Flughafen
/ˈfluːkˌhaːfɱ̩/
The German word for 'airport' is Flughafen.
Flughafen refers to a place where aircraft take off and land, with facilities for passengers.
What does it mean word for word?
The word Flughafen is a compound of Flug (flight) and Hafen (harbor or port).
How does it change in a sentence?
Because Flughafen is a masculine noun, it changes to den Flughafen when it is the direct object of a sentence (the accusative case).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈfluːkˌhaːfɱ̩/
Did you know?
- Because Flughafen is a compound of 'flight' and 'harbor', a German speaker might mentally visualize an airport as a maritime port for the sky.
- The word Flughafen shares a linguistic ancestor with the Icelandic word flughöfn.
- While Flughafen is the general term, a small private airfield is often called a Flugplatz, which literally means 'flight place'.
Examples in context
- Aus Richtung Berlin erreicht man den Flughafen in nur einer Stunde.(From Berlin, you can reach the airport in just one hour.)
- Lass uns zum Airport fahren und unseren Freund abholen!(Let's drive to the airport and pick up our friend!)
- Der Flughafen ist sehr groß.The airport is very large.
- Wo ist der nächste Flughafen?Where is the nearest airport?
- Wir treffen uns am Flughafen.We are meeting at the airport.
Example conversation
Sarah and Julian are planning a trip.
- SarahFahren wir mit dem Zug zum Flughafen?Are we going to the airport by train?
- JulianJa, das ist schneller.Yes, that is faster.
- SarahWann müssen wir am Flughafen sein?When do we have to be at the airport?
- JulianUm zwei Uhr.At two o'clock.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Flughafen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Flughafen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
