die
Umgehungsstraße
🛣️ What exactly is an 'Umgehungsstraße'?
Die Umgehungsstraße is a German word for a road specifically built to route traffic, especially through traffic, around a place (e.g., a town or village) rather than directly through its center. In English, this is commonly known as a bypass or sometimes a ring road (though *Ringstraße* is a more direct translation for the latter).
Its main purpose is to relieve the town center (*Ortskern*) of noise and pollution from long-distance traffic, improve road safety within the town, and enhance traffic flow on interregional routes.
The word always takes the feminine article die because it's a compound noun where the last part, 'Straße' (road/street), is feminine (*die Straße*).
Article rules for der, die, and das
-e/-ee → almost always feminine.
There are many -e nouns, many of which are feminine, but there are also some important exceptions.
🧐 Grammar in Detail: Die Umgehungsstraße
The noun 'Umgehungsstraße' is feminine. The definite article is always die.
Declension
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Umgehungsstraße |
| Genitive | der | Umgehungsstraße |
| Dative | der | Umgehungsstraße |
| Accusative | die | Umgehungsstraße |
| Case | Article | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | die | Umgehungsstraßen |
| Genitive | der | Umgehungsstraßen |
| Dative | den | Umgehungsstraßen |
| Accusative | die | Umgehungsstraßen |
Example Sentences
- Die neue Umgehungsstraße soll den Verkehr in der Innenstadt reduzieren.
(The new bypass is supposed to reduce traffic in the city center.) - Der Bau der Umgehungsstraße hat viele Jahre gedauert.
(The construction of the bypass took many years.) - Wir wohnen jetzt ruhiger dank der neuen Umgehungsstraße.
(We live more quietly now thanks to the new bypass.) - Viele LKW nutzen die Umgehungsstraße, um die Stadt zu meiden.
(Many trucks use the bypass to avoid the city.) - Der Plan für die Umgehungsstraßen wurde kontrovers diskutiert.
(The plan for the bypasses was controversially discussed.)
💡 Usage and Context
Die Umgehungsstraße is primarily used in the context of traffic planning (*Verkehrsplanung*), urban development (*Städtebau*), and infrastructure (*Infrastruktur*).
- Traffic Relief: It serves to free town centers from through traffic (*Durchgangsverkehr*). One often talks about the 'relief effect of the bypass' (*Entlastungswirkung der Umgehungsstraße*).
- Infrastructure Projects: Building a bypass is often a large and lengthy project, associated with discussions about costs (*Kosten*), benefits (*Nutzen*), and environmental impact (*Umweltauswirkungen*).
- Signage: Traffic signs often point towards the *Umgehungsstraße* to direct long-distance traffic accordingly.
Compared to a Durchgangsstraße (a through road that goes right through a town), the *Umgehungsstraße* explicitly leads traffic around the town.
🧠 Mnemonics and Memory Aids
Article Aid: The base word is 'Straße' (*road/street*), which is feminine (*die Straße*). Therefore, *die Umgehungsstraße* is also feminine. Imagine the road making a curve (an *Umgehung*) around the city.
Meaning Aid: The word itself tells the story: It's a *Straße* (road) that allows an *Umgehung* (a bypassing, a 'going around'). You literally go around the town.
↔️ Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms (Similar Meaning)
- Ortsumgehung: (Very common synonym, emphasizes bypassing a place.)
- Entlastungsstraße: (Relief road - highlights the purpose of relieving the town center.)
- Tangente: (Tangent - often denotes a road skirting or connecting urban areas, can function as a bypass.)
- Ringstraße / Stadtring: (Ring road / City ring - can serve a bypass function but often encircles the (entire) city.)
Antonyms (Opposites)
- Durchgangsstraße: (Through road - a road leading through the middle of a town.)
- Hauptverkehrsstraße (im Ort): (Main road (in town) - an important road within the town, often carrying heavy traffic.)
- Ortsdurchfahrt: (Town passage - refers to the section of an interregional road that passes through a town.)
😄 A Little Joke
Frage: Warum sind Umgehungsstraßen so beliebt bei Navigationsgeräten?
Antwort: Weil sie immer wissen, wie man den Stau geschickt umgeht!
Question: Why are bypasses so popular with GPS devices?
Answer: Because they always know how to cleverly bypass (umgehen) the traffic jam!
📜 A Short Poem
Der Laster dröhnt, die Luft ist schwer,
Durchs Städtchen quält der LKW sehr.
Doch fern am Rand, ein neues Band,
Die Umgehungsstraße, stolz geplant.
Sie lenkt den Strom, geschwind und sacht,
Hat Ruh' dem alten Kern gebracht.
(The truck roars, the air is thick,
Through the small town, the lorry goes quick.
But far on the edge, a new ribbon lies,
The bypass road, a proud enterprise.
It guides the flow, swift and light,
Brought peace to the old center's plight.)
🤔 A Little Riddle about the Umgehungsstraße
Ich führe außen rum, nicht mitten rein,
Entlaste Dörfer, Städte, groß und klein.
Man baut mich oft für LKW und schnelle Fahrt,
Damit der Lärm im Zentrum wird gespart.
Wer bin ich?
(I lead around the edge, not through the heart,
Relieving villages, cities, playing my part.
I'm often built for trucks and speedy pace,
To save the center from noise in that place.
What am I?)
Answer: Die Umgehungsstraße (The bypass road)
🧩 Word Composition and Trivia
Word Parts: 'Umgehungsstraße' is a compound noun (*Kompositum*) made of:
- Umgehung: Derived from the verb 'umgehen' (to bypass, to avoid, to circumvent).
- Straße: Meaning road or street.
Trivia: The planning and construction of bypasses (*Umgehungsstraßen*) are often subjects of heated debate in local politics (*Kommunalpolitik*). They involve balancing benefits like traffic relief (*Verkehrsentlastung*) against drawbacks such as land consumption (*Flächenverbrauch*), cost (*Kosten*), and potential noise pollution for residents near the new route.
📝 Summary: is it der, die or das Umgehungsstraße?
The word 'Umgehungsstraße' is feminine: die Umgehungsstraße. The plural is die Umgehungsstraßen.