Straßenbahn

See also: Strassenbahn

German

Alternative forms

Strassenbahn (Switzerland, Liechtenstein)

Etymology

From Straße +‎ -n- +‎ Bahn.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈʃtraːsənˌbaːn/, [ˈʃtʀaːsn̩ˌbaːn], [ˈʃtʀaːsənˌbaːn], [ˈʃtraːsn̩ˌbaːn], [ˈʃtraːsənˌbaːn]
Audio: (file)

Noun

Straßenbahn f (genitive Straßenbahn, plural Straßenbahnen)

streetcar, tramway
Synonyms: (dated) Elektrische; (Austria, Switzerland) Tram; Trambahn; (Austria) Tramway; (Saxony — Würzburg) Straba

Usage notes

An urban train might drive on the streets on paths that are also used by cars, or it might move in tracks separated from the rest of the road traffic in an open-air area called Gleiskörper, and it might drive underground in tunnels. It depends on the city whether the very same trains drive on all three tracks or whether there are different trains for the three types of tracks. In the latter case, as in Berlin, one distinguishes the three types by name, calling the one driving with the cars Straßenbahn, the one on exclusive tracks S-Bahn, the ones serving the subway U-Bahn. Whereas in Cologne there is an indistinct Straßenbahn, U-Bahn or Stadtbahn, the S-Bahn being a means of transportation of greater distance to connect the whole urban area with its multiple cities. But in places where there isn’t such a tripartite system and a single train moves between tracks used by cars, exclusive s-train-tracks and tunnels in a single route, it is called Straßenbahn indistinctly, or also Stadtbahn, this last especially by the officials themselves, so in Bielefeld, the terms S-Bahn and U-Bahn being uncommon, the city being surrounded by rural areas otherwise only having busses for local traffic. Whereas in Hamburg “Straßenbahn” is a historical term since the Straßenbahnen proper have been abolished completely by 1978.

Declension

Declension of Straßenbahn [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Straßenbahn	die	Straßenbahnen
genitive	einer	der	Straßenbahn	der	Straßenbahnen
dative	einer	der	Straßenbahn	den	Straßenbahnen
accusative	eine	die	Straßenbahn	die	Straßenbahnen

Descendants

→ Russian: штра́сик (štrásik) (only in Germany itself)
→ Silesian: sztrasynbana