .? (vee kom-e iH . . .?) (How do I get . . .?)

To finish the rest of the sentence, you need to use a preposition to help you say “to the train station” or “to the city center.” At this point, you need to shift into high gear — that is, high grammar gear.

In German, you don’t just deal with one preposition as you do in English, in which you would simply use “to” (How do I get to . . .?). In fact, you may need to use any of a number of prepositions, all of which can mean “to.” The most commonly used “to” prepositions in German are the following:

in (in)

nach (nahH)

zu (tsooh)

The following sections discuss each of these prepositions and how to use them.

Using “in” to get into a location

You use the preposition in (in) when you want to get to, or into, a certain location, such as the city center, the zoo, or the mountains. For example:

Wie komme ich in die Innenstadt? (vee kom-e iH in dee in-ên-shtât?) (How do I get to the center of the city?)

When you use the preposition in this way, the article that comes after it goes into the accusative case, meaning that some of the articles change form slightly. Chapter 2 has a complete explanation of the accusative case, but here’s a quick reminder of how the articles change (or don’t change):

der becomes den (deyn) (masculine)

die stays die (dee) (feminine)

das stays das (dâs) (neuter)

die stays die (dee) (plural)

For example, the article of a feminine noun like die City (dee si-tee) (city center) stays the same:

Wie komme ich in die City? (vee kom-e iH in dee si-tee?) (How do I get to the city center?)

The article of a masculine noun like der Zoo (dêr tsoh) (zoo) changes like this:

Wie kommen wir in den Zoo? (vee kom-en veer in deyn tsoh?) (How do we get to the zoo?)

The article of a plural noun like die Berge (dee bêr-ge) (mountains), stays the same:

Wie komme ich in die Berge? (vee kom-e iH in dee bêr-ge?) (How do I get to the mountains?)

The article of a neuter noun like das Zentrum (dâs tsên-troom) (center) stays the same, but when the preposition in is used with neuter nouns in the accusative case, the preposition and article contract to form the word ins:

in + das = ins

This contraction is almost always used, giving you phrases like

Wie komme ich ins Zentrum? (vee kom-e iH ins tsên-troom?) (How do I get to the city center?)

Using “nach” to get to a city or country

The preposition nach (nahH), luckily, only comes into play in a specific context: when you want to get to a city or country:

Wie komme ich nach Köln? (vee kom-e iH nahH kerln?) (How do I get to Cologne?)

You have no troublesome articles to bother with when using nach because city names and most country names don’t need articles.

Using “zu” to get to institutions

If you’re asking how to get to a place such as a train station or a museum, the preposition zu (tsooh) is a pretty safe bet. It may, however, go through a slight spelling change when used in a sentence. For example:

Wie kommen wir zum Flughafen? (vee kom-en veer tsoom floohk-hâ-fen?) (How do we get to the airport?)

Wie komme ich zur Deutschen Bank? (vee kom-e iH tsoor doych-en bânk?) (How do I get to the German bank?)

The preposition zu requires the dative case. (See Chapter 2 for a complete explanation of the dative case.) As a result, the articles used right after zu change in the following ways:

der becomes dem (deym) (masculine)

die becomes der (dêr) (feminine)

das becomes dem (deym) (neuter)

die becomes den (deyn) (plural)

When zu is used with masculine nouns, like der Bahnhof, and neuter nouns, like das Hotel, the preposition and article contract to form the word zum. In other words, zu + dem = zum. The following two examples both use zum:

Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? (vee kom-e iH tsoom bahn-hohf?) (How do I get to the train station?)

Wie komme ich zum Hotel Kempinski? (vee kom-e iH tsoom hotel kêm-pin-skee?) (How do I get to Hotel Kempinski?)

Similarly, take a look at how zu combines with a feminine noun like die Post (dee post) (post office) in its dative form, der Post: zu + der = zur. Look at this example:

Wie komme ich zur Post? (vee kom-e iH tsoor post?) (How do I get to the post office?)

To use plural nouns like die Souvenirläden (dee zoo-ven-eer-lê-den) (souvenir shops) together with zu, you simply change the article to den, like this:

Wie kommen wir zu den Souvenirläden? (vee kom-en veer tsooh deyn zoo-ven-eer-lê-den?) (How do we get to the souvenir shops?)

