Wagen
/ˈvaːɡn̩/
der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)
Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.
Forms
- plural (same form)
- die Wagen
Meaning
-
car, carriage
Slightly more formal or literary than Auto, and the form that survives in compounds — Krankenwagen, never Krankenauto.
Similar words
Wagen mainly means "car" in modern usage, with "carriage" as a secondary, historical sense; Kutsche means "carriage," historical.
Auto is the plain, modern everyday word. Wagen is slightly more formal or literary — and it's the root that survives in compounds like Krankenwagen, which is never Krankenauto.
Practice
1 What does Wagen mean?
car, carriage
2 Fill the gap: Der ___ steht vor dem Haus.
Full sentence: Der Wagen steht vor dem Haus. (The car is parked in front of the house.)
3 Which fingerprint chart matches Wagen?
Wagen: neutral register, core frequency, general domain, neutral connotation.
See also
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