01
dorthin
there
Indicates movement to a specific place away from the speaker. It is the counterpart to 'hierher' (here, toward here).
example
Früher sind wir oft dorthin in den Urlaub gefahren.
In the past, we often went there on vacation.
dorthin
there
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word composition
The word 'dorthin' (there, to there) consists of 'dort' (there, a position) and 'hin' (toward, a direction). So it literally means 'in the direction of there' and always describes movement.
EXAMPLE
Siehst du das Haus auf dem Hügel? Wir gehen jetzt dorthin.
Do you see the house on the hill? We're going there now.
Question and answer
'Dorthin' (there, to there) is the perfect answer to the question 'Wohin?' (to where?). It is always used with verbs of movement, such as gehen (to go), fahren (to drive/travel), or fliegen (to fly).
EXAMPLE
Wohin fahrt ihr in den Urlaub? – Wir fahren wieder nach Italien, wir waren letztes Jahr schon dorthin unterwegs.
Where are you going on vacation? – We're going to Italy again; we were already on our way there last year.
Word order
When 'dorthin' (there, to there) stands at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the direction, the verb follows directly after it in position 2.
EXAMPLE
Dorthin möchte ich auf keinen Fall noch einmal reisen.
There is one place I definitely don't want to travel to again.
Compare with
dorthin vs da
there / since / then
'da' and 'dorthin' both refer to a place, but they answer different questions. 'da' says where something or someone is: at this place. 'dorthin' says where someone or something is moving to: to that place. Learners can easily confuse the words because both can point to a distant or already known place. The simple difference is: 'da' describes a position, while 'dorthin' describes a direction.
dorthin
Am Wochenende fahren wir dorthin, weil die Ausstellung nur noch kurz geöffnet ist.
We are going there this weekend because the exhibition is only open for a short time longer.
da
Meine Tasche liegt da neben der Tür.
My bag is there next to the door.
In real life
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