Different meanings of "zu"

Question

I have seen sentences in which zu was used for "closed" and others in which geschlossen was used.

examples:

geschlossen:

die Tür ist geschlossen

zu:

die Tür ist zu or ihre Augen waren zu

Also zu sometimes means too or to as well. When should I use zu as too or to and where should i use zu as closed?

I consulted some dictionaries such as this one but I didn't understand where to use which one.

Mantafahrer hält an der Ampel und fragt einen Passanten"Wo geht's'n hier bei Aldi?" - "Zu Aldi" - "Watt, schon halb sieben?" — tofro, Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 16:12
Welcome to german.SE :) Questions that can be answered with a dictionary are actually not allowed. Maybe you can explain why a dictionary could not help you. — choXer, Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 16:12
Words have different meanings depending on context and usually a single word can be translated many ways according to what is meant by the word in the specific situation. The process is 1) Read the German 2) Figure out the meaning based on context 3) Translate the meaning into English. There is no way to skip 2 and get anything that makes sense. — RDBury, Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 20:41

choXer · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-23 16:10:10Z

1

I am not sure why a dictionary could not help you. Maybe you can elaborate on that.. (Vote for "close"?)

"Zu" is colloquial for "closed". Both can be used.

"Zu" can be used as adverb, conjunction or preposition.

das Kind läuft zu seiner Mutter

the child runs to its mother

das ist zu viel

this is too much

answered Nov 23, 2020 at 16:10

choXer

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Both can be used, but geschlossen is not colloquial.
– choXer
Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 16:40

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