preposition
because of, due to
A2
Wegen is a preposition meaning 'because of' or 'due to'. Standard German requires the genitive (e.g., wegen des Wetters), but many speakers use the dative colloquially (wegen dem Wetter). It’s used to introduce reasons and takes a noun or pronoun governed by the appropriate case.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Der Flug wurde wegen des schlechten Wetters verschoben, sodass viele Passagiere ihren Anschluss verpassten.
The flight was postponed because of the bad weather, so many passengers missed their connections.
Das Spiel wurde wegen schlechten Wetters abgesagt.
The game was cancelled due to bad weather.
Wegen des Regens bleiben wir zu Hause.
Because of the rain we're staying at home.
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VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
picture a cause (a domino) labeled 'wegen' knocking over something else
sounds like 'way-gun' — think 'because of the way (something happened)'
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Formally governs the genitive (wegen des Wetters). In colloquial German, dative is often heard (wegen dem Wetter).