Describing a Position or Location in Relation to Some Other Place

After you ask for directions, you must be ready to understand the answers you may receive. People commonly express the location of a place in relation to a well-known landmark or location. You can use quite a few prepositions to describe locations in this way. Luckily, all these prepositions used in this context use the dative case, so any articles after the preposition behave just like they do for the use of zu, as described in the preceding section. In addition, the preposition bei (bay) (near / next to) and the article dem almost always contract like this: bei + dem = beim.

Table 7-1 shows you some common prepositions that are used to express the location of one thing in relation to another.

Talkin’ the Talk

Mike is on a business trip to München (muen-Hen) (Munich), a city he hasn’t visited before. He wants to take a cab to get to a friend’s house, but he needs some help finding the nearest taxi stand. So he approaches a woman on the street. (Track 15)
Mike:	Entschuldigen Sie bitte, wo ist der nächste Taxistand? ênt-shool-di-gen zee bi-te, voh ist dêr naiH-ste tâx-ee-shtant? Excuse me, where is the nearest taxi stand?
Frau:	In der Sonnenstraße. in dêr zon-en-shtrah-se. On Sonnen Street.
Mike:	Ich kenne mich in München leider nicht aus. Wie komme ich zur Sonnenstraße? iH kên-e miH in muen-Hen lay-der niHt ous. vee kom-e iH tsoor zon-en-shtrah-se? Unfortunately, I don’t know my way around Munich. How do I get to Sonnen Street?
Frau:	Sehen Sie die Kirche dort drüben? Hinter der Kirche ist der Sendlinger-Tor-Platz und direkt gegenüber ist der Taxistand. zey-en zee dee kirH-e dort drue-ben? hin-ter dêr kirH-e ist dêr zênd-leeng-er-tohr-plâts oont di-rêkt gey-gen-ue-ber ist dêr tâx-ee-shtânt. Do you see the church over there? Behind the church is Sendlinger-Tor Square and directly opposite is the taxi stand.
Mike:	Vielen Dank! fee-len dânk! Thank you very much!

Getting Your Bearings Straight with Left, Right, North, and South

Unless you tackle the words for the various directions — such as left, right, straight ahead, and the compass points — you may find yourself trying to find the town hall by tugging at some stranger’s sleeve and chanting Rathaus (rât-hous) over and over, hoping they’ll lead you to the right building. With this section, you can put an end to your helplessness by mastering the few simple words you need to understand (and ask about) the various directions.

Left, right, straight ahead

When you ask for or give directions, you can’t avoid using the key words for defining position: left, right, and straight ahead. Here are these key words in German:

links (links) (left)

rechts (rêHts) (right)

geradeaus (ge-rah-de-ous) (straight ahead)

If you want to express that something is located to the left or right of something else, you add the preposition von (fon) (of), making the following:

links von (links fon) (to the left of)

rechts von (rêHts fon) (to the right of)

Check out these examples that use von and a defining position:

Der Markt ist links von der Kirche. (dêr mârkt ist links fon dêr kirH-e.) (The market is to the left of the church.)

Die U-Bahnstation ist rechts vom Theater. (dee ooh-bahn-shtât-see-ohn ist rêHts fom tey-ah-ter.) (The subway station is to the right of the theater.)

When the preposition von combines with dem, it usually contracts like this: von + dem = vom. (Dem is the dative form of the masculine definite article der and the neuter definite article das. Chapter 2 gives you more info on the dative case.)

You also may hear the word for side, die Seite (dee zay-te) in connection with directions. Seite can help directions be more specific. For example:

Das Museum ist auf der linken Seite. (dâs moo-zey-oom ist ouf dêr lin-ken zay-te.) (The museum is on the left side.)

Die Bank ist auf der rechten Seite. (dee bânk ist ouf dêr rêHt-en zay-te.) (The bank is on the right side.)

The cardinal points

Instead of using left, right, or straight ahead, some folks give directions using the points of the compass (also called the cardinal points). These points are

der Norden (dêr nor-den) (the north)

der Süden (dêr zue-den) (the south)

der Osten (dêr os-ten) (the east)

der Westen (dêr wês-ten) (the west)

If someone uses cardinal points to tell you the specific location of a place, you may hear something like

Der Hafen liegt im Norden (dêr hah-fen leekt im nor-den) / Süden (zue-den) / Osten (os-ten) / Westen (wês-ten). (The harbor lies [is] in the north / south / east / west.

To describe a location, for example, in the north, you use the preposition in with a definite article in the dative case. When the definite article is masculine (der) or neuter (das), it changes to dem, and the preposition in usually contracts to im like this: in + dem = im.

