German Da Words [How to Use: damit, darüber, darauf…]
After reading this post, you will understand:
- What the German da words are and what they mean
- How they are used to replace objects in a sentence
- How each of the da words are used in example sentences
What Are German Da Words?
German ‘da words’ are an extremely useful group of words, but can take some getting used to. Da- is a prefix which appears in front of a number of prepositions. They are used to refer back to an object which was mentioned earlier in a sentence.
Da words are important because they will help improve your fluency by making sentences more streamlined and stopping you using more nouns than necessary in a sentence.
The most common German da words are:
- daran
- darauf
- dabei
- dafür
- damit
- danach
- darüber
With German da words it helps to think of da- as meaning ‘it’, ‘that’ or ‘them’.
In English we say things like ‘I’ll think about it‘ but in German, if da- means ‘it’, that sentence translates as ‘I’ll think it about‘ (da = ‘it’ + the preposition = dar-über = ‘it about’).
Top Tip: To create a ‘da word’ it’s just a case of choosing the preposition you need and putting da- in front of it. However if the preposition starts with a vowel (über, auf etc.) we put dar- in front of it to help with pronunciation.
Meanings of ‘Da Words’
When we use a German da word and pair it with a preposition, we end up with a word that means: the preposition + ‘it’.
For example bei (with) becomes dabei (with it). Für (for) becomes dafür (for it).
Here are some of the more common German da words that you’ll encounter:
| Preposition | Da Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| an | daran | on / of it |
| auf | darauf | on it |
| bei | dabei | with it |
| für | dafür | for it |
| mit | damit | with it |
| nach | danach | after it |
| über | darüber | about it |
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How Are ‘Da Words’ Used?
One important thing to note when using German da words is that they are only used to refer to inanimate objects. If you are talking about a person or animal, you need to use the preposition + pronoun:
- Ich kuscheln mit meiner Katze (I cuddle with my cat)
- Ich kuscheln mit ihr (I cuddle with her)
So whenever you refer back to any object in a sentence that isn’t a living thing, you’ll use a da word. Let take a look at an example:
| Ich fahre mit meinem Auto | I drive (with) my car |
| Ich fahre damit | I drive (with) it |
In this example you can see that if we want to substitute the object (Auto) we first need to look at what preposition we’ve used. In this case mit. So we simply add da- in front of mit and there we have it: damit.
German Da Words in Conversations
To use a da word in a conversation, you’ll see something like this:
| Wie kommen wir heute an den Strand? Mit deinem Auto? | How are we getting to the beach today? With your car? |
| Ja, wir fahren damit. | Yes, we’ll drive (with) it. |
The person asking the question has already mentioned the object (the car). Just like in English, the person answering doesn’t bother to repeat the noun. We already know that they are talking about a car, so a da word can be used instead of repeating the noun.
In English, we’re not as likely to say:
- How are we getting to the beach today? With your car?
- Yes, we’ll drive the car
It just feels unnecessary to repeat the noun, we’re more likely to say:
- Yes, we’ll drive it
And it’s the same in German.
German Da Words as Plurals
Da words can also stand in for plurals. Let’s take a look at another example:
| Früher hatte ich angst, Fehler zu machen, aber jetzt lache ich darüber. | I used to worry about making mistakes, but I laugh about them now. |
In this sentence the object is Fehler (mistakes). Since we don’t need to repeat this noun twice in the sentence, we just use dar- + the preposition (über).
Da words don’t change depending on whether it are talking about a singular or a plural object.
German Da Words Example Sentences
In order to really get the hang of these da words, let’s take a look at example sentences for each of them.
Now because German prepositions don’t translate that well into English, it’s best to familiarise yourself with their meanings first as some of the English translations I give won’t make a lot of sense.
In these examples the object that is being replaced with a da word is highlighted.
