die  Ranch

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/ʁantʃ/

🤠 What does "die Ranch" mean?

The German word die Ranch refers to a large agricultural enterprise, especially in North or South America, primarily used for raising livestock (often cattle or horses). It's a direct loanword from American English.

• Main meaning: Large livestock farm (often in the Americas).
• Other meaning: Sometimes used for tourist resorts designed in a ranch style ("Ferienranch" - vacation ranch).

🚨 Note: This word always takes the feminine article die in German. There are no other articles associated with it.

🧐 Grammar of "die Ranch" in Detail

The noun "Ranch" is feminine. Therefore, the article is always die.

Example Sentences

• Die Familie besitzt eine riesige Ranch in Texas. (The family owns a huge ranch in Texas.)
• Auf der Ranch werden hauptsächlich Rinder gezüchtet. (Mainly cattle are raised on the ranch.)
• Wir haben unseren Urlaub auf einer Touristen-Ranch verbracht. (We spent our vacation on a tourist ranch.)
• Die Cowboys treiben die Herde zurück zur Ranch. (The cowboys drive the herd back to the ranch.)
• Die Arbeit auf den Ranches ist oft hart. (Work on the ranches is often hard.)

🌵 How to use "die Ranch"?

The term die Ranch is used in German much like in English, describing a large livestock farm, usually in an American context. It often evokes images of cowboys, vast landscapes, and herds of cattle.

• Typical Context: Conversations about agriculture (especially in the Americas), travel (dude ranches like Ferienranches), films (Westerns).
• Distinction: While Bauernhof or Hof are more general terms in German, often referring to smaller, mixed farms in Europe, Ranch is specific to large livestock operations, frequently overseas. A Gutshof (manor farm) is also large but historically often linked to nobility or large landownership in Europe.
• Figurative Meaning: Less commonly, it can be used metaphorically for a very large private property.

💡 Mnemonics for Ranch

For the article: Think of the ranch owner being a strong woman – she runs the ranch. She translates to sie in German, and the feminine article is die. Die Ranch.

For the meaning: The word Ranch might remind you of "branch" – imagine a large ranch branching out over vast lands, primarily for raising cattle.

🔄 Synonyms and Antonyms

⚠️ Similar but different words:

• Ranch Dressing: (Ranch dressing) A salad dressing named after the Hidden Valley Ranch, unrelated to the agricultural operation itself.

😂 A Little Joke

Fragt der Städter den Cowboy: "Ist das Leben auf der Ranch nicht furchtbar eintönig?"
Sagt der Cowboy: "Überhaupt nicht! Jeden Tag gibt's 'ne neue Überraschung beim Wetterbericht!" 😉

(City dweller asks the cowboy: "Isn't life on the ranch terribly monotonous?"
Cowboy replies: "Not at all! Every day there's a new surprise in the weather forecast!") 😉

🎶 Poem about the Ranch

Weites Land, so grün und breit,
Die Ranch liegt da, zur Viehzucht bereit.
Pferde galoppieren, Rinder zieh'n,
Wo Cowboys wachen, früh bis schien.
Staub und Sonne, harter Job,
Doch Freiheit weht im Wind nonstop.
Ein Leben nah an Tier und Erd',
Das ist die Ranch, von großem Wert.

(Vast land, so green and wide,
The ranch lies there, ready for livestock breeding.
Horses gallop, cattle roam,
Where cowboys watch, from dawn till gloam.
Dust and sun, a tough job,
But freedom blows in the wind non-stop.
A life close to animal and earth,
That is the ranch, of great worth.)

❓ Little Riddle

Ich bin groß und liege meist in Amerika,
bin Heimat für Kuh und Pferd, das ist doch klar.
Cowboys reiten über mein weites Land,
mein Name ist dir sicher bekannt.

Ich bin feminin, merk dir das gut,
für Viehzucht hab ich Mut.

Was bin ich?

(I am large and mostly lie in America,
I am home to cow and horse, that's clear.
Cowboys ride across my wide land,
my name is surely known to you.

I am feminine, remember that well,
for livestock breeding, I have courage.

What am I?)

Solution: die Ranch

🌐 Origin and Other Info

The German word die Ranch is an Anglicism, borrowed directly from American English. The English word ranch, in turn, originates from the Mexican Spanish word rancho, which originally could mean a small farm, a hut, a group of people eating together, or even a simple meal. In German, it specifically established itself to mean the large-scale livestock operation.

Path: Spanish 'rancho' -> American English 'ranch' -> German 'die Ranch'