merchant / businessman
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merchant / businessman
A person who works in trade professionally, meaning they buy and sell goods in order to make a profit. The term includes both self-employed entrepreneurs and managerial employees in commerce.
Ein kluger Kaufmann kauft günstig ein und verkauft mit Gewinn.
A clever merchant buys at a low price and sells at a profit.
The word is made up of 'kaufen' (to buy) and 'Mann' (man). A 'Kaufmann' (merchant/businessman) is therefore literally a man who engages in trade by buying and selling goods.
Schon als Kind wollte er Kaufmann werden und einen eigenen Laden haben.
Even as a child, he wanted to become a merchant and have his own shop.
'Kaufmann' (merchant/businessman) belongs to the N-declension. This means that in all cases except the nominative singular it takes the ending '-n' or '-en'. This is a common mistake among learners.
Ich habe mit dem Kaufmann über den Preis verhandelt.
I negotiated the price with the merchant.
The plural of 'Kaufmann' is 'Kaufleute' (merchants/businesspeople). The ending '-leute' instead of '-männer' is often used with job titles and emphasizes the group of people in their function.
Die Kaufleute der Stadt trafen sich einmal im Monat.
The merchants of the town met once a month.
You can recognize the legal meaning of 'Kaufmann' (merchant) from the context. It is used almost exclusively in legal or business texts, often in connection with laws such as the Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB) (German Commercial Code).
Im Handelsregister ist er als Kaufmann eingetragen.
He is registered in the commercial register as a merchant.
entrepreneur
'der Unternehmer' and 'der Kaufmann' can overlap when someone works in business and trades for profit. 'Unternehmer' is more general: it is about owning, running, or having founded a company and taking risks. 'Kaufmann' fits especially with trade, meaning buying and selling goods. In addition, 'Kaufmann' can also be a legal term. Learners can confuse the words because a merchant can also be an entrepreneur. But not every entrepreneur is a merchant, for example if their company does not work in trade.
Der Kaufmann bestellt neue Ware und verkauft sie später mit Gewinn.
The merchant orders new goods and later sells them at a profit.
Als Unternehmer muss Herr Kaya entscheiden, ob er neue Mitarbeiter einstellt.
As an entrepreneur, Mr. Kaya has to decide whether to hire new employees.