In an effort to assist both English and German language modelers, we
offer the following list of typical words and phrases likely to be encountered
on German language web sites. We hope you find this helpful; if you
have any questions of find words you think should be added to our list,
do not hesitate to forward your suggestions to webmaster@1-87vehicles.org!
We now have a downloadable Adobe Acrobat version. You will need Adobe
Acrobat to view the file (available free for download). To download
the Acorobat version of the dictionary, click on the highlighted link
below.
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German Terms useful for vehicle model collectors:
Colors:
Blau - Blue Braun - Brown Gelb - Yellow Grün - Green Hellelfenbein - Light Ivory (traditional color for ambulances)
Leuchtrot - Fluorescent Red (Day-Glo Red) Leuchtorange - Fluorescent Orange (Day-Glow Orange)
Lila - Purple (or heliotrope) Purpur - Purple Rot - Red Schwarz - Black
Violett - Violet
Weiß - White (the "ß" is equivalent to "ss"
in English)
Notes: "Leuchtrot"
and "leuchtorange" are commonly used by German fire
brigades. The vehicles used to be painted in these colors, but
durability problems were encountered (as well as rust), so the
Germans are gradually switching to white vehicles with vinyl graphics
in the fluorescent colors.
Countries:
Deutsche - German Deutschland - Germany Frankreich - France Französische - French Österreich - Austria Schweiz - Switzerland Vereinigte Staaten - United States
Organizations:
ADAC - German Auto Club AvD - German Auto Club Berufsfeuerwehr - Professional Fire Brigade (i.e., not
volunteer) Freiwillige Feuerwehr - Volunteer Fire Brigade Bundesheer - Austrian Army Bundeswehr - German Army DRK - German Red Cross Feldjäger - German Army Military Police Feuerwehr - Fire Brigade Katastrophenschutz - Disaster Control or Disaster Relief.
The THW is an example of a "Katastrophenschutz." ÖRK - Austrian Red Cross Polizei - Police THW - Technisches Hilfswerk; this is Germany's quasi-military
organization that combines the functions of the Army Corp of
Engineers and Disaster Relief Agency.
Fachdienste des Katastrophenschutzes (nicht komplett)
-Special Disaster Services (list not complete) Note: this list
seems to apply to types of agencies rather than specific departments
or ministries.
ABC-Dienst - literally "ABC Service";
Atomic, Biological and Chemical Emergency Service Fernmeldedienst - Communications Service Betreuungdienst - Support Service Sanitätsdienst - Medical Service Brandschutzdienst - Fire Protection Service Bergungsdienst - Salvage Service Instandsetzungsdienst - Repair Service Luftschutzhilfsdienst - Air Protection Emergency Service.
This seems to be an obsolete service somewhat like the American
Civil defense with responsibilities for air raids. Primarily
associated with fire brigades. Nachkriegsorganisation der zivilen Verteidigung - Civil
Defense Bereitschaftspolizei - Auxiliary Police; the Bereitschaftspolizei
conducts training for most, if not all German police agencies.
In addition, these are the national reserves to help with
special situations, including localized emergencies, civil
unrest, state visits and such. They are quite different from
the Bundesgrenzschutz, of German Federal Police, who are a
quasi-military organization somewhere between the National
Guard and a state police force. IKRK (English:
IFRC) Internationales Komitee vom Rotes Kreuz - International
Red Cross (parent organization of all national Red Cross agencies).
