A1 German Lesson 31 – Essential Vocabulary for Living and Renting in Germany (Wohnen)

Finding a place to live is one of the first practical challenges almost every newcomer to Germany faces. That is why the topic Wohnen (living / housing) appears in nearly every A1 course book. In this lesson we focus on the most useful verbs, adjectives and nouns you need, show you how to understand a typical newspaper advertisement, and practise the Perfect tense with real-life sentences.

Why this vocabulary matters

When you search for an apartment you will read advertisements full of short forms and specialised words. You will also need to speak or write to landlords, arrange viewings, and sign contracts. Knowing the right words from the beginning makes these steps much less stressful.

Key verbs

These verbs help you talk about looking for a home and moving:

• mieten – to rent (as a tenant)
  Example: Ich möchte eine Wohnung mieten.
• vermieten – to rent out (as a landlord)
  Example: Er vermietet die Wohnung.
• suchen – to look for
  Example: Wir suchen eine Wohnung.
• finden – to find
  Example: Ich habe eine Wohnung gefunden.
• besichtigen – to view / inspect
  Example: Können wir die Wohnung besichtigen?
• kosten – to cost
  Example: Wie viel kostet die Miete?
• bezahlen – to pay
  Example: Ich muss die Miete bezahlen.
• kaufen – to buy
• verkaufen – to sell
• einziehen – to move in
• ausziehen – to move out
• umziehen – to move (to another place)

Useful adjectives for describing a flat

• neu – new
• alt – old
• modern – modern
• sauber – clean
• möbliert – furnished
• ruhig – quiet / peaceful
• hell – bright / light

You can combine them easily: eine neue, ruhige und helle Wohnung or eine möblierte Wohnung.

Important nouns (always learn them with the article)

• die Miete – the rent (monthly payment)
• die Kaution – the deposit / security
• die Nebenkosten – the additional costs (utilities etc.)
• der Mietvertrag – the rental contract
• die Möbel – the furniture (plural)
• die Wohnung – the apartment / flat
• der Vermieter – the landlord
• die Anzeige – the advertisement

How to read a newspaper advertisement

A typical short ad might look like this:

Kiel-Zentrum, 3ZKB, 92 m², MM 850 € zzgl. NK, Kaution 3MM. Sehr ruhig und hell. S-Bahn 3 Min. Tel.XXXXX

Here is what the abbreviations mean:

• 3ZKB = 3 Zimmer, Küche, Bad (three rooms, kitchen, bathroom)
• MM = Monatsmiete (monthly rent)
• NK = Nebenkosten (additional costs)
• zzgl. = zuzüglich (plus / in addition)
• Kaution 3MM = the deposit is three months’ rent
• S-Bahn 3 Min. = the S-Bahn station is only three minutes away

Understanding these short forms helps you decide quickly whether an apartment is interesting or not.

Perfect tense practice

In everyday spoken German we often use the Perfekt to talk about past actions. The basic structure is:

Ich habe + object + past participle

Useful example sentences from this lesson:

• Ich habe eine Zeitung gekauft.
• Ich habe die Anzeige gelesen.
• Ich habe den Vermieter angerufen.
• Ich habe die Wohnung besichtigt.
• Ich habe den Mietvertrag unterschrieben.

Most of these verbs form the past participle with “ge-” at the beginning and “-t” or “-en” at the end. Learn the forms together with the meaning so they become automatic.

Short exercise

Form Perfect tense sentences starting with “Ich habe …”:

1. die Zeitung / kaufen
2. die Anzeige / lesen
3. den Vermieter / anrufen
4. die Wohnung / besichtigen
5. den Mietvertrag / unterschreiben
6. eine neue Wohnung / finden

Pause, write your answers, then check them against the example sentences above.

What you should remember

You now have a solid set of verbs for searching, viewing and moving, adjectives to describe apartments, the most important nouns with their articles, and the ability to read basic newspaper ads. Practise these words regularly – they will help you every time you look for a place to live in Germany.

Keep going, and see you in the next A1 lesson!