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 major long-distance roads for fast traffic. Autobahn is the German term for a specific type of road, usually without intersections and with separate carriageways for each direction. Highway is used especially for important long-distance roads in North America and can refer there to roads with other structural designs as well.
Wir fuhren auf dem Highway schnell von Toronto in eine benachbarte Stadt.
We drove quickly from Toronto to a neighboring city on the highway.
Wir fuhren auf der Autobahn ohne Kreuzungen schnell von München nach Nürnberg.
We drove quickly from Munich to Nuremberg on the motorway, without encountering any intersections.
