commander
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commander
A person with the highest command over a military unit, a fortress, a ship, a police station, or a fire station.
Der Kommandant der Raumstation gab die Anweisungen für das Andockmanöver.
The commander of the space station gave the instructions for the docking maneuver.
'Kommandant' (commander) is a noun of the N-declension. It takes the ending '-en' in all cases except the nominative singular. This is important for forming sentences correctly.
Der Kommandant gab den Befehl.
The commander gave the order.
The word 'Kommandant' (commander) belongs to the word family of 'Kommando' (command) and 'kommandieren' (to command). All these words have to do with orders, leadership, and control.
Der General hat das Kommando über die gesamte Armee.
The general has command over the entire army.
To indicate what someone has command over, German usually uses the genitive or the preposition 'von' (of/from). The structure is therefore 'der Kommandant + genitive' or 'der Kommandant + von + dative'.
Er ist der Kommandant der Polizeistation.
He is the commander of the police station.
captain
'der Kapitän' and 'der Kommandant' both refer to people who have responsibility and command. 'Kapitän' is used mainly for a ship or an airplane. In sports, the captain is the leader of a team. 'Kommandant' sounds more strongly connected to the military, police, fire department, or another official unit. Learners may confuse the words because both can mean a person in charge. For a civilian ship, airplane, or team, you usually say 'Kapitän'; for military or official leadership, 'Kommandant' fits better.
Bei der Übung gibt der Kommandant der Feuerwache klare Anweisungen.
During the exercise, the commander of the fire station gives clear instructions.
Heute führt der Kapitän die Mannschaft mit einer blauen Armbinde aufs Feld.
Today the captain leads the team onto the field wearing a blue armband.