Taking This or That Street

When you ask for directions, you may get the answer that you should take a specific street — the second street on the left or the first street on the right, for example. (The next section talks more about ordinals — first, second, and so on.)

The verbs you need to be familiar with in this context are gehen (gey-en) (to go) and nehmen (ney-men) (to take). In order to give directions, you use the imperative. (For the moment, just focus on the word order. You find out more about imperative sentences — those that give commands — in Chapter 14.) With the imperative, the verb goes at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

Nehmen Sie die zweite Straße links. (ney-men zee dee tsvay-te shtrah-se links.) (Take the second street on the left.)

Gehen Sie die erste Straße rechts. (gey-en zee dee êrs-te shtrah-se rêHts.) (Go down the first street on the right.)

And if you simply have to go straight ahead, the person may give you these instructions:

Gehen Sie geradeaus. (gey-en zee ge-rah-de-ous.) (Go straight ahead.)

If you’re looking for a specific building, you may hear something like:

Es ist das dritte Haus auf der linken Seite. (ês ist dâs drit-e house [as in English] ouf dêr lin-ken zay-te.) (It is the third house on the left side.)

Using Ordinal Numbers: First, Second, Third, and More

One, two, and three are referred to as cardinal numbers. Numbers like first, second, third, fourth, and so on are called ordinal numbers. They indicate the specific order of something. For example, to answer the question “Which house?” you use an ordinal number to say, “The second house on the left.”

In German, you form ordinal numbers by adding the suffix -te to the cardinal numbers for numbers between 1 and 19 — with the following exceptions:

eins (ayns) (one) / erste (êrs-te) (first)

drei (dray) (three) / dritte (drit-e) (third)

sieben (zee-ben) (seven) / siebte (zeep-te) (seventh)

acht (âHt) (eight) / achte (âHt-e) (eighth)

Ordinals 20 and above all add the suffix -ste to the cardinal number. Table 7-2 shows how to form the ordinal numbers 1 through 10, including one example of an ordinal number formed with a “-teen” number and another example for an ordinal above 20.

Table 7-2 Sample Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers
Cardinal Number	Ordinal Number
eins (ayns) (one)	der / die / das erste (êrs-te) (first)
zwei (tsvay) (two)	zweite (tsvay-te) (second)
drei (dray) (three)	dritte (drit-e) (third)
vier (feer) (four)	vierte (feer-te) (fourth)
fünf (fuenf) (five)	fünfte (fuenf-te) (fifth)
sechs (zêks) (six)	sechste (zêks-te) (sixth)
sieben (zeeb-en) (seven)	siebte (zeep-te) (seventh)
acht (âHt) (eight)	achte (âHt-e) (eighth)
neun (noyn) (nine)	neunte (noyn-te) (ninth)
zehn (tseyn) (ten)	zehnte (tseyn-te) (tenth)
siebzehn (zeep-tseyn) (seventeen)	siebzehnte (zeep-tseyn-te) (seventeenth)
vierzig (fir-tsiH) (forty)	vierzigste (fir-tsiH-ste) (fortieth)

See Chapter 4 for a list of the cardinal numbers.

Because they’re used like adjectives, the ordinal numbers take the gender and case of the noun they refer to. Table 7-3 shows you how the adjective erste changes in each case along with the article that comes before it.

Talkin’ the Talk

Erika is in town on business and wants to meet an old friend who also happens to be in town on business. She has the address of the hotel her friend is staying at, but she isn’t sure where the street is located, so she asks for help. (Track 16)
Erika:	Entschuldigung? ênt-shool-di-goong? Excuse me?
Mann:	Ja, bitte? yah, bi-te? Yes, please?
Erika:	Wie komme ich zur Beethovenstraße? vee kom-e iH tsoor bey-toh-fên-shtrah-se? How do I get to Beethoven Street?
Mann:	Nehmen Sie die U-Bahn am Opernplatz. ney-men zee dee ooh-bahn âm oh-pêrn-plâts. You have to take the subway at Opera Square.
Erika:	Und wo ist der Opernplatz? oont voh ist dêr oh-pêrn-plâts? And where is Opera Square?
Mann:	Gehen Sie die Wodanstraße geradeaus. Dann gehen Sie links in die Reuterstraße. Rechts liegt die Post und direkt gegenüber ist der Opernplatz. gey-en zee dee voh-dahn-shtrah-se ge-rah-de-ous. dân gey-en zee links in dee roy-ter-shtrah-se. rêHts leekt dee post oont dee-rêkt gey-gen-ue-ber ist dêr oh-pêrn-plâts. Go straight down Wodan Street. Then go left onto Reuter Street. On the right you see the post office and directly opposite is Opera Square.
Erika:	Und welche U-Bahn nehme ich? oont vêlH-e ooh-bahn ney-me iH? And which subway do I take?
Mann:	Die U5 bis zur Station Beethovenstraße. dee ooh fuenf bis tsoor shtat-tsee-ohn bey-toh-fên-shtrah-se. Take the subway 5 to the stop Beethoven Street.
Erika:	Vielen Dank! fee-len dânk! Thank you very much!

