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GERMAN · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

auf.

[with dative] on, upon (positioned at the top of)

3 characters1 syllables approx.Deutsch language

Meaning & usage

prep/aʊ̯f/[ʔaʊ̯f]

  1. [with dative] on, upon (positioned at the top of)

    Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.

  2. [with accusative] on, onto, up (moving to the top of)

    Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch.

  3. [with accusative] on (indicating responsibility)

    Das erste Getränk geht aufs Haus.
    Das fällt nicht auf dich zurück, sondern auf mich. Ich hab's vermasselt.

  4. Introduces a word, usually an adjective, acting as context or a condition for the whole sentence.

    slang
    auf süß
    auf lock

  5. [with dative] in, at; used with certain nouns instead of bei or in

    Niemand auf der Welt hätte das voraussehen können.
    auf dem Stadtplatz

  6. [with accusative] to; used with certain nouns instead of zu or in

    auf die Kirmes
    auf die Post

  7. in (see usage note below)

    Was heißt das auf Deutsch?

  8. in (of a word: ending with some sound or syllable)

    Wörter auf -heit sind weiblich.

  9. on (a day; usually of the week)

    Germany · Northern · Western · archaic · colloquial · regional
    Du kannst doch auf (’n) Sonntag nich’ den Rasen mähen!

  10. [with accusative] for (during the continuation of)

    auf Jahre hinaus

  11. [with accusative] to, for (indicating purpose, goal or wish)

    Lasst uns auf deine Gesundheit trinken!
    Sie spielen auf Zeit.

  12. [with accusative] by (used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something)

    X auf Y Meter groß
Where this word comes from

From Middle High German ūf, from Old High German ūf, from Proto-Germanic *upp. This form with a lengthened vowel is originally Upper German. Central German forms were Middle High German uf and (western) up. Compare Dutch op, Low German op, Luxembourgish op, English up.

intj/aʊ̯f/[ʔaʊ̯f]

  1. carry on (continue or proceed as before)

  2. have a go

Where this word comes from

From Middle High German ūf, from Old High German ūf, from Proto-Germanic *upp. This form with a lengthened vowel is originally Upper German. Central German forms were Middle High German uf and (western) up. Compare Dutch op, Low German op, Luxembourgish op, English up.

adj/aʊ̯f/[ʔaʊ̯f]

  1. open

    indeclinable · informal · predicative
    Die Tür ist auf.
Where this word comes from

From Middle High German ūf, from Old High German ūf, from Proto-Germanic *upp. This form with a lengthened vowel is originally Upper German. Central German forms were Middle High German uf and (western) up. Compare Dutch op, Low German op, Luxembourgish op, English up.

adv/aʊ̯f/[ʔaʊ̯f]

  1. finished; gone (food)

    colloquial
    Hast du deine Suppe auf?
    Die Milch is’ auf.

  2. up; awake; out of bed

    colloquial
    Ich war um sechs Uhr auf.
Where this word comes from

From Middle High German ūf, from Old High German ūf, from Proto-Germanic *upp. This form with a lengthened vowel is originally Upper German. Central German forms were Middle High German uf and (western) up. Compare Dutch op, Low German op, Luxembourgish op, English up.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.