English - German Dictionary
To is a particle marking the infinitive form of a verb (translated as zu or the -en suffix) and a preposition indicating direction, destination, recipient, or relationship (zu, in, vor, hoch, or a dative article).
| # | Type | English | German |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | particle | to infinitive-marker | zu |
| 2 | particle | to infinitive-marker | -en |
| 3 | preposition | to in the direction of, and arriving at | zu |
| 4 | preposition | to in the direction of, and arriving at | in |
| 5 | preposition | to used to indicate ratios | zu |
| 6 | preposition | to used to indicated exponentiation | hoch |
| 7 | preposition | to time: preceding | vor |
| 8 | preposition | to target or recipient of an action | dem |
| 9 | preposition | to target or recipient of an action | der |
| 10 | preposition | to target or recipient of an action | den |
I want to go home.
Ich will nach Hause gehen.
She gave the book to her friend.
Sie gab das Buch ihrer Freundin.
The ratio is three to one.
Das Verhältnis ist drei zu eins.
As an infinitive marker, zu is often placed before the verb but combines with modal particles (zu + infinitive at sentence end). As a preposition, zu is the most common translation for direction and recipients; in is used when entering spaces (in die Stadt); dative articles (dem, der, den) appear after zu before nouns.
Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0