Today's words · 🚗 Driving & parking
Before you take the wheel: 10 German words for the road
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The scariest thing about driving in Germany isn't the Autobahn — it's the little slip of paper under your wiper.
The first time I drove a borrowed car through a German city, the traffic lights felt strange, the roads were jammed and there wasn't a parking space anywhere. When I finally got back to the car, a ticket was waiting under the wiper.
Today's ten words are for driving and parking. With them you can fill up at the petrol station, text that you're stuck in traffic and complain about a parking ticket like a local. 🚗
📋 The ten words at a glance
- das Auto — car
- der Führerschein — driving licence, driver's license
- tanken — to fill up (with fuel), to refuel
- die Tankstelle — petrol station, gas station
- das Benzin — petrol, gasoline
- parken — to park
- der Parkplatz — parking space; car park, parking lot
- der Stau — traffic jam
- die Ampel — traffic light(s)
- der Strafzettel — (parking/traffic) ticket
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
das Auto
[OW-toh]car(Pl. die Autos)
📌 Mein Auto ist leider kaputt.
→ Unfortunately, my car is broken.
💡 Short for Automobil 🚗 auto (self) + mobil (moving) = it moves by itself.
Bonus to drive = Auto fahren: Ich fahre Auto.
der Führerschein
[FÜ-rer-shine]driving licence, driver's license(Pl. die Führerscheine · Swiss: der Führerausweis)
📌 Ich mache gerade meinen Führerschein.
→ I'm taking driving lessons right now.
💡 führen (to lead) + Schein (certificate) = your paper to lead a car 🪪
Bonus to get your licence = den Führerschein machen · driving school = die Fahrschule
tanken
[TAHN-ken]to fill up (with fuel), to refuel(tankt – hat getankt)
📌 Ich muss noch schnell tanken.
→ I just need to fill up quickly.
💡 der Tank + -en = to fill the tank ⛽ Easy for English speakers.
Bonus Colloquial: frische Luft tanken = to get some fresh air
die Tankstelle
[TAHNK-shtel-uh]petrol station, gas station(Pl. die Tankstellen)
📌 Wir müssen an der nächsten Tankstelle halten.
→ We have to stop at the next petrol station.
💡 Tank + Stelle (place) = tank place ⛽ Stelle is die, so the whole word is die.
Bonus Many petrol stations have a small shop that stays open late — handy for snacks.
das Benzin
[ben-TSEEN]petrol, gasoline((no pl.))
📌 Das Benzin ist wieder teurer geworden.
→ Petrol has gone up again.
💡 Think ‘what a Benz drinks’ 🛢️ Really it comes from benzoin resin.
⚠ No plural. Diesel is der Diesel — check the pump before you fill up!
parken
[PAR-ken]to park(parkt – hat geparkt · Swiss: parkieren)
📌 Hier darf man nicht parken.
→ You're not allowed to park here.
💡 English park + -en 🅿️ A free word!
Bonus Hier darf man nicht parken. = No parking here.
der Parkplatz
[PARK-plahts]parking space; car park, parking lot(Pl. die Parkplätze)
📌 In der Innenstadt findet man kaum einen Parkplatz.
→ In the city centre you can hardly find a parking space.
💡 parken + Platz (place) = parking place 🅿️ Platz is der, so der Parkplatz.
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Parkplätze. A multi-storey car park is das Parkhaus.
der Stau
[SHTOW]traffic jam(Pl. die Staus)
📌 Ich stand eine Stunde im Stau.
→ I was stuck in a traffic jam for an hour.
💡 Sounds like brakes going ‘shtow’ as everyone stops 🚙🚙🚙
Bonus to be stuck in traffic = im Stau stehen: Ich stehe im Stau.
die Ampel
[AHM-pel]traffic light(s)(Pl. die Ampeln)
📌 Bei Rot muss man an der Ampel warten.
→ When it's red you have to wait at the traffic light.
💡 From Latin ampulla, a little lamp — and traffic lights glow like lamps 🚦
Bonus at red = bei Rot, at green = bei Grün: Bei Grün darfst du fahren.
der Strafzettel
[SHTRAHF-tset-el](parking/traffic) ticket(Pl. die Strafzettel)
📌 Ich habe schon wieder einen Strafzettel bekommen.
→ I've got another parking ticket.
💡 Strafe (penalty) + Zettel (slip) = penalty slip 😩 The worst paper on your windscreen.
Bonus Ich habe einen Strafzettel bekommen. = I got a ticket.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
The first rule to learn is ‘rechts vor links’: at a junction with no lights or signs, traffic coming from the right goes first. Residential streets are full of these junctions.
Parking works differently from town to town. Some places use ticket machines or apps; others ask you to set a parking disc (Parkscheibe) to your arrival time and leave it behind the windscreen. Always read the signs.
And when traffic stops on the motorway, drivers move to both sides to open an emergency lane (Rettungsgasse) for ambulances and police. Remember it if you drive in Germany. 🚑
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You're running late. You text a friend that the motorway is completely jammed.
- ① Ich mache gerade meinen Führerschein.
- ② Ich suche eine Tankstelle.
- ③ Ich stehe seit einer Stunde im Stau.
Show the answer
③ Ich stehe seit einer Stunde im Stau.
im Stau stehen means being stuck in traffic — the perfect excuse for being late.
Next time you're in a car, name everything you see in German: Ampel, Tankstelle, Parkplatz! Drive slowly, learn fast. 🚦
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🔧 Home repairs