Today's words · 🛫 At the airport
Don't get lost: 10 German words for the airport
A1A2B1B2
If you hear ‘Verspätung’ over the airport speakers, you've just earned time for another coffee.
You land in Frankfurt: every sign is in German and the announcements are fast. Where do you pick up your bags? Is your connecting flight on time? It's easy to feel lost.
Today's ten words are the ones you'll meet at any German airport. With them you can read the signs, get through security and understand when your flight is delayed. ✈️
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Flughafen
[FLOOK-hah-fen]airport(Pl. die Flughäfen)
📌 Wie komme ich zum Flughafen?
→ How do I get to the airport?
💡 Flug (flight) + Hafen (harbour) = a harbour for planes ✈️ Hafen is related to English haven.
Bonus Wie komme ich zum Flughafen? = How do I get to the airport?
⚠ The plural has an umlaut: die Flughäfen
das Flugzeug
[FLOOK-tsoyk]aeroplane, airplane(Pl. die Flugzeuge)
📌 Das Flugzeug landet um 10 Uhr.
→ The plane lands at 10 o'clock.
💡 Flug (flight) + Zeug (stuff) = flying stuff 🛩️ It ends in das Zeug, so it's das.
der Flug
[FLOOK]flight(Pl. die Flüge)
📌 Der Flug nach Seoul dauert elf Stunden.
→ The flight to Seoul takes eleven hours.
💡 From fliegen (to fly) — close to English flight 🛫
Bonus Have a good flight = Guten Flug!
der Abflug
[AP-flook]departure (by plane)(Pl. die Abflüge)
📌 Der Abflug ist um 10:30 Uhr.
→ Departure is at 10:30.
💡 ab (away) + Flug = flying away 🛫 Follow the Abflug signs to departures.
Bonus The opposite: die Ankunft = arrival
landen
[LAN-den]to land(landet – ist gelandet)
📌 Das Flugzeug ist pünktlich gelandet.
→ The plane landed on time.
💡 Coming down onto das Land 🛬 Just like English land.
⚠ The perfect uses sein: Wir sind gelandet.
das Gepäck
[ge-PECK]luggage, baggage(no pl.)
📌 Wie viel Gepäck darf ich mitnehmen?
→ How much luggage can I take?
💡 Ge- (all together) + pack = everything you packed 🧳
⚠ No plural! One bag is ein Gepäckstück.
das Handgepäck
[HANT-ge-peck]hand luggage, carry-on luggage(Sg.)
📌 Im Handgepäck sind Messer und Scheren verboten.
→ Knives and scissors are forbidden in hand luggage.
💡 Hand + Gepäck = the luggage you carry in your hand 👜
Bonus Checked luggage is das Aufgabegepäck.
die Bordkarte
[BORT-kar-tuh]boarding pass(Pl. die Bordkarten)
📌 Bitte halten Sie Ihre Bordkarte und Ihren Pass bereit.
→ Please have your boarding pass and passport ready.
💡 an Bord (on board) + Karte (card) = boarding pass 🎫 Ends in die Karte, so it's die.
Bonus to board = an Bord gehen
die Sicherheitskontrolle
[ZIKH-er-hites-kon-trol-uh]security check(Pl. die Sicherheitskontrollen)
📌 An der Sicherheitskontrolle muss man Flüssigkeiten auspacken.
→ At security you have to take out liquids.
💡 Sicherheit (security) + Kontrolle (check) 🔍 Long, but easy once you split it.
Bonus People often just say die Kontrolle.
die Verspätung
[fair-SHPAY-toong]delay(Pl. die Verspätungen)
📌 Der Zug hat zwanzig Minuten Verspätung.
→ The train is twenty minutes late.
💡 spät (late) is hiding inside 🐢 And -ung means die.
Bonus On time = pünktlich
⚠ Use it with haben: Der Flug hat eine Stunde Verspätung.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Most big German airports have their own railway station, so lots of people get there by S-Bahn or train rather than taxi. Connections differ from airport to airport, so it's worth checking before you travel.
Announcements and signs are usually in German and English. The German version often comes first, though, so knowing words like Verspätung and Abflug lets you move before everyone else.
Germans also tend to get to the airport in good time. Security queues can be long, especially in the holiday season, so leave yourself plenty of time. 🧳
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You hear an announcement: ‘Der Flug nach Seoul hat 40 Minuten ___.’ Which word fills the gap?
- ① Abflug
- ② Gepäck
- ③ Verspätung
Show the answer
③ Verspätung
Verspätung haben means to be delayed — the flight is 40 minutes late.
Picture your next trip and say ‘Wo ist die Sicherheitskontrolle?’ out loud. Say a long word three times and it sticks! 🛫
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🏨 At the hotel