Today's words · 🚇 Public transport
Ten words to get you round German cities by bus and train
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German stations rarely have ticket barriers — which means it's up to you to know the words.
Your first day in Berlin: you walk down into the U-Bahn and there are no barriers at all. Where do you buy a ticket? Is this the right platform? And the announcements keep saying ‘umsteigen’.
Today's ten words cover buses, trams and the underground. With them you can buy a ticket, change trains and understand when your train is late. 🚇
📋 The ten words at a glance
- der Bus — bus
- die U-Bahn — underground, subway, metro
- die Straßenbahn — tram, streetcar
- die Fahrkarte — ticket (for travel)
- die Haltestelle — stop (bus, tram)
- einsteigen — to get on, board
- aussteigen — to get off, get out (of a vehicle)
- umsteigen — to change (trains, buses), to transfer
- die Verspätung — delay
- die Monatskarte — monthly pass, monthly ticket
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Bus
[BOOS]bus(Pl. die Busse)
📌 Ich fahre jeden Morgen mit dem Bus zur Arbeit.
→ I take the bus to work every morning.
💡 Short for Latin omnibus, ‘for everyone’ 🚌 Same word as English bus.
⚠ The plural has a double s: die Busse.
die U-Bahn
[OO-bahn]underground, subway, metro(Pl. die U-Bahnen)
📌 Ich fahre mit der U-Bahn zur Uni.
→ I take the underground to university.
💡 U = Untergrund (underground) + Bahn (railway) 🚇 Look for the white U on a blue sign.
Bonus The S-Bahn is the suburban train linking the city and its outskirts.
die Straßenbahn
[SHTRAH-sen-bahn]tram, streetcar(Pl. die Straßenbahnen · Swiss: das Tram)
📌 Die Straßenbahn kommt alle zehn Minuten.
→ The tram comes every ten minutes.
💡 Straße (street) + Bahn (railway) = a railway on the street 🚋 That's a tram.
Bonus In the south and in Switzerland you'll also hear die Tram.
die Fahrkarte
[FAR-kar-tuh]ticket (for travel)(Pl. die Fahrkarten · Swiss: das Billett)
📌 Wo kann ich eine Fahrkarte kaufen?
→ Where can I buy a ticket?
💡 fahren (to travel) + Karte (card) = your travel card 🎫
Bonus A single ticket is der Einzelfahrschein; a day ticket is die Tageskarte.
die Haltestelle
[HAL-tuh-shtel-uh]stop (bus, tram)(Pl. die Haltestellen)
📌 Die nächste Haltestelle ist Alexanderplatz.
→ The next stop is Alexanderplatz.
💡 halten (to stop — think halt!) + Stelle (place) = the place where it stops 🚏
Bonus A railway station is der Bahnhof; the last stop is die Endhaltestelle.
einsteigen
[INE-shtye-gen]to get on, board(steigt ein – ist eingestiegen)
📌 Bitte schnell einsteigen!
→ Please get on quickly!
💡 ein- (in) + steigen (to climb) = climb in ⬆️ Picture stepping up into the bus.
⚠ Separable, and the perfect uses sein: Ich bin eingestiegen.
aussteigen
[OWS-shtye-gen]to get off, get out (of a vehicle)(steigt aus – ist ausgestiegen)
📌 Wir müssen an der nächsten Haltestelle aussteigen.
→ We need to get off at the next stop.
💡 aus- (out) + steigen = climb out 🚪 Learn ein and aus as a pair.
⚠ Perfect with sein: Ich bin ausgestiegen.
umsteigen
[OOM-shtye-gen]to change (trains, buses), to transfer(steigt um – ist umgestiegen)
📌 In Frankfurt müssen Sie umsteigen.
→ You have to change in Frankfurt.
💡 um- (change) + steigen = change over 🔄 A favourite word of station announcements.
Bonus Sie müssen in Frankfurt umsteigen. = You need to change in Frankfurt.
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 ⏰ It ends in -ung, so it's die.
Bonus Use it with haben: Der Zug hat 10 Minuten Verspätung.
die Monatskarte
[MOH-nats-kar-tuh]monthly pass, monthly ticket(Pl. die Monatskarten)
📌 Mit der Monatskarte fahre ich günstiger.
→ With a monthly pass I travel more cheaply.
💡 Monat (month) + s + Karte = a ticket for a month 📅 Worth it if you ride every day.
Bonus A yearly pass is die Jahreskarte, a weekly one die Wochenkarte.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Most German public transport has no ticket barriers. Instead, plain-clothes inspectors check tickets at random. Riding without one is called Schwarzfahren, and getting caught means a hefty fine.
In some cities a paper ticket only becomes valid once you stamp it in a machine (entwerten). If there's no date and time on it, it can count as no ticket at all — so check before you board.
Many people now buy tickets in an app, and lots of commuters use the Deutschlandticket, a subscription for local and regional transport across the country. 🎫
✅ Quick quiz
Q. There's an announcement that your train is running late. Which sentence did you hear?
- ① Bitte schnell einsteigen!
- ② Der Zug hat 15 Minuten Verspätung.
- ③ Ich kaufe eine Monatskarte.
Show the answer
② Der Zug hat 15 Minuten Verspätung.
Verspätung means delay, so the train is 15 minutes late.
Next time you ride a bus or train, whisper einsteigen, aussteigen and umsteigen to yourself at the right moments. Gute Fahrt! 🚏
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🏥 At the doctor's