Esperanto prepositions: all 33 with examples

Esperanto has 33 official prepositions, and all of them were already in the Fundamento de Esperanto (1905). They never change form, they always stand before their noun, and the noun after them stays in the nominative (rule 8 of the 16 rules).

There is one exception: after a preposition of place, the ending -n shows movement towards a place. When no preposition fits the meaning, Esperanto uses je, the only preposition without a meaning of its own.

#Prepositions of place and movement at a glance

Twelve words say where one thing is in relation to another, and five describe movement: al "to", de "from", el "out of", tra "through" and ĝis "as far as". Malantaŭ "behind" is not one of the 33 but is built from mal- + antaŭ. Every example sentence below is taken from PMEG.

en inLi kuŝis en la lito. He was lying in bed.

eninLi kuŝis en la lito. He was lying in bed.suronLa libro estas sur la tablo. The book is on the table.subunderLa lampo pendas sub la plafono. The lamp hangs below the ceiling.superaboveSuper la komodo pendis granda pentraĵo. A large painting hung above the chest of drawers.apudnext toLi staris tutan horon apud la fenestro. He stood by the window for a whole hour.ĉeatĈe la angulo de la strato ŝi haltis. She stopped at the corner of the street.antaŭin front ofAntaŭ la domo staras arbo. In front of the house stands a tree.malantaŭbehindTuj malantaŭ si ŝi aŭdis viran voĉon. Right behind her she heard a man's voice.interbetweenSur la kameno inter du potoj staras fera kaldrono. On the hearth, between two pots, stands an iron cauldron.ĉirkaŭaroundLa tero rondiras ĉirkaŭ la suno. The earth goes round the sun.transacrossŜi saltis trans barilon. She jumped over a fence.eksteroutsideLi loĝas ekster la urbo. He lives outside the town.altoVi devas nur iri al la fonto ĉerpi akvon. You only have to go to the spring to draw water.defromMi venas de la avo. I am coming from Grandfather's.elout ofLi eliris el la dormoĉambro. He came out of the bedroom.trathroughMallarĝa vojeto kondukas tra tiu ĉi kampo al nia domo. A narrow path leads through this field to our house.ĝisas far asLi kliniĝis ĝis la tero. He bowed down to the ground.

#All 33 prepositions

Words such as malantaŭ "behind" (mal- + antaŭ) and ekde "starting from" are built from these 33 and are not counted separately. PMEG also lists a few unofficial prepositions, such as far "by (an author)". Most writers use fare de instead.

#Pairs that English speakers mix up

English "with", "of" and "for" each split into several Esperanto prepositions.

#Je: the preposition with no meaning

Rule 14 of the Fundamento says every preposition has a fixed meaning. When none of them fits, you use je. Its most common uses (PMEG) are:

• Clock time and festivals: je la oka – "at eight"; je Pasko – "at Easter".
• Difference in measure: je unu jaro pli juna – "one year younger".
• Body parts and conditions: kapti je la brako – "grab by the arm"; malsana je la brusto – "ill in the chest".
• Feelings and belief: kredi je Dio – "believe in God".

PMEG advises avoiding je when a more precise preposition exists. For clock times, see numbers and time.

#Direction: preposition + -n

Prepositions of place (en, sur, sub, antaŭ, apud, inter, trans and others) say where something is. Add -n to the noun and they say where to (rule 13). This is one of the uses of the accusative.

Only prepositions that can also mean a place take this -n. Al, el, de and ĝis never mean a place, so they are never followed by -n: al la urbo, el la lernejo. Direction -n always means movement towards, never away from (PMEG).

#The accusative instead of a preposition

Rule 14 also allows the bare -n instead of je: Mi ridas je lia naiveco = Mi ridas lian naivecon – "I laugh at his naivety". Today this is rare with verbs like ridi. It is common for time and measure:

• Mi venos lundon. – "I will come on Monday."
• Ni restis tri tagojn. – "We stayed three days."
• Ĝi kostas dek eŭrojn. – "It costs ten euros."

#Prepositions as prefixes and roots

Most prepositions also work as prefixes on verbs. The meaning stays close to the preposition:

They also take normal endings: apuda "neighbouring", kontraŭa "opposite", antaŭe "previously", poste "afterwards", kune "together", ĉirkaŭi "to surround". A whole phrase can become one word: sen hejmo → senhejma "homeless", inter nacioj → internacia "international". See word building and prefixes.

#Examples in sentences

• La kato dormas sub la tablo. – "The cat is sleeping under the table."
• La kato kuris sub la tablon. – "The cat ran under the table."
• Mi atendos vin antaŭ la kinejo. – "I'll wait for you in front of the cinema."
• Post la leciono ni iris al kafejo. – "After the lesson we went to a café."
• Ŝi venas el Brazilo. – "She comes from Brazil."
• Mi ricevis leteron de mia avino. – "I got a letter from my grandmother."
• Ni promenis tra la arbaro. – "We walked through the forest."
• Mi laboras ĉe granda firmao. – "I work at a big company."
• Li parolis pri sia vojaĝo dum la tuta vespero. – "He talked about his trip the whole evening."

#Common questions

#How many prepositions does Esperanto have?

Esperanto has 33 official prepositions, all from the Fundamento of 1905. Derived forms like malantaŭ and unofficial words like far are not counted.

#What case comes after a preposition in Esperanto?

The nominative: kun mia amiko. The only exception is direction after a preposition of place, where the noun takes -n: en la domon "into the house".

#What is the difference between kun and per?

Kun means "together with" a person or thing; per means "by means of" a tool or method. Mi skribas kun amiko per krajono – "I write with a friend, using a pencil."

#When should I use je?

Use je only when no other preposition fits. Its most frequent use is with clock time: je la tria – "at three o'clock".

#What is the difference between de and da?

Da links a quantity to what is measured: glaso da vino "a glass of wine". De shows owner, origin or agent: la glaso de Petro "Peter's glass".

#Sources

• Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English (rules 8, 13, 14)
• PMEG – Rolvortetoj (prepositions)
• PMEG – Lokaj rolvortetoj (prepositions of place, with example sentences)
• PMEG – Direktaj rolvortetoj (al, el, ĝis)
• PMEG – Je
• PMEG – N for direction
• PMEG – Afiksecaj elementoj (prepositions in compounds)
• PMEG – Neoficialaj vortetoj
• Wikipedia – Esperanto grammar