sidewalk
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sidewalk
A raised and paved path for pedestrians located at the side of a street. In Austria, it is called 'Gehsteig'.
Bitte klappen Sie die Bürgersteige hoch, wir kommen gleich durch!
Please fold up the sidewalks; we'll be coming through any minute!
The word is made up of 'Bürger' (citizen) and 'Steig' (a path). So literally, it is the path for citizens, separated from the roadway for vehicles.
Kinder sollten mit dem Fahrrad nicht auf dem Bürgersteig fahren.
Children should not ride their bikes on the sidewalk.
The word 'Bürgersteig' (sidewalk) is common mainly in Germany. In Austria, people say 'der Gehsteig' instead; in Switzerland, 'das Trottoir' is common.
In Wien muss man im Winter den Gehsteig vor dem Haus schneefrei halten.
In Vienna, you have to keep the sidewalk in front of the house free of snow in winter.
The idiom 'die Bürgersteige hochklappen' literally means 'to fold up the sidewalks' and means that nothing is happening in a town or place in the evening or on the weekend. It is often used jokingly to say that a place is very quiet.
In diesem kleinen Dorf werden um acht Uhr abends die Bürgersteige hochgeklappt.
In this small village, they fold up the sidewalks at eight o'clock in the evening.
roadway
'die Fahrbahn' and 'der Bürgersteig' are two different parts of a street. The Fahrbahn is for vehicles. The Bürgersteig is the paved path at the side where pedestrians walk. The words can be confused because both are part of the street and lie directly next to each other. So the most important difference is: on the Fahrbahn you drive; on the Bürgersteig you walk. In Germany, 'Bürgersteig' is a very common word for this pedestrian path along the street.
Vor dem Termin warte ich auf dem Bürgersteig vor dem Büro.
Before the appointment, I wait on the sidewalk in front of the office.
Der Bus hielt kurz am Rand der Fahrbahn.
The bus stopped briefly at the edge of the roadway.