01
die Grundfläche
base area
The area on which a building or geometric solid stands; the lower boundary surface.
example
Die Grundfläche des Zimmers beträgt 20 Quadratmeter.
The base area of the room is 20 square meters.
die Grundfläche
base area / basal area
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Word composition
The word is made up of 'Grund' (ground/base) and 'Fläche' (area/surface). So it literally describes the area that forms the ground or base of something.
EXAMPLE
Die Grundfläche des neuen Supermarktes ist riesig.
The base area of the new supermarket is huge.
Typical collocations
In the context of buildings and geometry, the Grundfläche (base area) is often 'berechnet' (calculated) or 'beträgt' (amounts to/is) a certain size in square meters.
EXAMPLE
Können Sie die Grundfläche des Dreiecks berechnen?
Can you calculate the base area of the triangle?
Sentence structure
To state the size, people often use the structure 'eine Grundfläche von ... haben' (to have a base area of ...) or 'die Grundfläche beträgt ...' (the base area is/amounts to ...).
EXAMPLE
Das Haus hat eine Grundfläche von 120 Quadratmetern.
The house has a base area of 120 square meters.
Context clue
You can always recognize the forestry meaning from context. Words like 'Wald' (forest), 'Bäume' (trees), 'Förster' (forester), or 'Holzvorrat' (timber volume) signal that it is not about a building.
EXAMPLE
Der Förster misst die Grundfläche, um die Dichte des Waldes zu bestimmen.
The forester measures the basal area to determine the density of the forest.
Compare with
Grundfläche vs Oberfläche
surface
'die Oberfläche' and 'die Grundfläche' can be confused because both refer to an area or surface on an object or solid. 'die Oberfläche' means the outer, visible layer or side, for example the top of a table or the outside of a device. 'die Grundfläche' means the area at the bottom that something stands on, or the lower surface of a geometric solid. With a cardboard box, for example, the surface may be visible on the outside, but the base area is specifically the lower standing surface. So pay attention to whether you mean the outside in general or the area at the bottom.
Grundfläche
Für das neue Gartenhaus haben wir zuerst die Grundfläche genau ausgemessen.
For the new garden shed, we first measured the base area precisely.
Oberfläche
Auf der Oberfläche des Sees spiegeln sich die Wolken.
The clouds are reflected on the surface of the lake.
In real life
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