wohin sich setzen, wo sitzen,

[ginlane]

Please can somebody tell me what precise difference is between these two sets of words.

I saw this originally post to a FB German site. See the cartoon pic!

I really wish I knew what the difference was as they seem to be saying the same thing sometimes!!

Kind regards Gin

wohin sich setzen - where to sit
wo sitzen - where to sit

wohin stellen - where to put
Wo stehen - Where stand

wohin legen - where to lay
wo liegen - where are

wohin hängen - where to hang
wo hängen - where to hang

 

[Lhost Vokus]

"Wohin", the things aren't yet at a place, you are looking for where to put them, do you ask: "Wohin" shall I put them.
"Wo", the things are at their place, but you don't know where, so you ask: "Wo" is this thing.

 

[JClaudeK]

I really wish I knew what the difference was as they seem to be saying the same thing sometimes!!

That's not very clear, indeed.

See here ↓, that might help you, at least I hope so.

Verbs of location and direction
"stellen/stehen" (to place/to stand), "legen/liegen" (to place/to be lying down), "setzen/sitzen" (to set/to sit), "hängen" (to hang/to be hung).
The Verbs stellen, stehen, legen, liegen, setzen, sitzen and hängen in German

To give a rough explanation of the topic:
"stellen, legen, setzen, hängen (regular verb)" are verbs of action, s.th. or sb. is moved or changes area (the corresponding question is: Wohin stellt/ legt/ ... / er ....?)
"stehen, liegen, sitzen, hängen (irregular verb)" express a state, a position (the corresponding question is: Wo steht/ liegt/ ... / er ....?)

See also
sich setzen/sitzen
http://www.nthuleen.com/saddleback/handouts/Two-Way_Prepositions-Picture_Examples_1.pdf

 

[anahiseri]

I don' t think translating into English is of much help.
To me, the pictures are well chosen, and they should help you understand the difference between
moving or being moved to a place
and
staying at a place

 

[anahiseri]

By the way, ginlane, your translation of the captions in the cartoon sounds very strange, because the German words do not make up sentences, you have to read them separately. If you want to translate them, it would be something like
(warning: literal translation, English grammar perhaps faulty)

sit down. - Where am I going to sit down?
sit - Where am I sitting?
put - Where shall I put it?
stand - Where does it stand?
lay - Where shall I lay them?
lie - Where are they lying?
hang - Where do you want me to hang it?
hang - Where does it hang?

 

[Hutschi]

Hi, I will give some context for the first pair:

Nehmen wir an, ich frage mich, wo ein geeigneter Sitzplatz ist:

1. Wohin sich setzen? - Where should I sit?
2. Wo sitzen? - Where should I sit?

The base meaning is the same but the point of view is different. The German sentences fit your picture in the comic, but:

When do you use it? It is used before I sit down. That is why both are English Where schould I sit?

Another meaning has: Wo sitze ich? - where do I sit?
Wo sitzen wir? Where do we sit?

I mention this because you did not give context how you want to use the phrases.
Are they separate sentences as in my first example or are they parts of sentences as in my last example?

This is essential because the meaning may be changing.


"Wo sitzen?" and "Wohin setzen?" are complete questions but both cannot be used without context.

Both are narrative and slightly elevated style. More a kind of fairy tale style.
Ich kam in einen dunklen Wald, Furcht ergriff mich und ich war müde. "Wo sitzen?", fragte ich mich, nirgends war ein Baumstumpf zu sehen.

In daily usage they are seldom.

---
How do you want to use them?
(This helps to complete the answers.)

PS: in #5 Anahiseri also stated that the original phrases are no sentences.
You cannot omit the question marks and you have to use uppercase for the first word in complete question sentenses.

 

[Perseas]

The German sentences fit your picture in the comic, but:

When do you use it? It is used before I sit down. That is why both are English Where schould I sit?

The person is already seated in the cartoon picture: Wo sitze ich?

This is different:

"Wo sitzen?", fragte ich mich, nirgends war ein Baumstumpf zu sehen.

 

[Hutschi]

Hi Perseas,
I interpreted the picture as the situation after sitting down. It describes sitzen.
Wo sitzen? means Wo soll ich mich hinsetzen? Wo werde ich sitzen?

But I think ginlane will write what he meant.
Than it is easier to answer.

In the picture, there are question marks.
In the question in #1, there are none.
This is the essential difference.

 

[anahiseri]

one last remark for today (I mean on my part):

the use of wo and wohin is something usual when teaching German kids to use declensions correctly.
The same with wem (who, indirect object) and wen (who, direct object). Children whose mother language is German know what question to ask, and they can learn the tricky grammar this way. The problem with foreigners, especially those whose mother tongue does not have a case system, is that they do not know what question to ask. ......

 

[Perseas]

Hi Hutschi,
yes, I see what you mean.

I read the picture with "wo?" & "sitzen" as follows: When I am seated, I use the verb "sitzen" and the question is: "Wo sitze ich?", eg. "Ich sitze auf dem Stuhl".

ginlane's interpretation is not correct, but other members, like anahiseri, JClaudeK and you, have already explained what the correct answer is.

wohin sich setzen - where to sit
wo sitzen - where to sit

Your example below is of course correct and useful, but with all due respect I don't think that it is what ginlane wanted to know at this point:

Ich kam in einen dunklen Wald, Furcht ergriff mich und ich war müde. "Wo sitzen?", fragte ich mich, nirgends war ein Baumstumpf zu sehen.

 

[Hutschi]

Then I do not know what he meant with wo sitzen at all.
It is a phrase without sentence markers and other connections. The same with the other examples.
I tried to repair it.
But I agree, it might be wrong. That's why I asked for context.
Before going on, I will wait for related context.
We all do not know exactly the question, we could only try to guesstimate.
May be you are right. In this case the question is answered by you and the others.