Today's words · 🏕️ Camping
Tent, torch, mosquitoes: 10 German words for camping
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The real magic of a German summer happens in a tent, not a hotel.
Your friends invite you to camp by a lake for the weekend, and you get stuck at the packing chat: „Hast du einen Schlafsack? Wer bringt die Taschenlampe mit?“ You know the things, just not their names.
Today's ten words are the ones you'll use at any campsite. With them you can book a pitch, write your packing list and complain about mosquito bites, all in German. 🏕️
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Campingplatz
[KEM-ping-plats]campsite, campground(Pl. die Campingplätze)
📌 Wir haben unser Zelt auf einem Campingplatz am See aufgebaut.
→ We pitched our tent at a campsite by the lake.
💡 English camping + Platz (place) = a place to camp ⛺ Half English, half German.
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Campingplätze
das Zelt
[TSELT]tent(Pl. die Zelte)
📌 Wir schlafen im Zelt.
→ We're sleeping in the tent.
💡 Sounds like a tent zip closing: tselt! ⛺ It originally meant ‘cover’.
Bonus to pitch a tent = das Zelt aufbauen
campen
[KEM-pen]to camp, to go camping(campt – hat gecampt)
📌 Im Sommer campen wir gern am See.
→ In summer we like to camp by the lake.
💡 English camp + -en 🏕️ Germans say it ‘kem’, not ‘kamp’.
Bonus Perfect tense: Wir haben am See gecampt.
zelten
[TSEL-ten]to camp, to go camping(zeltet – hat gezeltet)
📌 Im Sommer zelten wir am See.
→ In summer we go camping by the lake.
💡 Zelt (tent) → zelten (sleep in a tent) 🌙 Add -en and the noun becomes a verb.
Bonus It stresses sleeping in a tent more than campen does.
der Schlafsack
[SHLAHF-zak]sleeping bag(Pl. die Schlafsäcke)
📌 Für die Nacht im Zelt brauchen wir warme Schlafsäcke.
→ We need warm sleeping bags for the night in the tent.
💡 schlafen (sleep) + Sack (sack) = a sleeping sack 😴 Exactly what it says.
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Schlafsäcke
das Wohnmobil
[VOHN-mo-beel]motorhome, camper van(Pl. die Wohnmobile)
📌 Im Sommer fahren wir mit dem Wohnmobil nach Italien.
→ In summer we take the motorhome to Italy.
💡 wohnen (live) + mobil (mobile) = a home that moves 🚐
Bonus A caravan you tow is der Wohnwagen.
das Feuer
[FOY-er]fire(Pl. die Feuer)
📌 Haben Sie Feuer?
→ Have you got a light?
💡 Same root as fire 🔥 A campfire is das Lagerfeuer.
⚠ Haben Sie Feuer? means ‘Have you got a light?’, not that something's burning!
die Taschenlampe
[TA-shen-lam-puh]torch, flashlight(Pl. die Taschenlampen)
📌 Nimm eine Taschenlampe mit, im Keller ist es dunkel.
→ Take a torch, it's dark in the cellar.
💡 Tasche (pocket) + Lampe (lamp) = a pocket lamp 🔦 Torch or flashlight, take your pick.
die Mücke
[MUE-kuh]mosquito, gnat(Pl. die Mücken)
📌 Gestern Nacht hat mich eine Mücke gestochen.
→ A mosquito bit me last night.
💡 A cousin of English midge 🦟 The uninvited guest at every lake.
Bonus aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen = to make a mountain out of a molehill
im Freien
[im FRY-en]outdoors, in the open air📌 Im Sommer essen wir oft im Freien.
→ In summer we often eat outdoors.
💡 frei (open) turned into a noun = in the open 🌳 Anywhere under the sky.
Bonus Similar: draußen = outside
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Germans love camping. In the summer holidays many families head south in a Wohnmobil, and popular lakeside campsites can be booked up early.
Pitching your tent just anywhere (Wildcampen) is generally not allowed in most of Germany, and the rules vary by state. Stick to campsites or official trekking pitches (Trekkingplatz) to be safe.
Many campsites also have set quiet hours at night (Nachtruhe). Guitar sing-alongs are best before dark! 🌙
✅ Quick quiz
Q. It's pitch dark in the tent and you can't find your sleeping bag. What do you ask your friend?
- ① Hast du Feuer?
- ② Hast du eine Taschenlampe?
- ③ Ich habe ein Wohnmobil.
Show the answer
② Hast du eine Taschenlampe?
Taschenlampe is a torch; Hast du Feuer? asks for a lighter.
Write your next packing list in German: Zelt, Schlafsack, Taschenlampe… and don't forget the mosquito spray! 🦟
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🏖️ Beach & lakes