Today's words · 🗺️ Cities & regions
Mapping Germany in 10 words
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When someone asks „Wo wohnst du?“, a city name alone is only half the story.
I told a German friend „Ich wohne in Berlin.“, and she lit up: „Und woher kommst du ursprünglich? Ich bin aus Bayern!“ Then she started raving about home, and I wasn't even sure whether Bayern was a city or a region.
Today's ten words help you talk about German cities and regions. With them you can describe where you live and keep up when friends talk about where they're from. 🗺️
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
das Bundesland
[BOON-des-lant]federal state (in Germany, Austria)(Pl. die Bundesländer)
📌 Deutschland hat sechzehn Bundesländer.
→ Germany has sixteen federal states.
💡 Bund (federation) + Land (land) = a piece of the federation 🧩 Germany is a 16-piece puzzle.
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Bundesländer
die Hauptstadt
[HOWPT-shtat]capital (city)(Pl. die Hauptstädte)
📌 Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland.
→ Berlin is the capital of Germany.
💡 Haupt (head) + Stadt (city) = the head city 👑
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Hauptstädte
die Landeshauptstadt
[LAN-des-howpt-shtat]state capital(Pl. die Landeshauptstädte)
📌 München ist die Landeshauptstadt von Bayern.
→ Munich is the state capital of Bavaria.
💡 Land + Hauptstadt = a state's capital 🏛️ Long words are just Lego bricks.
Bonus München ist die Landeshauptstadt von Bayern.
die Region
[reh-GYOHN]region(Pl. die Regionen)
📌 In dieser Region regnet es oft.
→ It often rains in this region.
💡 Same as English region 🌄 But the g is hard, like in ‘go’.
Bonus Adjective regional · local produce = regionale Produkte
die Großstadt
[GROHS-shtat]big city, city(Pl. die Großstädte)
📌 Ich möchte lieber in einer Großstadt leben als auf dem Land.
→ I'd rather live in a big city than in the country.
💡 groß (big) + Stadt (city) = big city 🏙️ A small town is die Kleinstadt.
Bonus to live in the countryside = auf dem Land wohnen
der Einwohner
[INE-voh-ner]inhabitant, resident(Pl. die Einwohner (f: die Einwohnerin))
📌 Die Stadt hat etwa 200.000 Einwohner.
→ The town has about 200,000 inhabitants.
💡 ein (in) + wohnen (live) + -er (person) = someone who lives in a place 🏘️
Bonus Female form: die Einwohnerin · Wie viele Einwohner hat die Stadt?
der Dialekt
[dee-ah-LEKT]dialect(Pl. die Dialekte)
📌 In Bayern sprechen viele Menschen Dialekt.
→ In Bavaria many people speak dialect.
💡 Twin of English dialect 🗣️ Some German dialects sound like a whole new language.
Bonus Dialekt sprechen = to speak dialect
norddeutsch
[NORT-doytsh]northern German📌 Hamburg ist eine typisch norddeutsche Stadt.
→ Hamburg is a typical northern German city.
💡 Nord (north) + deutsch = northern German 🌊 Sea, wind and Moin!
Bonus The noun: Norddeutschland
süddeutsch
[ZUET-doytsh]southern German📌 „Grüß Gott“ ist eine typisch süddeutsche Begrüßung.
→ "Grüß Gott" is a typical southern German greeting.
💡 Süd (south) + deutsch = southern German ⛰️ Alps, beer and Grüß Gott!
Bonus The noun: Süddeutschland
Bayern
[BY-ern]Bavaria((no pl.))
📌 Wir machen dieses Jahr Urlaub in Bayern.
→ We're spending our holiday in Bavaria this year.
💡 Named after the Bavarii, an early tribe 🥨 In English: Bavaria.
⚠ No article: in Bayern, aus Bayern
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Germany is made up of 16 Bundesländer. Three of them, Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen, are city-states. School holidays are set by each state, so summer holidays don't all start at the same time.
Fun fact: a state's biggest city isn't always its capital. The capital of North Rhine-Westphalia is Düsseldorf, not Cologne, and the capital of Hesse is Wiesbaden, not Frankfurt.
Germans are often very attached to their home region. Ask someone „Woher kommst du?“ and you may hear about the region before the city. 😊
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Which sentence is correct?
- ① München ist die Landeshauptstadt von Bayern.
- ② München ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland.
- ③ Bayern ist eine Großstadt.
Show the answer
① München ist die Landeshauptstadt von Bayern.
Munich is the capital of the state of Bavaria; Germany's capital is Berlin.
Say out loud where you live (or dream of living): „Ich wohne in …, das liegt in …“ 🗺️
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🤝 German etiquette