German Streets & Roads Vocabulary
This set covers the words you need to describe getting around on foot or by car: die Straße for a general street, die Kreuzung for an intersection, and die Sackgasse for a dead end. One thing that trips up English speakers right away is that "sidewalk" has three competing German words: der Bürgersteig, der Gehweg, and das Trottoir, and which one you hear depends on the region rather than the meaning changing.
Learn these 20 words
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All 20 words
plural: die Parkplätze
parking lot
Wo finde ich einen freien Parkplatz? — Where can I find a free parking spot?
plural: die Straßen
street, road
In welcher Straße wohnen Sie? — What street do you live on?
plural: die Fußgängerzonen
pedestrian zone
In der Fußgängerzone dürfen keine Autos fahren. — No cars are allowed in the pedestrian zone.
plural: die Gassen
alley, lane
Die kleine Gasse führt zum Marktplatz. — The small alley leads to the market square.
plural: die Gehwege
footpath, sidewalk
Fahrräder dürfen nicht auf dem Gehweg fahren. — Bicycles are not allowed on the footpath.
plural: die Hauptstraßen
main street
Das Geschäft liegt an der Hauptstraße. — The shop is located on the main street.
plural: die Kreuzungen
intersection
Fahren Sie an der nächsten Kreuzung rechts. — Turn right at the next intersection.
plural: die Zebrastreifen
pedestrian crossing
Überquere die Straße immer am Zebrastreifen. — Always cross the street at the pedestrian crossing.
plural: die Bordsteine
curb, kerb
Pass auf, der Bordstein ist hoch. — Be careful, the curb is high.
plural: die Ecke
corner
Das Regal stellen wir hier ins Eck. — We put the shelf here in the corner.
plural: die Ecken
corner
Das Regal stellen wir hier in die Ecke. — We put the shelf here in the corner.
plural: die Einfahrten
entrance, driveway
Da parkt wieder jemand vor unserer Einfahrt. — Someone is parking in front of our driveway again.
plural: die Fahrbahnen
roadway, lane
Fahren Sie bitte vorsichtig. Es sind Kühe auf der Fahrbahn. — Please drive carefully. There are cows on the roadway.
plural: die Kreisverkehre
roundabout
Am Kreisverkehr musst du rechts abbiegen. — At the roundabout you have to turn right.
plural: die Landstraßen
country road
Die Landstraße führt durch mehrere kleine Dörfer. — The country road passes through several small villages.
plural: die Sackgassen
dead end, cul-de-sac
Diese Straße endet in einer Sackgasse. — This street ends in a dead end.
plural: die Trottoirs
sidewalk
Das Velofahren auf dem Trottoir ist nicht erlaubt. — Cycling on the sidewalk is not allowed.
plural: die Bürgersteige
pavement / footpath / sidewalk
Wir gehen auf dem Bürgersteig zur Schule. — We walk on the pavement to school.
plural: die Ecken
corner
Die Ecke der Straße ist sehr belebt. — The corner of the street is very busy.
plural: die Straßen
street
Die Straße ist sehr breit und lang. — The street is very wide and long.
How to learn this set
Notice that most of the words for paved surfaces are compounds built on -weg, -bahn, or -straße: der Gehweg (walk-way), die Fahrbahn (drive-lane), die Hauptstraße and die Landstraße both riding on -straße. Once you know that die Straße is feminine, you can guess that die Hauptstraße and die Landstraße are too, since the compound always takes the gender of its last part. The corner word is worth a separate note: die Ecke is the standard form, while das Eck shows up mainly in Austrian and southern German usage, so learn die Ecke first and treat das Eck as a regional variant rather than a second word to memorize from scratch. Drill der Bürgersteig, der Gehweg, and das Trottoir together as one cluster of synonyms rather than as three unrelated vocabulary items.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Bürgersteig, Gehweg, and Trottoir?
All three mean sidewalk/pavement. Bürgersteig is the most common word across Germany, Gehweg is the neutral, official term you'll see on signs, and Trottoir is an older, French-derived word used especially in Switzerland and parts of southern Germany.
Is Straße masculine or feminine?
Die Straße is feminine, and this carries over into every compound built on it, so die Hauptstraße and die Landstraße are feminine too.
What's the difference between Gasse and Sackgasse?
Die Gasse is just a narrow street or alley that still goes somewhere, while die Sackgasse (literally 'sack-street') is specifically a dead end with no way through.
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