Hauptstadt
/ˈhaʊ̯ptˌʃtat/feminine
The German word for 'capital city' is Hauptstadt.
Hauptstadt is a noun used to refer to a city designated as the seat of government.
Meaning: city designated as seat of government (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a compound of Haupt, meaning 'head' or 'main' and Stadt, meaning 'city'.
How does it change in a sentence?
Hauptstadt is a feminine noun. The plural form is Hauptstädte. In the genitive case, the feminine form changes to der Hauptstadt (e.g., 'of the capital city').
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈhaʊ̯ptˌʃtat/
Did you know?
- Berlin is not only the Hauptstadt but also one of the Stadtstaaten, meaning it is both a city and a federal state within Germany.
- The phrase Hauptstadt der Mode is a common German idiom used to describe Paris, applying the word for 'capital city' to cultural influence rather than politics.
- While Hauptstadt refers to a political capital, the term Residenzstadt is often used to describe cities that were historically the seat of a monarch or a ruling house.
Examples in context
- Jedes Land hat eine Hauptstadt.Every country has a capital city.This sentence shows that every country possesses a Hauptstadt.Tatoeba #5517214 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #5516971 by Hybrid
- Was ist die Hauptstadt von Finnland?What's the capital city of Finland?This sentence is useful for asking which city is the Hauptstadt of a specific country.Tatoeba #622390 by Dejo, translation #34405 by CN
- Die Hauptstadt Serbiens ist Belgrad.The capital city of Serbia is Belgrade.This sentence demonstrates how to state which city is the Hauptstadt of a country.Tatoeba #2562368 by ieflicca, translation #1134091 by MarijnKp
- Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland.Berlin is the capital city of Germany.
- München ist die Hauptstadt von Bayern.Munich is the capital city of Bavaria.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lukas and Julia are looking at a map of Europe.
- LukasWeißt du, was die Hauptstadt von Spanien ist?Do you know what the capital city of Spain is?
- JuliaJa, Madrid ist die Hauptstadt.Yes, Madrid is the capital city.
- LukasJulia, möchtest du mal dorthin reisen?Julia, would you like to travel there sometime?
- JuliaJa, das würde ich gerne machen.Yes, I would like to do that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “capital city” translations and entries Hauptstadt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
