Wasserhäuschen

German

Etymology

Wasser (“water”) +‎ Häuschen (“small house (diminutive of Haus)”). Named because the shops were originally created to sell bottled water. The -chen suffix is common in Frankfurt-area variants of German.

Noun

Wasserhäuschen n (strong, genitive Wasserhäuschens, plural Wasserhäuschen)

1. (Hesse, chiefly Frankfurt) A kiosk; a small shop in an outbuilding selling alcoholic drinks, newspapers and snacks, usually with a bar or tables for outdoor drinking.
   • 2021 April 30, Katrin Rosendorff, “Wasserhäuschen in Frankfurt: Gute Nachrichten für die Büdchen”, in Frankfurter Rundschau‎^[1]:

     Denn: Jahrzehntelang hatte die Stadt die Verpachtung dieser Wasserhäuschen, die auf stadteigenen Grundstücken stehen, der Brauereigruppe Radeberger überlassen.

     Because: For decades the city had entrusted the lease of these kiosks, which stand on city-owned property, to the Radeberger group.

Synonyms

• Bude, Büdchen
• Kiosk
• Späti (regional, eastern Germany)
• Trinkhalle (regional, Ruhrgebiet)