outdoor area / outlying area
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outdoor area
The outdoor area belonging to a building such as a restaurant, café, or apartment. This can be a terrace, garden, or balcony.
Im Sommer sitzen wir am liebsten im Außenbereich des Cafés.
In summer, we most like sitting in the outdoor area of the café.
The word is made up of 'außen' (outside) and 'Bereich' (area). So it literally describes an area that is located outside.
Unser neues Haus hat einen großen Außenbereich mit Garten.
Our new house has a large outdoor area with a garden.
The preposition 'in' is used here with different cases depending on the situation. Movement to this place is expressed with 'in den Außenbereich' (accusative), while being there is expressed as 'im Außenbereich' (dative).
Die Gäste gehen in den Außenbereich, um frische Luft zu schnappen.
The guests go into the outdoor area to get some fresh air.
In the context of restaurants and housing, 'Außenbereich' is often combined with certain verbs and nouns. Typical phrases are 'im Außenbereich sitzen' (to sit in the outdoor area), 'den Außenbereich gestalten' (to design the outdoor area), or 'der Außenbereich eines Cafés' (the outdoor area of a café).
Das Restaurant ist bekannt für seinen schön gestalteten Außenbereich.
The restaurant is known for its beautifully designed outdoor area.
You can recognize this special meaning from the context. When the topic involves words such as 'bauen' (to build), 'Genehmigung' (permit), 'Vorschriften' (regulations), or 'Gemeinde' (municipality), it almost always refers to the legal term from spatial planning.
Eine Baugenehmigung für den Außenbereich zu bekommen, ist sehr schwierig.
Getting a building permit for the outlying area is very difficult.
surrounding area
'das Umland' and 'der Außenbereich' can both refer to areas outside dense development. 'Umland' describes the area surrounding a larger city and is a normal word for everyday life, transport, or housing. In this context, 'Außenbereich' is more of a technical term from building and planning: it refers to areas outside built-up parts of a town, where special rules apply. The words can be confused because both are outside the center. For the region around a city, people usually say 'Umland'; for building regulations, 'Außenbereich' is more precise.
Im Außenbereich darf Daniel nicht einfach ein neues Haus bauen.
In an outlying area, Daniel cannot simply build a new house.
Nach der Veranstaltung fuhren viele Gäste zurück ins Umland.
After the event, many guests drove back to the surrounding area.