counting house / office
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counting house / office
An outdated or regionally used term for an office, especially the office of a merchant or trading company. Today, the term is often associated with historical trading houses, such as those of the Hanseatic League.
Im alten Speicherhaus befand sich früher das Kontor eines reichen Gewürzhändlers.
In the old warehouse, the counting house of a wealthy spice merchant used to be located.
Although 'Kontor' (counting house/office) is outdated, you can still find it as the base word in compounds that refer to historical trading businesses, e.g. 'Teekontor' (tea trading office/tea shop) or 'Gewürzkontor' (spice trading office/spice shop).
In der Hamburger Speicherstadt gibt es heute noch ein berühmtes Teekontor.
In Hamburg's Speicherstadt, there is still a famous tea trading office today.
'Kontor' (counting house/office) is an outdated word for office. Today, it is used almost only when talking about historical contexts.
In alten Romanen liest man oft, dass der Kaufmann in sein Kontor ging.
In old novels, you often read that the merchant went into his counting house.
The word is strongly associated with the time of the Hanseatic League and maritime trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. It describes a merchant's office in that era.
Das Londoner Kontor der Hanse war ein wichtiger Handelsposten.
The Hanseatic League's London counting house was an important trading post.
office / bureau
'das Büro' and 'das Kontor' can both refer to a place for commercial or written work. 'Büro' is the normal word today for a workroom or administrative office. 'Kontor', on the other hand, is outdated or regional and fits especially with trade, merchants, or historical texts. The words can be confused because a 'Kontor' is often essentially an office. In modern everyday language, people almost always say 'Büro'. 'Kontor' sounds more like an old trading company or a special stylistic choice.
Im alten Kontor wurden früher die Warenlisten der Händler geschrieben.
In the old counting house, the merchants' lists of goods used to be written.
Die Verkäuferin bringt die Unterlagen ins Büro.
The sales assistant takes the documents to the office.