highway
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highway
A large, important long-distance road, especially in a North American context. The term is often used for multi-lane highways that connect cities and regions.
Wir fuhren auf dem Highway 1 die kalifornische Küste entlang.
We drove along the California coast on Highway 1.
'Highway' is a word borrowed directly from English and is pronounced similarly. In German, it is used almost exclusively for highways in North America.
In vielen amerikanischen Filmen spielen Szenen auf einem langen, leeren Highway.
In many American films, scenes take place on a long, empty highway.
When driving on such a road, use the preposition 'auf'. For location, use the dative; for direction, use the accusative.
Wir sind stundenlang auf dem Highway 66 gefahren.
We drove on Highway 66 for hours.
Common phrases are 'auf dem Highway fahren' (to drive on the highway), 'den Highway entlangfahren' (to drive along the highway), or 'eine Ausfahrt vom Highway nehmen' (to take an exit off the highway).
Wir nahmen die nächste Ausfahrt vom Highway, um zu tanken.
We took the next exit off the highway to get gas.
autobahn / motorway
'Autobahn' and 'Highway' both refer to large roads for longer car trips. 'Autobahn' is the normal German word for this type of road in Germany and similar traffic systems. 'Highway' is used more when talking about North America or English-speaking countries. Learners may confuse the words because both mean fast long-distance roads. In an everyday German sentence, however, 'Autobahn' usually sounds more natural; 'Highway' fits especially when talking about travel or reports about the USA or Canada.
Im Urlaub in Kanada fuhren sie stundenlang über einen breiten Highway.
On vacation in Canada, they drove for hours along a wide highway.
Wegen des Staus auf der Autobahn kamen wir eine Stunde später an.
Because of the traffic jam on the autobahn, we arrived an hour later.