Quick Answer
Use "Wo?" when you want to ask "Where at". Use "Wohin?" when you want to ask "where to". And lastly, use "Woher?" when you want to ask "Where from?".
The difference between "Wo", "Wohin" & "Woher" in German is very straightforward. While we would mostly just use "where" in English, the German language distinguishes 3 kinds of "where" (in English, this used to be the case, too: Where, whence & whither).
| Deutsch | Englisch | |
|---|---|---|
| Wo? | Where (at) | Where |
| Wohin? | Where (to)? | Whither |
| Woher? | Where (from)? | Whence |
"Wo" indicates where someone (or something) is. "Wohin" asks where someone (or something) is going to. "Woher" asks where someone (or something) is coming from.
Let's have a look at some examples.
Wo asks: "Where are you right now?" / "Where are you at?".
You would use "Wo" to ask where someone is (or was) at a specific point in time:
With "Wohin", direction is introduced. Namely, moving away from the speaker.
The opposite to "Wohin" is "Woher": Now we're not asking "where to?", but "where from?":
You can also use "Woher" to ask "How do you know this?"
Translated literally (in bad English 😅): "Where from do you know this?"