Traveling by Car or Other Vehicle

In English, it doesn’t make a big difference whether you’re going by car or on foot — distance aside, you’re still going somewhere. However, the German verb gehen (gey-en) (to go) isn’t that flexible. You may “go” on foot, which would require zu Fuß gehen (tsooh foohs gey-en). But if you take the car, the bus, or another form of transportation, you’re “driving,” which takes fahren (fahr-en) — not gehen — even if you aren’t behind the wheel.

When using fahren in a sentence, you need three things: the word for the type of vehicle in which you’re traveling, the preposition mit (mit) (with), and the dative version of the vehicle’s article. Here’s an example of how you use the verb fahren in a sentence to say that you’re taking a specific kind of transportation:

Ich fahre mit dem Auto. (iH fahr-e mit deym ou-toh.) (I’m going by car. Literally: I’m driving with the car.)

You don’t need to be driving a car to use the following words and phrases about turning left and right. You can use them to describe turns you make on a bike, inline skates, a snowboard, and so on.

To tell somebody to make a left or right turn, you can use your old friend, the verb fahren. You say

Fahren Sie links / rechts. (fahr-en zee links / rêHts.) (Go left / right. Literally: Drive left / right.)

If you get lost driving around, always remember to pull this expression from your memory:

Ich habe mich verfahren. Ich suche . . . (iH hah-be miH fêr-fahr-en. iH zoohH-e . . .) (I’ve lost my way. I’m looking for . . .)

See Chapter 15 for more information on words you need for getting around in a car or other vehicle.

Talkin’ the Talk

Paula has rented a car to go to Frankfurt for a day trip. She’s on her way to Bockenheim, a district of Frankfurt, and she stops at a gas station to ask for directions.
Paula:	Entschuldigen Sie, wie komme ich nach Bockenheim? ênt-shool-di-gên zee, vee kom-e iH nahH bok-en-haym? Excuse me, how do I get to Bockenheim?
Tankwart:	Nehmen Sie die Ausfahrt Frankfurt-Messe. Das sind ungefähr vier Kilometer von hier. ney-men zee dee ous-fahrt frânk-foort mês-e. Dâs zint oon-ge-fair feer ki-lo-mey-ter fon heer. Take the exit Frankfurt-Messe. That is approximately 4 kilometers from here.
Paula:	Alles klar! Danke. âl-es klahr! dân-ke. Okay! Thank you.
Paula makes it to Bockenheim but then seems to have lost her way. She stops her car and asks a policeman for directions.
Paula:	Entschuldigen Sie, ich habe mich verfahren. Ich suche den Hessenplatz. ênt-shool-di-gên zee, iH hah-be miH fêr-fahr-en. iH zoohH-e deyn hês-ên-plâts. Excuse me, I’ve lost my way. I’m looking for Hessen Square.
Polizei:	An der nächsten Kreuzung fahren Sie rechts. Dann fahren Sie geradeaus, ungefähr einen Kilometer. Der Hessenplatz liegt auf der linken Seite. ân dêr naiH-sten kroy-tsoong fahr-en zee rêHts. dân fahr-en zee ge-rah-de-ous, oon-ge-fair ayn-en ki-lo-mey-ter. dêr hês-en-plâts leekt ouf dêr lin-ken zay-te. Go left at the next intersection. Then go straight on, approximately one kilometer. Hessen Square is on the left side.
Paula:	Vielen Dank! fee-len dânk! Thank you very much!

Fun & Games

Match the descriptions to the pictures.

1.______Das Haus ist direkt gegenüber.

2.______Das Haus ist auf der rechten Seite.

3.______Es ist das dritte Haus auf der rechten Seite.

4.______Fahren Sie geradeaus.

5.______Das Haus ist auf der linken Seite.

6.______Es ist das zweite Haus auf der linken Seite.

7.______Das Haus ist zwischen den zwei Straßen.

8.______Biegen Sie rechts ab.