die  Buchung

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/ˈbuːxʊŋ/

📖 What Exactly is a Buchung?

The German word die Buchung primarily has two meanings:

1. Reservation or Booking (e.g., travel, hotel, ticket): This is the most common meaning in everyday life. It describes the act or result of reserving a service or a place. Example: die Buchung eines Fluges (the booking of a flight), die Hotelbuchung (the hotel booking).
2. Entry in Accounting Ledgers (Bookkeeping): In a commercial context, die Buchung refers to the recording of a business transaction in the accounts. Example: die Buchung einer Rechnung (posting an invoice), die täglichen Buchungen prüfen (checking the daily entries).

🚨 Attention: Although both meanings are established, the context is crucial to avoid misunderstandings.

Article rules for der, die, and das

📊 Grammar in Detail: die Buchung

Die Buchung is a feminine noun. Like most nouns ending in -ung, it is feminine.

Declension (Beugung)

Example Sentences (Beispielsätze)

• Travel context: Die Buchung für unseren Sommerurlaub ist bestätigt. (The booking for our summer holiday is confirmed.)
• Travel context: Kann ich meine Buchung noch ändern? (Can I still change my booking?)
• Accounting context: Der Buchhalter macht die täglichen Buchungen. (The accountant makes the daily entries/postings.)
• Accounting context: Diese Buchung muss noch geprüft werden. (This entry/posting still needs to be checked.)

🚀 How to Use "die Buchung"?

The usage of die Buchung strongly depends on the context:

• In travel and services: Here, it's the standard word for reservations of all kinds (flights, hotels, rental cars, tickets, appointments). It often implies a firm commitment, frequently associated with a payment or payment obligation. A common synonym here is die Reservierung, although "Buchung" tends to sound more binding.
• In accounting and finance: Here, it is a technical term for recording financial transactions. There is no alternative in this specific context.

Common phrases include:

• eine Buchung tätigen/vornehmen/stornieren (to make/carry out/cancel a booking)
• die Buchungen prüfen/kontrollieren (to check/control the entries/bookings)
• eine feste Buchung (a firm booking)
• eine Online-Buchung (an online booking)
• Doppelbuchung (double booking - an error in travel context or a specific term in accounting)

🧠 Memory Aids for "die Buchung"

🔄 Synonyms and Antonyms for Buchung

⚠️ Similar but Different Words

• Das Buchen: The act of booking (substantivized infinitive). Example: Das Buchen dauert nur wenige Minuten. (The booking process only takes a few minutes.)
• Die Buche: A beech tree (feminine, but completely different meaning).

😄 A Little Joke

Fragt der Hotelgast an der Rezeption: "Ist meine Buchung für Zimmer 237 bestätigt?"
Sagt der Rezeptionist: "Ja, aber seien Sie gewarnt, das Zimmer hat eine dunkle Vergangenheit... es wurde schon mal doppelt gebucht!"

(Hotel guest asks at reception: "Is my booking for room 237 confirmed?"
Receptionist says: "Yes, but be warned, the room has a dark past... it's been double-booked before!")

📜 Poem about Buchung

Ob Flugzeug, Zug, Hotel am Meer,
Die Buchung, ja, die muss nun her.
Ein Klick, bezahlt, dann ist's getan,
die Reise fängt bald richtig an.

Im Kontobuch, ganz nüchtern, klar,
steht Soll an Haben, wunderbar.
Jede Zahl, ein wichtiger Strang,
Die Buchung hat Bilanz und Rang.

(Whether plane, train, hotel by sea,
The booking, yes, it has to be.
One click, paid, then it is done,
the journey will soon have begun.)

(In the ledger book, quite sober, clear,
stands debit to credit, oh so dear.
Every number, an important strand,
The entry has balance and command.)

🧩 Little Riddle

Ich halt' dir deinen Platz oft frei,
im Urlaub oder Fliegerei.
In Büchern halt' ich Zahlen fest,
für den Kaufmann bin ich oft ein Test.

Was bin ich?

(I often hold your place for you,
on holiday or flights anew.
In books, I keep the numbers tight,
for merchants, I'm a test of might.

What am I?) (Solution: die Buchung)

💡 More about Buchung

Word Origin & Composition (Wortherkunft & Zusammensetzung)

Die Buchung is derived from the verb buchen. The verb "buchen" originally comes from the practice of writing important things into a Buch (book) (compare Buchhaltung - bookkeeping). Later, the meaning was transferred to the act of reserving/booking (e.g., travel).

The ending -ung is a common suffix in German used to form nouns from verbs, usually denoting the process or result of the action (e.g., warnen -> die Warnung (warning), hoffen -> die Hoffnung (hope)). These nouns are almost always feminine.

Typical Word Combinations (Kollokationen)

• Buchung bestätigen (confirm booking)
• Buchung stornieren (cancel booking)
• verbindliche Buchung (binding/firm booking)
• provisorische Buchung (provisional booking)
• Online-Buchung (online booking)
• manuelle Buchung (manual entry - accounting)
• automatische Buchung (automatic entry - accounting)
• Buchungsnummer (booking number)
• Buchungsbestätigung (booking confirmation)
• Buchungssystem (booking system)
• Buchungssatz (accounting entry/record)