die
Landung
🛬 What does 'die Landung' mean?
Die Landung (noun, feminine) refers to the act of an aircraft, spacecraft, ship, or even a person (e.g., a parachutist) deliberately touching down or arriving on a surface (earth, water, another celestial body).
- Main meaning: The controlled touchdown or arrival of a vehicle or person, usually from the air or water. Example: die Landung eines Flugzeugs (the landing of an airplane), die Landung auf dem Mond (the landing on the moon).
- Figurative meaning (less common): The arrival or achievement of a goal, sometimes in an economic or sporting context (e.g., die Landung eines großen Auftrags - landing a big contract).
Since only the article 'die' is used, there are no different meanings based on the article. Die Landung is always feminine.
Article rules for der, die, and das
-ung → always feminine.
There are many -ung words, we won't list them all. There are only a few exceptions.
🧐 Grammar in Detail: die Landung
The noun 'Landung' is feminine. The article is always 'die'. It is declined as follows:
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Landung |
| Genitive | der | Landung |
| Dative | der | Landung |
| Accusative | die | Landung |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Landungen |
| Genitive | der | Landungen |
| Dative | den | Landungen |
| Accusative | die | Landungen |
📝 Example Sentences
- Der Pilot bereitete die Landung vor.
(The pilot prepared for the landing.) - Wir beobachteten mehrere Landungen auf dem Flughafen.
(We observed several landings at the airport.) - Nach einer turbulenten Reise war die Landung eine Erleichterung.
(After a turbulent journey, the landing was a relief.) - Die Landung der Alliierten in der Normandie war ein Wendepunkt im Krieg.
(The landing of the Allies in Normandy was a turning point in the war.)
✈️ When and how to use 'die Landung'?
Die Landung is primarily used in the context of Verkehr und Transport (traffic and transport), especially in aviation, space travel, and shipping.
- Aviation: Most commonly, 'die Landung' refers to an airplane touching down. One might speak of a sanfte Landung (soft landing), a harte Landung (hard landing), a Notlandung (emergency landing), or a Bruchlandung (crash landing).
- Space Travel: Describes the touchdown of a probe or spacecraft on a planet or moon (e.g., die Mondlandung - the moon landing).
- Shipping: Here, 'Landung' often means the mooring or docking of a ship at the shore or a jetty (also called 'Anlandung').
- Military: Refers to the disembarkation of troops, often under enemy fire (e.g., amphibische Landung - amphibious landing).
- Figuratively: Less common, but possible, e.g., die Landung eines neuen Jobs (landing a new job) or eine Punktlandung hinlegen (to achieve something very precisely, to nail it).
⚠️ Potential confusion: 'Landung' (the act of landing) vs. 'Landeplatz' or 'Landegebiet' (the landing site or area).
🧠 How to remember 'die Landung'
- Article Mnemonic: Many German nouns ending in '-ung' are feminine ('die'). Think of other '-ung' words like die Meinung (opinion), die Zeitung (newspaper). Remember: Die Landung fits this pattern! Imagine a female pilot proudly saying: "Die Landung (She) was perfect!"
- Meaning Mnemonic: The word comes from the verb 'landen' (to land). The '-ung' suffix turns it into a noun describing the *process*. Imagine something coming down gently onto the Land – that's die Landung.
Remember the landing – it's the crowning glory ('Krönung' is also feminine) of every journey!
🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms for Landung
Synonyms (similar meaning):
- Ankunft (arrival - more general)
- Aufsetzen (touchdown - technical term for aircraft)
- Anlandung (disembarkation, coming ashore - for ships, troops)
- Anlegen (docking, mooring - for ships)
💡 Similar words: Be careful not to confuse with 'Land' (das Land, neuter - country, land) or 'landen' (the verb - to land).
😂 A little joke
Sagt der Passagier zum Piloten nach einer extrem harten Landung: "Entschuldigen Sie, sind wir gelandet oder wurden wir abgeschossen?"
(The passenger says to the pilot after an extremely hard landing: "Excuse me, did we land or were we shot down?")
📜 A short poem
Der Himmel weit, die Reise lang,
Motoren summten ihren Sang.
Dann Wolkenbruch, die Erde nah,
Die Landung endlich, wunderbar!
Sanft setzt die Maschine auf,
Beendet ist der lange Lauf.
(The sky vast, the journey long,
Engines hummed their song.
Then cloudburst, the earth near,
The landing finally, wonderfully here!
Gently the machine touches down,
Ended is the long run around.)
❓ Little Riddle
Ich komme von oben, mal sanft, mal mit Krach.
Ein Vogel tut's elegant, ein Flugzeug danach.
Am Ende der Reise bin ich das Ziel,
Ob auf Wasser, auf Erde, oder im Mond-Spiel.
Was bin ich?
(I come from above, sometimes gently, sometimes with a crash.
A bird does it elegantly, an airplane after that.
At the end of the journey, I am the goal,
Whether on water, on earth, or in the moon game.
What am I?)
Solution: die Landung (the landing)
🧩 Additional Information
- Word Formation: The word 'Landung' is derived (nominalized) from the verb 'landen' (to land) using the suffix '-ung'. This suffix typically forms feminine nouns that often describe a process or result.
- Famous Landings: Die Mondlandung in 1969 (the moon landing, Apollo 11) and die Landung der Alliierten in der Normandie in 1944 (the Allied landing in Normandy, D-Day) are historically significant events.
- Idiom: "Eine Punktlandung hinlegen" means to do or achieve something very precisely and exactly at the right time, to nail it, a perfect landing.
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Landung?
The German word Landung is always feminine. The correct article is exclusively die (die Landung, die Landungen). It refers to the act of touching down or arriving, usually from the air or water.