The preposition aus
die Präposition aus
aus is a preposition that always takes the Dativ: aus der Türkei, aus dem Haus, aus Holz.
One of the first sentences you meet in German is Ich komme aus der Türkei. The catch: almost everyone says aus Türkei. aus has four jobs, and in all four it is followed by the Dativ.
One rule: aus always takes the Dativ
Shortcutaus means from the inside to the outside. You were inside an enclosed place and you came out: aus dem Haus.
It is English “out of” — and also, in many cases, “from” (I’m from Ankara). But it is not the only German word for “from”: von also means “from”, and that is where the real mix-up happens. First let’s pin down aus’s own jobs.
aus does not merge with the article: aus dem is always two words. In speech you may hear “ausm”, but it has no place in writing.
The four jobs of aus
| Job | In English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Coming out of something | out of | Er kommt aus dem Zimmer. He’s coming out of the room. |
| 2 · Origin | from | Ich komme aus Ankara. I’m from Ankara. |
| 3 · Material | made of | Der Tisch ist aus Holz. The table is made of wood. |
| 4 · Reason | out of · from | Er schwieg aus Angst. He kept quiet out of fear. |
In 3 and 4 the article drops: aus Holz · aus Gold · aus Angst · aus Liebe. You are not talking about one particular piece of wood, you mean “wood” in general.
- Ich komme aus der Türkei. I’m from Turkey. origin · country with an article
- Sie kommt aus Deutschland. She’s from Germany. origin · country without an article
- Nimm das Brot aus dem Ofen. Take the bread out of the oven. coming out of something
- Der Ring ist aus Gold. The ring is made of gold. material · no article
- Ich habe es aus Versehen gemacht. I did it by mistake. fixed phrase
- Er lernt Deutsch aus Liebe. He’s learning German out of love. reason
Naming countries: the ones with an article
Most countries are article-less in German: Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Spanien. With them aus attaches straight to the name. But a small group of countries carries an article — and Turkey is in that group. English does something similar with “the Netherlands” or “the USA”, but the German list is different, so learn it.
| Country | Article | “I’m from …” |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | die Türkei | aus der Türkei |
| Switzerland | die Schweiz | aus der Schweiz |
| Iran | der Iran | aus dem Iran |
| Iraq | der Irak | aus dem Irak |
| USA | die USA (plural) | aus den USA |
| Germany | — none — | aus Deutschland |
Countries with an article also behave differently when you talk about direction: nach Deutschland but in die Türkei. The whole distinction is on the preposition nach page.
Ich komme aus Türkei.
die Türkei has an article
Ich komme aus der Türkei.
I’m from Turkey.
aus or von — the whole system
ShortcutIf you were inside, it’s aus; if you were beside, it’s von. Coming out of an enclosed space: aus; coming from a person, an institution or a point: von.
English says “from” for both — “I’m coming from the cinema”, “I’m coming from the doctor” — so the difference becomes invisible. But in German this is not a pair, it is a system of three: going · being · coming. The table below is one of the most useful tables in German — memorise three rows and you solve six prepositions at once.
| With what | GOING → | BEING · | COMING ← |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person / institution doctor, mother, barber | zum Arzt | beim Arzt | vom Arzt |
| Enclosed place cinema, kitchen, school | ins Kino | im Kino | aus dem Kino |
| City / country Berlin, Germany | nach Berlin | in Berlin | aus Berlin |
Pick the row, pick the column, and the preposition falls out. Most of the moments when students get stuck on “which preposition?” are inside these three rows.
Ich komme aus dem Büro.
I’m coming out of the office (the room).
Ich komme vom Arzt.
I’m coming from the doctor’s.
Traps
aus Türkei
This is the mistake heard most often in class. Because English says “from Turkey” without any article, people assume German does not need one either — but die Türkei is one of the countries with an article.
Ich bin aus Türkei.
the article dropped
Ich bin aus der Türkei.
I’m from Turkey.
aus dem Holz
In everyday German you say material with aus and no article. von Holz is not wrong, but it is old-fashioned and literary — today it survives only in set phrases like ein Herz von Stein.
Die Tür ist aus dem Holz.
no article with material
Die Tür ist aus Holz.
The door is made of wood.
aus die Schweiz
Remembering the article is not enough — because aus takes the Dativ, the article must also turn into the Dativ: die → der.
Er kommt aus die Schweiz.
aus → Dativ → der
Er kommt aus der Schweiz.
He’s from Switzerland.
What you just learned
Der Tisch ist ___ Holz.
Show the answer
aus. To say what something is made of, you use aus and the article drops.
The sentence «Ich komme aus Türkei.» is correct.
Show the answer
False. Turkey is a country with an article (die Türkei), and because aus always takes the Dativ, the article must be der: aus der Türkei.
I’m coming from the doctor’s.
Show the answer
Ich komme vom Arzt. — vom Arzt. For people and institutions the three-part system is zu → bei → von. aus dem Arzt would mean “out of the doctor”.
The other Dativ prepositions
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- Home country with aus
Ich komme aus der Türkei · aus Izmir. With countries that have an article, the article goes into the Dativ: aus der Schweiz.
Ich komme aus der Türkei.
- Anything coming out of something is aus
Bread from the oven, money from a bag, people from the cinema — from the inside of something enclosed to the outside: aus + Dativ.
Nimm das Brot aus dem Ofen.
- Material: aus, no article
aus Holz · aus Leder · aus Glas — when you say what something is made of, the article drops.
Der Tisch ist aus Holz.
- Coming back from a person takes von
vom Arzt · von Anna · von der Arbeit — when you come back from a person or an activity, aus is not used.
Ich komme vom Arzt.
Ich komme aus dem Arzt.
Ich komme vom Arzt.
A doctor is a person, not a place; coming back is expressed with von.
Der Tisch ist aus dem Holz.
Der Tisch ist aus Holz.
There is no article with material.
Er kommt aus Schweiz.
Er kommt aus der Schweiz.
With countries that have an article, the article stays and goes into the Dativ.
Ich komme von der Türkei.
Ich komme aus der Türkei.
Home country and origin are expressed with aus; von is wrong here.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
I’m from Turkey.
kommen aus = to come from, to be from
The table is made of wood.
I’m coming from the doctor’s.
Take the bread out of the oven.
I did it by mistake.
Er kommt aus Schweiz.
He’s from Switzerland.
Practice done — –
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aus pocket card
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Related topics
Prepositions and cases
für dich, mit dir
German prepositions are small words that come before a noun, link it to the sentence and decide its case: für dich, mit dir.
Akkusativ & Dativ
the full article table
Accusative vs dative: what actually changes, and what never moves at all.
Nouns
das Haus · die Haustür
German nouns (Substantive) are the words that name things; they are always capitalised and carry a gender: das Haus, die Haustür.