Wo, Wohin, Woher: When "where" isn't specific enough for Germans

What's the difference between wo, wohin and woher? 

The use of wo, wohin and woher all comes down to location (wo), destination (wohin) and origin (woher).If you are talking about a static location, meaning there is no change in location, use wo. If you are going from your current location to another location, use wohin. If you arrived at a new location and are talking about your origin, use woher. 

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More Lessons About Question Words

This lesson is one of several in a series about question words in German. To learn about all of the different question words the German language has to offer, click the links below to explore each group of words. 

Wer, Wen, Wem & Wessen: Question Words for People Explained

Was, Was für, & Welcher: What? What kind of? Which? What's the difference?

Wie, Wie viel, Wie viele: How is "How" so complicated? 

Wieso, Weshalb, Warum & Many More: Why are there so many ways to say "why"?

Wo, Wohin, Woher: When "where" isn't specific enough for Germans

Da- & Wo-Compounds: Now they are just making up question words

When to use "wo"

Each of the words on our list for today mean “where”. Their use all comes down to location, destination and origin. If you are asking about the location of something without a reference to a destination or origin, you need “wo”. Here are a few examples of it in action.

Wo ist die Bibliothek? -
Where is the library?

Wo hast du deine Brille gelassen? -
Where did you leave your glasses?

Wo wohnst du? -
Where do you live?

Wo befindet sich der Bahnhof? -
Where is the train station?

Wo kann ich hier parken? -
Where can I park here?

When to use "woher"

“Woher” implies that there was a prior location. In English, it is best translated along with the preposition “from”.

Woher kommst du? -
Where are you from?

Woher hast du dieses Buch? -
Where did you get this book from?

Woher weißt du das? -
How do you know that? (Where do you know that from?)

Woher kommt das Geräusch? -
Where is the sound coming from?

Woher stammt dieser Wein? -
Where does this wine come from?

Can you separate "wo" and "her"? 

One problem that comes up is that English speakers have a tendency to put “from” at the end of the sentence. This can also be done in German, but technically it is because “her” can also be a separable prefix for verbs. For example: herkommen and herhaben.

Wo kommst du her? -
Where are you from?

Wo hast du das Rezept her? -
From where did you get the recipe?

For more examples of “her” as a separable prefix, you can check out my lesson about separable prefixes.

When to use "wohin"

The question word “wohin” is the polar opposite of “woher”. It inquires about the direction in which someone or something is headed. It is best translated as “where to”. Here are a few examples of that:

Wohin gehst du? -
Where are you going?

Wohin fliegt das Flugzeug? -
Where is the plane flying to?

Wohin führt diese Straße? -
Where does this road lead to?

Wohin legst du deine Jacke? -
Where are you putting your jacket?

Wohin reist du diesen Sommer? -
Where are you traveling this summer?

Can you separate "wo" and "hin"? 

Just like “woher”, you can split “wohin” sometimes. This is, of course, reserved for verbs that have the prefix “hin”. For example: hinführen and hinfahren

Wo führt dieser Weg hin? -
To where does this path lead?

Wo fährst du in den Sommerferien hin? -
Where are you driving on summer vacation?

Summary

To summarize, "wo" is used to ask about a location, "woher" is used to ask about the origin, and "wohin" is used to ask about the destination or direction.

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