Types of houses
When describing the type of house you live in, you may be asked the following question:
In was für einem Haus wohnst du? – What sort of a house do you live in?
Remember that when you say 'I live in a house' or 'I live in a flat', the German word in must be followed by the dative case eg,
- Ich wohne in einem Doppelhaus. (nt) – I live in a semi-detached house.
- Ich wohne in einer Wohnung. (f) – I live in a flat.
Here are suggestions for things to include when describing what sort of house you live in:
- Ich wohne in einem Reihenhaus. – I live in a terraced house.
- Ich wohne in einem Einfamilienhaus. – I live in a detached house.
- Ich wohne in einem Zweifamilienhaus. – I live in a two-family house.
- Ich wohne in einem Doppelhaus. – I live in a semi-detached house.
- Ich wohne in einem Bungalow. – I live in a bungalow.
- Ich wohne in einer Wohnung. – I live in a flat.
- Ich wohne in einem Bauernhaus. – I live in a farmhouse.
Hilfsvokabeln– Helpful vocabulary
To describe what your house or flat is like, you can use a variety of adjectives after the following phrase:
Unser Haus ist... – Our house is...
Unsere Wohnung ist... – Our flat is...
- ...bequem – comfortable
- ...gemütlich – cosy
- ...groß – big
- ...modern – modern
- ...riesig – huge
- ...sehr alt – very old
- ...schön – nice
- ...winzig – tiny
- ...ziemlich klein – fairly small
Question
How would you write the following paragraph in German?
I live in a village near York. I live with my family in a terraced house. It's not very big, but it's cosy and there are seven rooms.
Ich wohne in einem Dorf in der Nähe von York. Ich wohne mit meiner Familie in einem Reihenhaus. Es ist nicht sehr groß, aber es ist gemütlich. Es gibt sieben Zimmer.
Did you know?
Dating from the 13th century, traditional German half-timbered houses – Fachwerkhäuser – are so popular that they are still built in large numbers today.
New designs are subject to strict planning laws and must be carefully approved before construction can begin.
The German Timber-Frame Road – die Deutsche Fachwerkstraße – is a tourist route which connects towns with especially attractive Fachwerkhäuser. It is over 3,000 km long and stretches through six German Bundesländer (federal states).
