Polyglot Dictionary

Krankenwagen

/ˈkʁaŋkn̩ˌvaːɡn̩/

der noun A2

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

N Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Core Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

plural (same form)
die Krankenwagen

Meaning

  1. ambulance

    Literally "the sick people's car" — the same Kranken- prefix as Krankenhaus.

    • Der Krankenwagen kam sofort.

      The ambulance arrived immediately.

N Category Thing Concreteness Concrete Animacy Inanimate Countability Countable Scope Individual

Made of

  • Kranken of the sick (people) — from krank, sick
  • Wagen car, vehicle

Similar words

Rettungswagen

The official, technical term used by emergency services themselves ("rescue vehicle"). Krankenwagen is what everyone actually says in conversation.

Similar in other languages

French

ambulance

ambulance is the French word for the same thing — both mean "ambulance."

Portuguese

ambulância

ambulância is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "ambulance."

Practice

1 What does Krankenwagen mean?

2 Fill the gap: Der ___ kam sofort.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches Krankenwagen?

See also

nouncompoundhealtheveryday

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