bathroom / bath
Loading your saved state.
bathroom
A room in an apartment or house that is equipped with a shower, a bathtub, a sink, and often a toilet, and is used for personal hygiene.
Ich gehe kurz ins Bad, um mir die Hände zu waschen.
I'm just going to the bathroom quickly to wash my hands.
bath
The act of bathing in a tub or in a body of water such as a lake or the sea.
Nach dem langen Spaziergang nehme ich ein heißes Bad.
After the long walk, I'm taking a hot bath.
pool / spa
A public facility for swimming and bathing (swimming pool) or a place with healing springs (spa town, health resort).
Im Sommer gehen wir oft ins öffentliche Bad, um uns abzukühlen.
In the summer, we often go to the public pool to cool off.
The noun 'das Bad' (bathroom/bath) is derived directly from the verb 'baden' (to bathe). This connection helps you understand all the meanings, which revolve around washing or swimming.
Nachdem wir im See gebadet hatten, war uns wieder warm.
After we had bathed in the lake, we were warm again.
The plural 'die Bäder' refers always to rooms or public facilities. The pure act of bathing (meaning 2) has no plural.
Unsere neue Wohnung hat zwei Bäder.
Our new apartment has two bathrooms.
When referring to the room, the preposition 'in' is crucial. Use 'ins Bad' (into the bathroom, accusative) for movement toward it and 'im Bad' (in the bathroom, dative) for position or an action inside it.
Kann ich kurz in dein Bad gehen?
Can I quickly use your bathroom?
To express the act of bathing, you almost always use the fixed expression 'ein Bad nehmen' (to take a bath). This is more natural than other formulations.
An kalten Winterabenden nehme ich gerne ein entspannendes Bad.
On cold winter evenings, I like to take a relaxing bath.
When 'Bad' means a public facility, it often appears in compounds such as 'Schwimmbad' (swimming pool), 'Freibad' (outdoor pool), or 'Heilbad' (spa/health resort). Adjectives like 'öffentlich' (public) also point to this meaning.
Das Heilbad in dieser Stadt ist für seine warmen Quellen bekannt.
The spa in this city is known for its warm springs.
to bathe / swim
When referring to bathing in a tub, both words describe the same activity but differ grammatically: „das Bad“ denotes the bathing process as a noun. With the verb „baden“, you say that someone is carrying out this activity.
Nach dem Sport tut mir ein warmes Bad gut.
After exercising, a warm bath does me good.
Nach dem Sport bade ich gern in warmem Wasser.
After exercising, I like to bathe in warm water.
