Pronominal adverbs: da(r)- and wo(r)-

In brief

German often replaces a preposition plus ‘it’ or ‘that’ with a single word when referring to a thing, idea, or situation: damit means ‘with it’, and darauf means ‘on it’ or ‘for it’, depending on the context. To ask about a thing, use wo(r)- instead: womit means ‘with what?’ These forms also help you refer to a whole action or clause.

Form

da- + preposition: damit, dafür; wo- + preposition: womit, wofür. Before a vowel, add -r-: darauf, darüber; worauf, worüber.

Usage

• Use da(r)- to refer back to an object, idea, or situation without repeating it.
• Use wo(r)- to ask about things or ideas; for people, use the preposition with a personal pronoun or wer, such as mit wem?
• Use darauf or another da(r)- form before a following dass-clause or zu-infinitive when the expression calls for that preposition.

Examples

• Hier ist der Schlüssel. Damit kannst du die Tür öffnen. — Here is the key. You can open the door with it.
• Worauf wartest du? – Ich warte darauf, dass der Film beginnt. — What are you waiting for? – I’m waiting for the film to start.
• Worüber habt ihr gesprochen? – Über unseren Urlaub. Wir haben lange darüber gesprochen. — What did you talk about? – Our vacation. We talked about it for a long time.

Common mistake

❌ Das Paket kommt morgen. Ich warte auf es.

✅ Das Paket kommt morgen. Ich warte darauf.

English can say ‘wait for it’, but when ‘it’ refers to a thing, standard German uses darauf rather than auf es.

Remember

For things: da(r)- in answers, wo(r)- in questions. For people, keep the preposition separate: mit ihm, mit wem?