barracks / tenement
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barracks
A building or group of buildings where soldiers are housed. Barracks serve as living and working quarters for the military.
Der Soldat verbrachte seine Grundausbildung in einer Kaserne am Stadtrand.
The soldier spent his basic training in a barracks on the outskirts of town.
tenement
Colloquial and derogatory term for a large, plain, uniform-looking residential building with many rental apartments.
Früher haben die Arbeiter in riesigen, grauen Kasernen gewohnt.
In the past, the workers lived in huge, gray tenements.
The preposition 'in' is used with the accusative or dative depending on the context. Movement is expressed with 'in die Kaserne' (into the barracks, accusative), while being or staying somewhere is expressed with 'in der Kaserne' (in the barracks, dative).
Die neuen Rekruten marschieren in die Kaserne.
The new recruits march into the barracks.
In a military context, 'Kaserne' (barracks) is often combined with words such as 'Soldaten' (soldiers), 'stationiert sein' (to be stationed), 'einrücken' (to report for duty), or 'Grundausbildung' (basic training).
Tausende Soldaten sind in der größten Kaserne des Landes stationiert.
Thousands of soldiers are stationed in the largest barracks in the country.
You can recognize the colloquial meaning from the context. If the topic is 'wohnen' (living), 'Mieter' (tenants), or the appearance of a building, it usually means the derogatory word for a residential building.
Sie wohnt in so einer riesigen, grauen Mietskaserne am Stadtrand.
She lives in one of those huge, gray tenements on the outskirts of town.
When 'Kaserne' (barracks/tenement) describes a residential building, it is always colloquial and negative. It expresses that the building is perceived as impersonal and ugly.
Ich möchte nicht in solch einer anonymen Kaserne leben.
I don't want to live in such an anonymous tenement.
accommodation
An Unterkunft is generally a place for temporary living or staying overnight. A Kaserne, by contrast, is specifically a place where soldiers live and work. Soldiers can also use other accommodation; use Kaserne when the military facility itself is explicitly meant.
Nach der Übung kehrten die Soldaten in ihre Kaserne zurück.
After the exercise, the soldiers returned to their barracks.
Während der Übung fanden die Soldaten eine Unterkunft in einem Hotel.
During the exercise, the soldiers found accommodation in a hotel.
