wegen

Wegen is a German preposition meaning "on account of" or "because of." It introduces a cause or reason for an action or event and is typically used before a noun phrase.

In standard German, wegen governs the genitive case. Examples: Wegen des Wetters blieb er zu Hause. Wegen der Bauarbeiten gibt es Umleitungen. Wegen einer Verzögerung wird der Flug verschoben.

In colloquial speech, many speakers use the dative form "wegen dem" or "wegen dem Wetter." This is widespread in spoken language but is considered nonstandard or informal in written German; prescriptive guides favor "wegen des ..." and the genitive construction in formal writing.

Etymology: The preposition has historical attestations in Old High German and Middle High German and is of Germanic origin. It is used to express cause or reason and is distinct from directional prepositions.