building material
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building material
Substances and materials used to construct buildings, roads, or other structures. These include, for example, wood, concrete, bricks, steel, or glass.
Für den Hausbau benötigen wir noch verschiedenes Baumaterial wie Ziegel und Zement.
For building the house, we still need various building materials such as bricks and cement.
The word is made up of 'Bau' (from 'bauen' (to build)) and 'Material' (material). So it literally means 'material for building.' The '-en' is a linking sound that connects the two parts of the word.
Die Firma liefert das Baumaterial direkt zur Baustelle.
The company delivers the building material directly to the construction site.
'Baumaterial' (building material) is often used in the singular as a collective term, even when talking about different substances such as wood, stone, and concrete. The plural form 'Baumaterialien' (building materials) is used less often and sounds more formal.
Auf der Baustelle lagert viel Baumaterial.
A lot of building material is stored at the construction site.
Common verbs used with 'Baumaterial' (building material) are 'bestellen' (to order), 'liefern' (to deliver), 'lagern' (to store), and 'entsorgen' (to dispose of).
Wir müssen für die Renovierung noch Baumaterial bestellen.
We still need to order building material for the renovation.
material
'das Material' and 'das Baumaterial' can both refer to substances from which something is made. 'Material' is very general and can mean wood, metal, fabric, or plastic, but also information or equipment. 'Baumaterial' is more specific and means material used for building, for example bricks, concrete, or wood for a house. Learners may confuse the words because building material is a type of material. When the construction context is important, 'Baumaterial' is more precise. In other situations, you simply say 'Material'.
Vor dem Haus liegt schon das Baumaterial für die neue Garage.
The building material for the new garage is already lying in front of the house.
Für die Tasche sucht Lena ein leichtes, aber stabiles Material.
Lena is looking for a light but sturdy material for the bag.