General Vehicle Terms:
Achse - axle (singular), Achsen - Axles (plural) Anhänger - Trailer Auspuff or Auspuffgase - exhaust Auspuffrohr - tailpipe Beifahrer - Front-seat passenger Cabrio or Cabriolet - Convertible. "Geschlossen"
means the model is supplied with the top up. "geöffnet"
means "open" or the top is down. Dachreling - Roof Rack or Roof Rails
Fahrgestell - Chassis
Fahrzeug - vehicle Felgen - Wheels or Rims, as in "mag wheels";
Felge - wheel (singular) Gabelstapler - Fork Lift Getriebe - transmission Inneneinrichtung - Interior (literally "inside
mechanism") Karosserie - Body
Kipper - Usually used in combination, but means dump body
Koffer - Box Van body or Box Trailer Kofferraum - Trunk ("boot" to our friends in
the UK)
Kraftstofftank - fuel tank KTW (Krankentransportwagen) - ambulance Kühlergrill - radiator grill Kühlkoffer - Refrigerated Box Van or Trailer LHF - (Löschhilfeleistungsfahrzeug) - Fire Rescue Truck LKW - Lastkraftwagen - Truck (in any size) Lastzug - Full combination truck and trailer, what we
might call a double-bottom or semi-truck and semi-trailer combo Lenkrad - Steering wheel
Lieferwagen - Panel delivery truck Limousine - Sedan Motorhaube - Hood ("bonnet" in Merrie Olde
England) NAW (Notarztwagen) - emergency ambulance with emergency
doctor on-board NEF (Notarzteinsatzfahrzeug) - emergency doctor's
car (meets emergency ambulance on the scene)
PKW - Passenger car Pritschen - Flatbed Truck. Most European flatbeds actually
have sides, but the term is used nonetheless. Also used for
flatbeds with canvas tops. Räder or Raeder - Generic term for wheels Reifen - Tires Rückleuchten - Tail Lights RTW (Rettungstransportwagen) - emergency ambulance
Sattelzug - Tractor with Semi-Trailer Scheinwerfer - Headlight
Schlepper - Farm tractor Sonnendach - Sunroof. "Sonnenfaltdach" refers
to a cloth or folding sun roof Spiegel - Mirror
Stoßstange - bumper Tieflader - Lowboy trailer for tranporting equipment
like bulldozers (Planierraupe), wheel loaders (Radlader) or
excavator (Raupenbagger). Tür - Door (zweitürig - 2-door, viertürig - 4-door)
Turnier - Literally "tournament" but used for
Station Wagon. Variant - Means the same as in English, but another term
used for Station Wagon. Weißwandreifen - Whitewall Tires
Commercial Vehicle Terms:
Allradantrieb - all-wheel drive Baustelle - costruction site Bruttogewicht - gross weight Blattfederung - multi-leaf steel springs Drehmoment - torque Drucklufttank - air tank Erntemaschine - harvester Federung - suspension Fernfahrer - long-haul truck driver Fernfahrerlokal or Servicestation - truckstop Fracht - freight Frontlenker - C.O.E. (cab over engine) Hauberfahrzeuge - conventionals Kabine (Fahrerhaus) - cab Kugellager - ball-bearing Kupplung - clutch Ladekran - Loading crane, like the truck-mounted Hiab
Last(-kraft)wagen, Lieferwagen (pick-up and van)
- truck Lastwagenfahrer(in) - truck driver Lastwagenfahrer - truckman Luftfederung - air suspension Marke - make Motor - engine Radstand - wheelbase Rahmen - frame Rahmenträger - frame rail Sattelauflieger - semi-trailer; one that attaches with
a fifth wheel Spediteur or Transportunternehmer - carrier Straßenbaustelle - road work Tieflader - lowboy trailer Tonkombination - Literally "tone combination"
but refers to the two-tone horn used instead of a rotating-blade
or electronic siren
Turbolader - turbocharger Transportunternehmer, Spedition - haulage contractor Umbau - conversion Verstärkung - reinforcement Verteilergetriebe - transfer case Warneinrichtung - Warning apparatus, like a light bar
Warnlicht - Warning Light Wendekreisradius - turning radius Zugmaschine or Traktor - Any truck tractor used for towing,
like a Unimog or heavy-duty truck
Specialized Vehicles and Terms:
Abschleppwagen - Tow Truck Avantgarde - Mercedes' highest trim level in a model Bestattungswagen - Hearse Betonmischer - Cement Mixer Container - Container DLK - Ladder Truck Body, usually for Fire Trucks Gefangenentransporter - Paddy Wagon Gerätewagen - Equipment Truck KTW or Krankenwagen - Ambulance Krankentrage - Stretcher Löschzug - Literally "extinguishing train."
This is the standard first response unit for a fire and depends
on the emergency and the size of the responding department.
It is usually two pumpers and a ladder truck.
Mannschaftsbus - Crew Bus Notarzt - Emergency Doctor (Like an EMS technician in
the U.S.) Operationswagen - Operations vehicle. There are various
kinds of operations vehicles, including communications, command
and others. These are generally classed as "Einsatzfahrzeug"
or "applications vehicle" Pferdeanhänger - Horse trailer Preßmüllwagen - Garbage Truck Reisebus - Touring Bus (like Greyhound) Rettungsdienst - Emergency (Rescue) Service Sanitätszug - Literally means "medical train."
