one-way street
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one-way street
A street where traffic is only allowed to flow in one direction. The spelling with 'ss' is common in Switzerland.
Vorsicht, du darfst hier nicht links abbiegen, das ist eine Einbahnstrasse.
Careful, you can't turn left here; that's a one-way street.
The word is made up of 'Ein-', '-bahn-', and '-strasse'. It literally describes a street that has only one lane or direction.
Die Verkehrsführung wurde geändert; diese Strasse ist jetzt eine Einbahnstrasse.
The traffic routing was changed; this street is now a one-way street.
The spelling 'Einbahnstrasse' with 'ss' is common in Switzerland. In Germany and Austria, the word is written with 'ß': 'Einbahnstraße'.
In Zürich gibt es viele enge Einbahnstrassen in der Altstadt.
In Zurich, there are many narrow one-way streets in the old town.
The preposition 'in' is used differently: 'in eine Einbahnstrasse fahren' (to drive into a one-way street, accusative) describes movement into it, while 'in der Einbahnstrasse sein' (to be in the one-way street, dative) describes location.
Er ist aus Versehen in die falsche Richtung in die Einbahnstrasse gefahren.
He accidentally drove the wrong way into the one-way street.
You can recognize the figurative meaning from the context. If it is not about traffic but about abstract topics such as a relationship, a discussion, or a financial situation, the figurative meaning is intended.
Die Kommunikation mit ihm ist eine Einbahnstrasse; er hört nie zu.
Communication with him is a one-way street; he never listens.
dead end
'Sackgasse' and 'Einbahnstrasse' both have to do with streets and direction, but they do not mean the same thing. A 'Sackgasse' (dead-end street) is closed at the end; you cannot go any farther and have to turn around. An 'Einbahnstrasse' (one-way street) may only be driven on in one direction, but it does not have to end. Figuratively, both can also describe a difficult situation. 'Sackgasse' emphasizes that there is no way out or no progress. 'Einbahnstrasse' emphasizes that something only goes in one direction and hardly allows any turning back.
Diese Einbahnstrasse darfst du nur von der anderen Seite aus befahren.
You can only enter this one-way street from the other side.
Wir sind in eine Sackgasse gefahren und mussten am Ende wenden.
We drove into a dead-end street and had to turn around at the end.