daycare center
Loading your saved state.
daycare center
A facility for caring for children during the day, for example when the parents are working. The term includes nurseries, kindergartens, and after-school care centers. The common abbreviation is 'Kita' (daycare).
Unsere Tochter geht seit einem Jahr in die Kindertagesstätte.
Our daughter has been going to the daycare center for a year.
This long word is made up of three parts: 'Kinder' (children) + 'Tag' (day, with the linking -s in 'Tages') + 'Stätte' (place). So it literally means 'a place for children during the day.'
Die Suche nach einem Platz in einer Kindertagesstätte kann schwierig sein.
Finding a place in a daycare center can be difficult.
In everyday language, the abbreviation 'Kita' (daycare) is almost always used. This short word is much more common in both spoken and written language than the full term.
Mein Sohn fühlt sich in seiner neuen Kita sehr wohl.
My son feels very comfortable in his new daycare.
Pay attention to the prepositions and the case: 'in die Kindertagesstätte' (to the daycare center, accusative) describes movement to a place, while 'in der Kindertagesstätte' (in the daycare center, dative) describes staying at that place.
Ich bringe meine Tochter jeden Morgen in die Kindertagesstätte.
I take my daughter to the daycare center every morning.
kindergarten
'der Kindergarten' and 'die Kindertagesstätte' both have to do with caring for children during the day. 'Kindergarten' is narrower: it mainly means the care and education of preschool-age children, usually from about age three. 'Kindertagesstätte' is broader and more official. It can also include nurseries for very young children and sometimes after-school care centers for schoolchildren. In everyday language, you often hear the abbreviation 'Kita'. The words can be confused because a Kindergarten is often part of a Kindertagesstätte. If you are speaking generally about a childcare place, 'Kindertagesstätte' or 'Kita' works. If it is about children before school, 'Kindergarten' is a very good fit.
Morgen besichtigen wir eine Kindertagesstätte in unserer Nähe.
Tomorrow we are visiting a daycare center near us.
Im Kindergarten lernt er gerade neue Lieder.
He is currently learning new songs at kindergarten.