Goethe A1 Prefix

auf

Based on: *upo, *eup
1.

open

Opposite: zu
(In context of open stores or doors it's by far more common that "offen" in daily life, but it doesn't work well for figurative things like an open mind.)
Examples
  • Ist das Geschäft auf?
  • Is the shop open?
2.

on, on top of

(It's a two way preposition, so it takes Accusative or Dative. The translation can vary based on the context but the core theme is "on, onto")
Examples
  • "Hast du den Laptop gesehen?""Ja, er ist auf dem Kühlschrank."
  • "Have you seen the laptop?""Yeah, it's on the fridge."
3.

"a sense of targeting"

(In many fixed combinations with a verb, that's the idea it expresses.)
Examples
  • Er passt auf die Kinder auf.
  • He is taking care of the children.

Word Family

Knowing relations between words can help understand their meanings and build a more connected vocabulary network. Here, you can explore parents and offspring and discover the whole family.

  • shows how many children or parents the word has
  • get the translations and a link
Loading word family…
Sources for Etymology:

My Articles

The Preposition “auf” – All Meanings and Uses

The German preposition "auf" can mean "on" and "for", but also "open". And in combinations like "warten auf", it has a sense of targeting. Let's explore that.

Vocab: auf, aufgehen, aufmachen, aufgehen, warten auf, stehen auf, aufhaben

Read article →

Verbs with “auf” and “drauf” – Meanings and Use

We'll talk about all the verbs that take "auf" as a preposition and we'll see if there's some logic somewhere. Also: a few really common phrases with "drauf"

Vocab: warten auf, freuen auf, achten auf, drauf, drauf sein, drauf kommen, ...

Read article →

Locations and Prepositions in German – The Quiz

Hello everyone, And welcome back to “Practicanuary”. The whole of January (and maybe also a little of February), we’ll do a series of quizzes for various topics. The very first one was about how to use the word lieber to express preference (find it here). Then we had a fun one about some nice German expressions (you can find it here). And today, things are getting real, because today, we’ll take a first jab at a topic that has low key frustrated every German learner at some point. Locations and their prepositions in German  Talking about location is one of those topics that I have yet to cover, and I actually hope to get to it this year. But today, we’ll start with a nice juicy quiz about it. And not just a quiz. It’s a quiz with benefits. 0 0 votes Article Rating <a href="https://yourdailygerman.com/meaning/auf/">Dive in <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

Read article →

Questions and Comments

Do you have questions about the usage or meaning of “auf”? Just ask here and I’ll try to clear it up.

guest

6 Comments
Newest
Oldest

xv
xv

Frohes neues!

How idiomatic is it to use “auf” for talking about a pocket / wallet / Rucksack

“Deiner Rucksack ist auf”

“Die Tasche deiner Portmonaie ist auf”

Dunno if i asked this elsewhere, but if i did i’ve forgotten and apologise.

Reply
Emanuel
Author
Emanuel
Reply to  xv

Perfectly fine, for me anyway.

“Dein Rucksack….”
“Die Tasche von deinem Portmonaie”, btw.

Reply
xv
xv
Reply to  Emanuel

thanks!

Reply
sumeyye97
sumeyye97

Hello, sometimes in the texts I read, I see expressions such as auf dem Land or auf das Gesicht. Which category does the auf here belong to? Or are they just molds? Thank you.

Reply
Emanuel
Author
Emanuel
Reply to  sumeyye97

I’d look at them as molds of number 2 (on, onto).

“auf dem Land” (in the countryside)… German is quite literal here and says you’re standing “on” the countryside.

“auf das Gesicht” – putting lotion on the face, for example.

Does that help?

Reply
sumeyye97
sumeyye97
Reply to  Emanuel

Ja danke!
:****

Last edited 2 years ago by sumeyye97
Reply

How many meanings does the German word 'auf' have?

auf has 3 distinct meanings: 1. open, 2. on, on top of, 3. "a sense of targeting".

What is 'auf' related to?

The word 'auf' is related to *upo, *eup.

Where can I learn more about 'auf'?

Here are some articles where you can learn more about 'auf':

The Preposition “auf” – All Meanings and Uses
The German preposition "auf" can mean "on" and "for", but also "open". And in combinations like "warten auf", it has a sense of targeting. Let's explore that.
Vocab: auf, aufgehen, aufmachen, aufgehen, warten auf, stehen auf, aufhaben
Read article

Verbs with “auf” and “drauf” – Meanings and Use
We'll talk about all the verbs that take "auf" as a preposition and we'll see if there's some logic somewhere. Also: a few really common phrases with "drauf"
Vocab: warten auf, freuen auf, achten auf, drauf, drauf sein, drauf kommen, ...
Read article

Locations and Prepositions in German – The Quiz
Read article