Ways to say it
| German | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Panzer | /ˈpant͡sər/ | masculine |
| Tank | /taŋk/ | masculine, obsolete |
In a military context, Panzer is the standard term for an armoured fighting vehicle. Note that the German word Tank does not mean a military vehicle. It refers to a container for liquids, such as a fuel tank.
Which one should you use?
While Panzer refers to the military vehicle, the word Tank in German is used to describe a fuel container. For a more formal or technical description of an armoured fighting vehicle, you can use Panzerkampfwagen.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine noun Panzer remains unchanged in its plural form. The plural of Panzer is also Panzer.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈpantsər/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use Tank to refer to a military vehicle in German. To refer to an armoured fighting vehicle, you should use Panzer instead.
Did you know?
- The word Panzer is also used in German to describe the hard protective shells of animals, such as turtles.
- The German word for a military tank, Panzer, is etymologically linked to the English word 'paunch' or 'belly'.
- In German, the word Panzer is used as a single concept for both 'armour' and 'armoured vehicle', whereas English often distinguishes between the two.
Examples in context
- Der Tank ist voll.The tank is full.This sentence shows how to use Tank to describe a full container.Tatoeba #1430146 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1430140 by CK
- Füll den Tank auf.Fill up the tank.This sentence demonstrates an instruction to fill up a Tank.Tatoeba #3225066 by Trebalor, translation #2891192 by CK
- Ist im Tank Sprit?Is there any petrol in the tank?This sentence uses Tank to ask about the presence of fuel.Tatoeba #11766028 by mhr, translation #11766039 by sundown
- Das Militär setzt hochmoderne Kampfpanzer ein.The military employs state-of-the-art battle tanks.
- Pass auf, da kommt ein Panzer!Watch out, here comes a tank!
- Schau, do kimmt da Panzer!Look, here comes the tank!
- 28 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Laura and Felix are watching a historical documentary about World War II.
- LauraSiehst du den alten Panzer?Do you see the old tank?
- FelixJa, der Panzer sieht sehr massiv aus.Yes, the tank looks very massive.
- LauraEr war damals sehr schwer zu bewegen.It was very difficult to move back then.
- FelixDas stimmt, er ist wirklich riesig.That's true, it is really huge.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tank” translations and entries Panzer, Tank, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Panzer, Tank, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
