Lesson 8 · German A1-2

Apartment Hunting Vocabulary

Die Wohnungssuche

This is where grammar meets your actual move: the vocabulary you'll need to read listings, ask questions at a Besichtigung (viewing), and describe what you're looking for. Every sentence here reuses grammar from Lessons 1-7 - articles, haben, word order - on new, high-stakes vocabulary.

Today's win: read a basic apartment listing, ask three essential questions at a viewing, and describe the apartment you want.

Core housing nouns

die Wohnungapartmentdas Zimmerroom
die Mieterentdie Küchekitchen
das Badbathroomder Balkonbalcony
die Kautiondepositder Vermieterlandlord

Reading a listing

2-Zimmer-Wohnung, 55 m², Küche, Bad, Balkon.
Miete: 750 € kalt. Kaution: zwei Monatsmieten.

kalt ("cold") means rent excluding utilities - one of the first things to check on any German listing, since the number without "kalt/warm" specified is easy to misread.

Questions to ask at a viewing

Wie hoch ist die Miete? (How much is the rent?)
Ist die Kaution inklusive? (Is the deposit included [in this figure]?)
Wie viele Zimmer hat die Wohnung? (How many rooms does the apartment have?)

Notice Wie viele Zimmer hat die Wohnung - the same haben from Lesson 7, now describing the apartment instead of yourself.

Describing what you want

Ich suche eine Wohnung mit zwei Zimmern.
Ich habe einen Balkon gern. (colloquial: "I like having a balcony")

eine Wohnung uses feminine eine - accusative, unchanged from Lesson 7, since die Wohnung is feminine.

Try it out loud: describe your ideal apartment in 2-3 sentences using "Ich suche eine Wohnung mit ..." plus at least two nouns from the list above.

Quick recall check

1. What's the article for "Miete" (rent)?

Show answer
die

2. "How much is the rent?" - Wie hoch ______ die Miete?

Show answer
ist

3. What does "kalt" mean on a rent listing?

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excludes utilities

4. "I'm looking for an apartment." - Ich ______ eine Wohnung.

Show answer
suche

5. What's the German word for "deposit"?

Show answer
Kaution

Primary source

Vocabulary cross-checked against the official Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Wortliste and the housing topic in the Deutsch Online A1 course glossary.

Have a real listing you're trying to read? Paste it and ask your teaching agent to walk through it with you.