The German Preposition “aus”

In this article, you'll learn how versatile "aus" is in German and what you should keep in mind when learning. You'll find many simple example sentences with translations so you can use "aus" confidently.

Good to know: 

• aus can be used to indicate what something is made of, where someone/ something comes from,  what the reason is, or it describes a direction: the movement from inside to outside. 

• aus demands the dative case.

• aus can be translated for example to: "out of", "from" or “made of” .

"Aus is NOT an alternating preposition, which can be used either with the accusative or the dative

You can listen to the corresponding episode of the Uplevel Your German podcast here:

1. aus + material (without article).

Das Fenster ist aus Glas.

- The window is made of glass. 

Der Tisch ist aus Holz.

- The table is made of wood.

Die Lampe ist aus Metall.

- The lamp is made of metal. 

Der Ring ist aus Gold.

- The ring is made of gold.  

Tip:

You often find these phrases in descriptions of objects.

2. aus + city/ country - usually without article 

Do you want to say where someone is from? Then you need "from" + the location. Usually without an article:

Ich komme aus Deutschland.

- I come from Germany.

Lena kommt aus Hamburg.

- Lena comes from Hamburg. 

=> Exception: Countries that come with an article, keep this article:

John kommt aus den USA.

- John comes from the USA.

Olga kommt aus der Ukraine.

- Olga comes from Ukraine.

3. aus + reason (without article)

"Aus" can also explain the reason for an action. Here's usually no article either:

Why did or didn’t you do that? - warum hast du das gemacht oder nicht gemacht?

• aus Angst  → out of fear

• aus Liebe  → out of love

• aus Freude  → for joy

• aus Trotz  → out of defiance

• aus Spaß  → just for fun

• aus Versehen  → by mistake

• aus Vergesslichkeit → out of forgetfulness

• aus Sparsamkeit → out of thrift

Example:

Ich habe das aus Spaß gesagt.

- I said that just for fun.

4. aus + article in the dative case to describe a direction (movement from inside to outside ~ out of)

"Aus" often describes a movement from the inside out. Here, you need a noun with the article in the dative case:

• der/das → dem

• die → der

• Plural: die → den

Examples:

Max kommt aus dem Haus.

- Max is coming out of the house.

Die Tomaten sind aus dem Garten.

- The tomatoes are from the garden.

Maria kommt aus der Apotheke.

- Maria is coming out of the pharmacy.

Also for distances:

Ich sehe das aus der Ferne.

- I am watching from afar.

Ich sehe das aus der Nähe.

- I see this up close.

5. Choosing one thing/ person or, more things/ people from a group. 

Do you want to say that someone or something is chosen from a group? Here, too, "aus" is used with the dative case:

Der Chef wählt aus allen Bewerbern einen aus.

- The boss chooses one from all applicants.

6. Some idioms use aus: 

Some common idioms in German contain "aus." Here are two examples:

Sie ist aus dem Häuschen.

- She is over the moon.

Ich mache mir nichts aus Fußball.

- I don't care about football. 

Bonus

Caution! Many separable verbs begin with "aus-." These have nothing to do with the preposition "aus":

Ich mache das Licht aus.

- I turn off the light.

Ich trinke das Glas aus.

- I finish the glass.

Conclusion

The preposition "aus" (from) is small but very helpful. You can use it to describe places, materials, developments, or reasons – but it always takes the dative case.

The more you work with example sentences, the more confident you'll become.

Tip: Make small flashcards with sentences like "Ich komme aus dem Haus." (I come from the house.) or "Das Fenster ist aus Glas." (The window is made of glass.) – and practice them regularly!

Have fun learning German!

Liebe Grüße

Deine Charlotte 👩‍🏫