hometown
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hometown
The place, town, or municipality where a person was born or grew up and to which they have a strong emotional connection.
Er kehrt nur noch selten in seinen Heimatort zurück.
He only rarely returns to his hometown now.
The word is made up of 'Heimat' (home/homeland) and 'Ort' (place). So it literally describes the place that is a person's home.
Mein Heimatort ist ein kleines Dorf in den Bergen.
My hometown is a small village in the mountains.
Common verbs used with 'Heimatort' (hometown) are 'in den Heimatort zurückkehren' (to return to one's hometown), 'seinen Heimatort besuchen' (to visit one's hometown), or 'seinen Heimatort verlassen' (to leave one's hometown).
Viele junge Leute verlassen ihren Heimatort, um in der Stadt zu studieren.
Many young people leave their hometown to study in the city.
To express movement, you use 'in den Heimatort' (to the hometown, accusative). To describe a fixed location, you use 'in seinem Heimatort' (in his hometown, dative).
Nächstes Jahr fahre ich wieder in meinen Heimatort.
Next year I'm going back to my hometown again.
homeland / home
'die Heimat' and 'der Heimatort' both have to do with origin and a personal attachment. 'die Heimat' is broader: it can be a country, a region, or a place that you feel emotionally connected to. 'der Heimatort' is more specific and means the particular place or town where someone was born or grew up. The words can be confused when talking about origin. If you mean a feeling or a larger area, 'Heimat' fits. If you mean the exact town or municipality, 'Heimatort' is better.
Im Sommer besucht Ali seinen Heimatort und trifft alte Schulfreunde.
In the summer, Ali visits his hometown and meets old school friends.
Nach vielen Jahren im Ausland vermisst sie ihre Heimat sehr.
After many years abroad, she misses her homeland very much.