hinter (behind - two-way preposition)

hinter means behind - something is located, or moves to a spot, on the far side of another thing. It is one of the nine Wechselpräpositionen (two-way prepositions), so it can take the dative OR the accusative, and the case you choose changes the meaning.

The rule:

• Wo? (fixed position, no movement) -> hinter + Dativ
• Wohin? (movement toward a place) -> hinter + Akkusativ

When something simply is behind a place - it lies, stands, sits, hangs or hides there - you ask Wo? and use the dative. The verbs sein, liegen, stehen, sitzen, sich verstecken are typical signals. When something moves to a place behind another thing, you ask Wohin? and use the accusative. Movement verbs such as gehen, rollen, laufen, fahren, stellen, legen, setzen are the signal.

The forms (declension of the article after hinter):

• Dative: hinter dem (masculine/neuter), hinter der (feminine), hinter den ...-n (plural, note the extra -n on the noun: hinter den Bäumen).
• Accusative: hinter den (masculine), hinter die (feminine), hinter das (neuter), hinter die (plural).

There is no contraction of hinter dem / hinter das that is also used in writing (nothing like im or ans); colloquially you will hear hinterm Haus and hinters Haus.

Paired examples (same preposition, different case):

• Der Ball liegt hinter dem Sofa. - The ball is behind the sofa. (Wo? -> Dativ)
• Der Ball rollt hinter das Sofa. - The ball rolls behind the sofa. (Wohin? -> Akkusativ)
• Die Katze sitzt hinter dem Schrank. - The cat is sitting behind the cupboard. (Wo? -> Dativ)
• Die Katze läuft hinter den Schrank. - The cat runs behind the cupboard. (Wohin? -> Akkusativ)

Common mistakes:

• Using the accusative for a fixed position: Das Fahrrad steht hinter das Haus is wrong - it must be hinter dem Haus.
• Using the dative when something moves: Der Ball rollt hinter dem Sofa is wrong - say hinter das Sofa.
• Forgetting the plural dative -n on the noun: hinter den Bergen, not hinter den Berge.

hinter means "behind". As a two-way preposition it takes the dative for a fixed position (Wo?) and the accusative for movement toward a place (Wohin?).

'hinter' is a two-way preposition. No movement (something simply is behind a place, question Wo?) takes the dative: hinter dem/der/den. Movement to a place behind something (question Wohin?) takes the accusative: hinter den/die/das. The verb often signals it: liegen, stehen, sein, sich verstecken point to Dativ; rollen, gehen, stellen, legen point to Akkusativ.

hinter bedeutet "behind" (dahinter). Als Wechselpräposition steht es mit dem Dativ bei einer festen Position (Wo?) und mit dem Akkusativ bei einer Bewegung (Wohin?).