Based on "Löschzug," this would seem to refer
to a first response team for a medical emergency. This would
probably include a "Notarzt" and a "Rettungstransportwagen"
(RTW) Schneepflug - Snow Plow Schnelleinsatzgruppe - Rapid Deployment Group Silberpfeil - Silver Arrow, used to refer to Mercedes'
racing cars Sondersignal (Blaulicht und Martinshorn) - literally,
Special Signal, Blue Light and Martinshorn. Refers to the standard
German emergency apparatus of blue light and two-tone horn.
What the Brits call, "Blues and Twos." Stadtbus - City Bus Straßenkehrwagen - Street Cleaner Stromerzeuger - Generator TLF - Pumper Body for Fire Truck Wohnanhänger or Wohnwagen- travel Trailer Wohnmobil - Recreational Vehicle
Military Vehicle Terms:
ARW. (Achtradwagen) - Eight-wheeled vehicle E. or Einh. (Einheits) - Standardized type Flak. (Fliegerabwehrkanone) - Anti-aircraft gun Fu. (Funk) - Radio gf. (geländefähig) - Off-road going gl. (geländegängig) - Cross-country going gp. or gep. (Gepanzert) - Armored Gw. (Geschutzwagen) - Armored car HK. (Halbkettenfahrzeug) - Half-track Kfz. (Kraftfahrzeug) - Motor car KP. (Kraftprotze) - Artillery tractor Krad. (Kraftrad) - Motorcycle Krkw. (Krankenkraftwagen) - Ambulance LWS. (Landwasserschlepper) - Amphibious tractor Pak. (Panzerabwehrkanone) - Anti-tank gun Pz.Jag. (Panzerjäger) - Tank destroyer (literally
"tank hunter") Pz.Kpfw. (Panzerkampfwagen) - Armored fighting vehicle Pz.Spahw. (Panzerspähwagen) - Armored scout car R. (Raupen) - Tracked R/R (Räder/Raupenantrieb) - Wheeled and tracked Sankra. (Sanitätskraftwagen) - Ambulance schf. or schwf. (schwimmfähig) - Amphibious schg. (schienengängig) - Rail going Schlp. (Schlepper) - Tractor Sfl. or Sf. (Selbstfahrlafette) - Self-propelled gun Sd.Kfz. (Sonderkraftfahrzeug) - Special vehicle StuK. (Sturmkanone) - Assault guns WS. (schwerer Wehrmacht Schlepper) - Heavy military tractor trop. or Tp. (tropenfest) - Tropicalized ve. (vollentstört) - Radio-suppressed Vs.Kfz. or Vkz. (Versuchsfahrzeug) - Experimental vehicle Wg. (wassergängig) - Amphibious Zgkw. (Zugkraftwagen) - Tractor
L. or le. (leicht) - Light M or mittl. (mittler) - Medium S. or schw. (schwer) - Heavy
Handy Catalog Terms:
Bausatz - Kit (as opposed to a pre-assembled model) Gesilbert - Silvered, usually means painted as opposed
to plated
Lieferbar - Available Neuheiten - News Nicht mehr erhältlich - No longer produced or available Sammler - Collector Sonderfahrzeugfreunde - Special vehicle friends (i.e.,
fans of a certain type of vehicle like fire truck collectors)
Sondermodell - Special Model - Chrome-plated Verchromt - chrome-plated
Zubehör - Accessories
Translation of Weights & Measures:
1 meter (m) = 39.37"
10 Dezimeter (dm) = 1 meter (m)
100 Zentimeter (cm) = 1 meter (m)
1,000 Millimeter (mm) = 1 meter (m)
1000 Meter (m) = 1 Kilometer (km)
10,000 Dezimeter (dm) = 1 Kilometer (km)
100,000 Zentimeter (cm) = 1 Kilometer (km)
1,000,000 Millimeter (mm) = 1 Kilometer (km)
1,000 Kilogramme (kg) = 1 tonne (t) (metric - about 2,205 pounds)
1,000,000 grammes (g) = 1 tonne (t) (metric - about 2,205 pounds)
