preposition
behind, at the back of
A2
Hinter: a two-way preposition meaning 'behind' or 'at the back of'. Use accusative with verbs of motion (movement toward a place) and dative for static location. Commonly follows patterns like 'Er stellt den Stuhl hinter das Auto.' (acc.) vs 'Der Stuhl steht hinter dem Auto.' (dat.).
Examples
Stell den Koffer hinter das Sofa.
Put the suitcase at the back of the sofa.
Das Auto parkte hinter dem Haus, weil die Straße gesperrt war, sodass die Besitzer einen anderen Eingang nutzten.
The car parked behind the house because the road was closed, so the owners used a different entrance.
Das Kind steht hinter dem Baum.
The child is standing behind the tree.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture someone standing behind a tall fence — the word 'hinter' is written on the fence's back side.
Sounds a bit like 'hinder' in English which relates to the back.
Notes
Hinter is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition). It takes accusative when indicating movement toward a position, and dative when indicating location.