Core Grammar / Function Words
Not a third prepositions page. The other two answer which case a preposition takes; this one answers which of several near-synonyms you actually want. Each entry still shows its case.
Takes the INSTRUMENTAL. Two reference points, and you are in the gap.
Takes the genitive. Many reference points, and you are inside the group.
Takes the genitive. A full circle around something.
Takes the genitive. Also “approximately” with a number.
Takes the genitive. Directly across from something.
Takes the instrumental. Immediately alongside.
Takes the accusative. Crossing from one side to the other, or a time interval ahead.
Takes the accusative. Penetrating something dense, with effort or difficulty.
Takes the genitive. Movement PARALLEL to something long.
Takes the genitive. Passing something without stopping.
Takes the dative. Movement towards a person or place, arriving at it.
Takes the dative. Movement towards something that is ALSO moving towards you.
Takes the genitive. Can mean either “excluding” or “in addition to”.
Takes the genitive. A limit in time or space that is not crossed.
Takes the genitive. The direct counterpart of до.
These comparisons are the reason this page exists. A function word is rarely hard to translate; it is hard to choose.
Both are “through” and both take the accusative, but they describe different physics. че́рез is crossing an obstacle from one side to the other, usually over or across it: че́рез мост, че́рез доро́гу. сквозь is penetrating a dense mass, and it carries effort: сквозь толпу́, сквозь тума́н, сквозь зу́бы. Saying сквозь мост would mean going through the structure of the bridge itself.
ме́жду needs exactly two reference points, and takes the instrumental: ме́жду шко́лой и па́рком. среди́ needs many, and takes the genitive: среди́ госте́й, среди́ дере́вьев. The count is what decides it, not the closeness. Two people can have a secret ме́жду ни́ми; a person standing in a crowd is среди́ люде́й.
All three describe motion near something, and the difference is the path. вдоль runs parallel to it and stays beside it the whole way: вдоль реки́. ми́мо passes it and leaves it behind: ми́мо до́ма. вокру́г encircles it and comes back: вокру́г о́зера. All three take the genitive, so the case gives you no help here; only the meaning does.
Both take the dative and both mean movement towards. к is the ordinary one: your destination is a place or a person, and it is not coming to you. навстре́чу means the other party is moving towards you as well, so the two meet in the middle: он вы́шел мне навстре́чу. It is also used figuratively for facing something head on, as in навстре́чу ве́тру.