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
Heimat and Heimatort both refer to a place of origin that is emotionally important. Heimat is broader and can also mean a region or an entire country, while Heimatort explicitly refers to a single town or municipality. Use Heimatort when exactly this particular town or municipality is meant.
München ist der Heimatort, in dem er geboren wurde.
Munich is the hometown where he was born.
Für sie ist ganz Bayern ihre Heimat.
All of Bavaria is her home.
