Goethe A1 Prefix

zu

1.

to, toward

Opposite: von
(For most destinations that you DON'T enter. The main groups are people and brand names. Note that you can well use it for places that you can enter, but then the focus is that you don't really go inside.)
Examples
  • Ich habe heute keine Lust, [Deutsch zu lernen].
  • I have no desire [to learn German] today.
  • Practice pronunciation - click once to start recording and again to stop
2.

closed

Opposite: auf
(By FAR the standard and way more common than "geschlossen")
Examples
  • Das Fenster ist zu.
  • The window is closed.
3.

for

(In the sense of something serving a purpose)
Examples
  • Dieses Messer ist zum Käseschneiden gedacht.
  • This knife is intended for cutting cheese.

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.

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Sources for Etymology:

My Articles

When to use “zu” or “um zu”

A thorough look at the difference between "zu" and "um zu" and a quick test to find out which one to use. All as funny video, and as a more detailed text :)

Read article →

‘gehen’ without ‘zu’ – Why some Verbs don’t need it

Today, we'll look at one of the big exceptions to the rules for "zu" and "um zu" and see why it actually makes sense that "zu" is missing in "einkaufen gehen".

Read article →

The Preposition “zu” Explained

A thorough look at the German preposition 'zu' - what's its core idea, how does it work as a prefix and which verbs and phrases want "zu" as a preposition.

Vocab: zu, zugeben, zuhaben, zu sein, zugehen, zuhören, zumachen

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The Preposition “zu” Explained – Part 2

"zu" is used for location and in the sense of "closed". It's also used for phrasings like "trying to" and it's used for "too much" and with verbs like gehören.

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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/zu/">Dive in <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

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Questions and Comments

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

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

zu has 3 distinct meanings: 1. to, toward, 2. closed, 3. for.

What is 'zu' related to?

This is a standalone entry with no parent word listed.

Where can I learn more about 'zu'?

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

When to use “zu” or “um zu”
A thorough look at the difference between "zu" and "um zu" and a quick test to find out which one to use. All as funny video, and as a more detailed text :)
Read article

‘gehen’ without ‘zu’ – Why some Verbs don’t need it
Today, we'll look at one of the big exceptions to the rules for "zu" and "um zu" and see why it actually makes sense that "zu" is missing in "einkaufen gehen".
Read article

The Preposition “zu” Explained
A thorough look at the German preposition 'zu' - what's its core idea, how does it work as a prefix and which verbs and phrases want "zu" as a preposition.
Vocab: zu, zugeben, zuhaben, zu sein, zugehen, zuhören, zumachen
Read article

The Preposition “zu” Explained – Part 2
"zu" is used for location and in the sense of "closed". It's also used for phrasings like "trying to" and it's used for "too much" and with verbs like gehören.
Read article

Locations and Prepositions in German – The Quiz
Read article