German translation of 'on'
PREPOSITION
When on is the second element in a phrasal verb, eg live on, lecture on, look up the verb. When it is part of a set combination, eg on the right, on request, on occasion, look up the other word.
When on is the second element in a phrasal verb, eg live on, lecture on, look up the verb. When it is part of a set combination, eg on the right, on request, on occasion, look up the other word.
1. indicating place, position auf (+dat)
; (with vb of motion) auf (+acc)
; (on vertical surface, part of body) an (+dat)
; (with vb of motion) an (+acc)
the book is on the table das Buch ist auf dem Tisch
he put the book on the table er legte das Buch auf den Tisch
it was on the blackboard es stand an der Tafel
he hung it on the wall/nail er hängte es an die Wand/den Nagel
a house on the coast/main road ein Haus am Meer/an der Hauptstraße
on the bank of the river am Flussufer
with a smile on her face mit einem Lächeln auf den Lippen
a ring on his finger ein Ring am Finger
her name is on the list ihr Name ist auf der Liste
he hit his head on the table/on the ground er hat sich (dat) den Kopf am Tisch/auf dem or am Boden angeschlagen
they came on(to) the stage sie kamen auf die Bühne
they advanced on the fort sie rückten zum Fort vor
on TV/the radio im Fernsehen/Radio
on video auf Video
held on computer auf Computer (dat) gespeichert
who’s on his show tonight? wer ist heute in seiner Show?
I have no money on me ich habe kein Geld bei mir
2. = by means of, using
we went on the train/bus wir fuhren mit dem Zug/Bus
on a bicycle mit dem (Fahr)rad
on foot/horseback zu Fuß/Pferd
the heating runs on oil die Heizung wird mit Öl betrieben
to count sth on one’s fingers etw an den Fingern abzählen
3. = about, concerning über (+acc)
a book on German grammar ein Buch über deutsche Grammatik; we read Stalin on Marx wir lasen Stalins Ausführungen zu Marx
have you heard him on the subject? haben Sie ihn zu diesem Thema gehört?
he has nothing on me (= no damaging information etc) er hat nichts gegen mich in der Hand, er kann mir nichts anhaben
4. in expressions of time an (+dat)
on Sunday (am) Sonntag
on Sundays sonntags
on December the first am ersten Dezember
stars visible on clear nights Sterne, die in klaren Nächten sichtbar sind
on or about the twentieth um den Zwanzigsten herum
on and after the twentieth am Zwanzigsten und danach
5. = earning, getting
I’m on £18,000 a year ich bekomme £ 18.000 im Jahr
how much are you on? wie viel verdienst or bekommst du?
he retired on a good pension er trat mit einer guten Rente in den Ruhestand
6. = at the time of bei (+dat)
on my arrival bei meiner Ankunft
on examination bei der Untersuchung
on hearing this he left als er das hörte, ging er
8. indicating membership in (+dat)
she is on the committee/the board sie gehört dem Ausschuss/Vorstand an, sie sitzt im Ausschuss/Vorstand
he is on the “Evening News” er ist bei der „Evening News“
he is on the teaching staff er gehört zum Lehrpersonal
9. = doing
to be on a course (Sch, Univ) an einem Kurs teilnehmen
I am working on a new project ich arbeite gerade an einem neuen Projekt
she was away on business sie war geschäftlich unterwegs
I am on overtime ich mache Überstunden
we’re on the past tense (Sch) wir sind bei der Vergangenheit
we were on page 72 wir waren auf Seite 72
10. = at the expense of
this round is on me diese Runde geht auf meine Kosten
11. = compared with im Vergleich zu
prices are up on last year(’s) im Vergleich zum letzten Jahr sind die Preise gestiegen
he has nothing on me (= not as good as) er kann mir nicht das Wasser reichen
12. = taking
to be on drugs/the pill Drogen/die Pille nehmen
what is he on? (inf) er tickt wohl nicht ganz richtig! (inf)
13. indicating repetition
he made mistake on mistake er machte einen Fehler nach dem anderen
14. musical instrument
she played (it) on the violin/trumpet sie spielte (es) auf der Geige/Trompete
on drums/piano am Schlagzeug/Klavier
Roland Kirk on tenor sax Roland Kirk, Tenorsaxofon
ADVERB
1. = in place, covering
he screwed the lid on er schraubte den Deckel drauf
he had nothing on er hatte nichts an
what did he have on? was hatte er an?
he had his hat on crooked er hatte den Hut schief auf
he put his hat on er setzte seinen Hut auf
he put his coat on er zog seinen Mantel an
2. indicating position
put it this way on stellen/legen Sie es so herum (darauf)
sideways on längs
3. indicating forward movement
move on! gehen Sie weiter!, weitergehen!
on! on! weiter! weiter!
to pass a message on eine Nachricht weitergeben
4. indicating time
from now on von jetzt an
from that day on von diesem Tag an
later on später
it was well on in the night es war zu vorgerückter Stunde, es war spät in der Nacht
it was well on into September es war spät im September
early on in her career schon früh in ihrer Karriere
5. indicating continuation
to keep on talking immer weiterreden, in einem fort reden
they walked on in silence sie gingen schweigend weiter
go on with your work machen Sie Ihre Arbeit weiter
6. set structures
♦ on and on
they talked on and on sie redeten und redeten, sie redeten unentwegt
the noise went on and on der Lärm hörte überhaupt nicht auf
he went on and on er hörte gar nicht mehr auf
♦ to be on at sb (inf)
he’s always on at me er hackt dauernd auf mir herum, er meckert dauernd an mir herum (inf)
he’s always on at me to get my hair cut er liegt mir dauernd in den Ohren, dass ich mir die Haare schneiden lassen soll
he’s been on at me about that several times er ist mir ein paar Mal damit gekommen (inf)
♦ to be on about sth (inf)
she’s always on about her experiences in Italy sie kommt dauernd mit ihren Italienerfahrungen (inf)
what’s he on about? wovon redet er nun schon wieder?