Daran (on it / of it)
| Ich denke oft an unseren Urlaub. | I think of our holiday a lot. |
| Ich denke auch daran. | I think of it too. |
Darauf (on it)
| Wenn ich Deutsch spreche, muss ich mich wirklich darauf konzentrieren. | When I speak German I have to really concentrate on it. |
Dabei (with it)
| Kannst du bei der Hausarbeit helfen? | Can you help me with the housework? |
| Ja, ich helfe dir dabei. | Yes I’ll help you with it. |
Dafür (for it)
| Wie viel verlangt er für dieses Auto? | How much is he asking for that car? |
| Er verlangt zu viel dafür. | He’s asking too much for it. |
Damit (with it)
| Ich finde die Straßenbahnen in Bremen toll, ich fahre oft damit. | I think the trams in Bremen are great, I often ride (with) them. |
Danach (after it)
| Ich muss erst arbeiten, danach gehe ich aus. | I have to work first, I’ll go out after (it). |
Darüber (about it)
| Ich habe meine Meinung darüber geändert. | I’ve changed my mind about it. |
very very helpful thank you
Sehr hilfreich. Vielen dank
Very well explained and great examples. Thanks.
Thanks for your kind words David, glad you found it helpful 🙂
Vielen Dank für Ihre Erläuterung.
Just amazing explanation, thank you!!
Thanks for your kind words, happy to help 🙂
Can’t express my gratitude for the above work, precise and direct to the point.
Thank you
Sehr gut, Emma!
What would you say is the difference between damit and dabei? When would you use one and definitely not the other (if ever)? When are they interchangeable (if ever)?
Vielen Dank,
Pedro
Hallo Pedro! In my experience there’s no real difference between the two, you can use them both interchangeably. Happy to be corrected by a German native if anyone’s reading this though 🙂
It’s indeed understandable ,thank you for simplyfying this theme,it has been confusing me seriously
Really grateful, simple and clever! 🙏
Thanks Hala 🙂
Vielen Dank Emma !!
das war ganz hilfreich,
Ich weiß, und hat gelernt auch , auf Deutsch , wann wir da- Präpositionen nutzen , auf Schreiben und auf im Gespräch, es einen großen Unterschied machen. obwohl ich bin kein nativ Sprecher , aber ich nutze dieser da-Präpositionen in tägliche Gespräche, es verschafft mir guten Respekt von Muttersprachlern ,
und vielen Dank zum uns erklären !!
Hallo Ronald
Ich freue mich sehr, dass mein Post für dich hilfreich ist. Da-wörter sind sehr nützlich.
You made this so simple to understand. Thank you 🙂
Good explanation, thank!
Happy to help 🙂
It’s indeed understandable ,thank you for simplyfing this theme,these da- family words have been confusing me seriously but now ,bin ich sehr darueber verstanden.vielen dank
Just to let you know it’s “Ich kuschel mit…” not “kuscheln”. “Früher hatte ich Angst” with a capital A. “Hallo, ich bin…” with a comma. Anyway, thanks for the summary 🙂
“Ich kuschle” is also possible! But “kuscheln” is just the infinitive
Hi Emma,
the ones I have always struggled with are like in your example:
Wenn ich Deutsch spreche, muss ich mich wirklich darauf konzentrieren
Why not just
Wenn ich Deutsch spreche, muss ich mich wirklich konzentrieren
or Ich warte hier darauf, dass der Bus kommt
why not Ich warte hier, dass der Bus kommt
everything else makes sense, but these ones always trip me ip
Hi Emma,
That was a great lesson and answered most of my questions… just a tiny one: sometimes it’s allowed to omid these da-words from the sentence like: Es gibt keinen Zweifel ( daran ), dass du die beste Deutschlehrerin bist. Is there a rule behind this?
vielen dank
Outstanding Explanation ❤️🩹
Danke, ich bin sehr dankbar dafür !!
This was so helpful. Thank you!
Viele dank für ihre Erklärung 👍