Abstract Precipitation and evapotranspiration are major drivers of soil moisture dynamics, which in turn influence plant water availability, biogeochemical reactions, and trace gas emissions. However, it has been unclear whether evapotranspiration signals propagate through soil columns differently than precipitation signals do. Here we demonstrate the use of deconvolution and de‐mixing to quantify the hour‐by‐hour impulse response of soil moisture to precipitation and evapotranspiration forcing at four Swiss grassland and forest sites. Evapotranspiration generates transient decreases in soil moisture that broadly mirror soil moisture increases generated by precipitation. Topsoil moisture dynamics are transmitted quickly to depths of 30–60 cm, although with significant damping. Particularly at the forest sites, impulse responses to evapotranspiration persist longer in soil moisture than precipitation signals do, reflecting their origins in root water uptake, and potentially also lags in the vascular systems of trees. These results demonstrate soils’ impulse responses to precipitation and evapotranspiration forcing under field conditions.