he knows what he’s on about er weiß, wovon er redet
ADJECTIVE
1. = switched on, functioning lights, TV, radio an
; brake angezogen; electricity, gas an(gestellt)
to leave the engine on den Motor laufen lassen
the “on” switch der Einschalter
in the “on” position auf „ein“ gestellt
it wasn’t one of his on days (inf) er war nicht gerade in Form
2. = in place lid, cover drauf
his hat/tie was on crookedly sein Hut saß/sein Schlips hing schief
his hat/coat was already on er hatte den Hut schon auf/den Mantel schon an
3. = taking place
there’s a tennis match on at the moment ein Tennismatch ist gerade im Gang
there’s a tennis match on tomorrow morgen findet ein Tennismatch statt
I have nothing on tonight ich habe heute Abend nichts vor
what’s on in London? was ist los in London?
there’s never anything on in this town in dieser Stadt ist nie was los
the search is on for a new managing director jetzt wird nach einem neuen Geschäftsführer gesucht
4. = being performed, performing
to be on (in theatre, cinema) gegeben or gezeigt werden; (on TV, radio) gesendet or gezeigt werden
is that programme (Brit) or program (US) still on? läuft das Programm noch?
the play is still on (= still running) das Stück wird immer noch gegeben or gespielt
what’s on tonight? was ist or steht heute Abend auf dem Programm?
who’s on tonight? (Theat, Film) wer spielt heute Abend?, wer tritt heute Abend auf?; (TV) wer kommt heute Abend (im Fernsehen)?
you’re on now (Theat, Rad, TV) Ihr Auftritt!, Sie sind (jetzt) dran (inf)
tell me when the English team is on sagen Sie mir, wenn die englische Mannschaft dran ist or drankommt
5. indicating agreement, acceptability
to be on (bet, agreement) gelten
you’re on! abgemacht!
are you on? (inf, = are you with us) bist du mit von der Partie? (inf), machst du mit?
are you on for dinner tonight? sehen wir uns zum Abendessen?
you’re/he’s not on (Brit inf) das ist nicht drin (inf)
it’s just not on (Brit inf: = not acceptable) das ist einfach nicht drin (inf), das gibt es einfach nicht
his behaviour was really not on (Brit inf) sein Benehmen war unmöglich
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Examples of 'on' in a sentence
on
Example sentences from the Collins Corpus
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She was Australian -- she'd had that Australian habit of ending sentences on a rising note.
In amongst the heap of clothes on the floor I noticed a discarded pair of men's underpants that were not my own.
Then I went with Christian to the Italian sandwich bar on the corner.
Example sentences from Collins dictionaries
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content that does not reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company HarperCollins.
We welcome feedback: report an example sentence to the Collins team. Read more…
The strain of a violent ground campaign will exact a toll on troops.
It bases its figures on what it might, hypothetically, be earning on past investment.
on the second day
The crowd laid hands on him.
on three consecutive days
Many of the buildings in the west of the city are on fire.
There is a hotel on the corner of Main and Brisbane Streets.
this car is heavy on petrol
to slither about on ice
I balanced on the edge.
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In other languages
on
British English: on
/ɒn/ ADJECTIVE
When something that uses electricity is on, it is using electricity.
The television is on.
- American English: on /ɒn/
- Arabic: عَلَى
- Brazilian Portuguese: ligado
- Chinese: 在上
- Croatian: uključen
- Czech: zapnutý spotřebič
- Danish: tændt
- Dutch: aan
- European Spanish: encendido
- Finnish: päällä
- French: sous tension
- German: auf
- Greek: πάνω
- Italian: acceso
- Japanese: 物の上に載って
- Korean: 켜진
- Norwegian: på
- Polish: dalej
- European Portuguese: ligado
- Romanian: pornit
- Russian: выключенный
- Latin American Spanish: encendido
- Swedish: på
- Thai: เปิด (ใช้ไฟฟ้าอยู่)
- Turkish: üzerindeki
- Ukrainian: увімкнений
- Vietnamese: đang hoạt động
British English: on
/ɒn/ PREPOSITION
If someone or something is on a surface, it is resting there.
There was a large box on the table.
- American English: on /ɒn/
- Arabic: عَلَى
- Brazilian Portuguese: em cima de
- Chinese: 在...之上
- Croatian: na
- Czech: na
- Danish: på
- Dutch: op
- European Spanish: en
- Finnish: NO TRANSLATION
- French: sur
- German: auf
- Greek: επί
- Italian: su
- Japanese: ・・・の上に
- Korean: ...의 위에
- Norwegian: på
- Polish: na
- European Portuguese: em cima de
- Romanian: pe
- Russian: на
- Latin American Spanish: en
- Swedish: på
- Thai: บน
- Turkish: üzerinde
- Ukrainian: на
- Vietnamese: ở trên
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Translation of on from the Collins English to German
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die Synagoge
das Theater
das Museum
die Kirche
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das Café
die Moschee
das Hotel
das Hochhaus
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die Moschee
der Supermarkt
der Tempel
das Reisebüro
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