to rent / hire
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to rent
To receive something for use for a certain period of time in exchange for payment, for example an apartment, a car, or a room.
Für unseren Urlaub in Italien haben wir ein kleines Ferienhaus gemietet.
For our vacation in Italy, we rented a small holiday house.
to hire
To engage someone in exchange for payment for a specific, often one-time service.
Für die Party haben sie einen professionellen DJ gemietet.
They hired a professional DJ for the party.
The verb 'mieten' (to rent / hire) belongs to a word family with 'die Miete' (the rent; the money you pay) and 'der Mieter' (the tenant; the person who rents). If you know one of these words, you can remember the others more easily.
Die Miete für unsere Wohnung ist diesen Monat fällig.
The rent for our apartment is due this month.
'Mieten' (to rent / hire) always describes the perspective of the person who pays to use something. You are the customer or user.
Wir haben für die Konferenz einen großen Raum gemietet.
We rented a large room for the conference.
The verb 'mieten' (to rent / hire) almost always requires an accusative object. You always rent 'something' or hire 'someone'.
Ich möchte ein Fahrrad für den Nachmittag mieten.
I would like to rent a bicycle for the afternoon.
The difference between the meanings lies in the object: if you rent a thing or a place (apartment, car), the first meaning is intended. If you hire a person for a service (cook, photographer), the second meaning is intended.
Sie haben für die Hochzeit einen Oldtimer gemietet.
They rented a vintage car for the wedding.
to engage / hire
Both verbs can mean hiring someone for a task in exchange for payment. „Engagieren“ is the usual and neutral choice, especially for artists, experts, or lawyers. „Mieten“ is rather colloquial in this use and often sounds unusual; for things, however, „mieten“ remains normal.
Für die Feier mieteten wir einen Musiker für den Abend.
For the party, we hired a musician for the evening.
Für die Feier engagierten wir einen Musiker für den Abend.
For the party, we hired a musician for the evening.
