In this lesson we are going to learn some vocabulary and expressions related to „Home“.
Vocabulary
If you’re looking for a new home, you need to know what type of home you’re looking for:
| Word | Meaning | Translation |
| landlord, landlady | A person who leases or rents their property to a tenant | Vermieter(in) |
| tenant | A person who pays rent to the landlord | Mieter |
| apartment, flat | A unit in a residential building | Wohnung |
| bedsit | A one-room unit, often without a bathroom | Zimmer mit Kochgelegenheit |
| house | An individual building | Haus |
| multi-storey | A building with more than one floor | mehrstöckig |
| detached | A free standing house | Einfamilienhaus |
| semi-detached | A house connected to the neighbouring building | Doppelhaushälfte |
| terrace | A unit in a row of attached houses | Reihenhaus |
You will also need to know how many and which type of rooms it has:
| Word | Meaning | Translation |
| Bathroom | Any room with a toilet and sink | Bad, Toilette |
| Bedroom | A room in which one sleeps (where a bed is found) | Schlafzimmer |
| Garage | An attached or detached section of the house in which you keep vehicles | Garage |
| Basement | The (under-)ground level of the house | Keller |
| Dining room | Where the meals are eaten | Esszimmer |
| Living room | A common area for entertainment, sitting area for guests | Wohnzimmer |
| Box room | A small room that can be used as a single bedroom or study | halbes Zimmer |
| Study | A room to study or work from home | Arbeitszimmer |
A home can be many things, and you should know some adjectives that apply to it:
| Word | Meaning | Translation |
| cozy | Warm and comfortable | gemütlich |
| cramped | Not having enough space | beengt |
| dingy | Dirty and dark | trüb, armselig |
| bright | Having a lot of light | hell |
| spacious, roomy | Large and having a lot of space | geräumig |
| convenient | Easy to get | gelegen, günstig, praktisch |
| private | Belonging to one person | privat |
| shabby | To be in a poor condition | schäbig |
| noisy | Being loud | laut, geräuschvoll |
| safe | Free from danger | sicher |
Expressions
Here are some useful expressions using „Home“.
A man’s home is his castle
- Meaning: a sentiment that a man should have freedom to do what he wants in his home
(originally “An Englishman’s home is his castle”)
Bring home the bacon
- Meaning: earn a wage, or be successful
Charity begins at home
- Meaning: a sentiment that one should take care of family and friends before offering aid to others
Chickens will/have come home to roost
- Meaning: said as an admonition that actions have consequences
Come home to roost
- Meaning: return to cause trouble, in an analogy to chickens returning to their coop at the end of the day
Go home and get (one’s) beauty sleep
- Meaning: said jocularly of or by one who must depart early, facetiously because of the necessity of getting enough rest to avoid being considered unattractive because of sleep deprivation
Halfway house
- Meaning: Something that combines the qualities of two different things
- Example: This band is a halfway house between rock and pop.
A house of cards
- Meaning: An organization or plan that is weak and can easily be destroyed
- Example: Their plan turned out to be a house of cards.
As safe as houses
- Meaning: Be very safe
- Example: I’ve locked the door. They’re as safe as houses.