traffic accident
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traffic accident
An accident in road traffic involving at least one vehicle and resulting in property damage or personal injury.
Auf der Autobahn gab es einen Verkehrsunfall, der einen langen Stau verursachte.
There was a traffic accident on the highway that caused a long traffic jam.
This word is made up of three parts: 'Verkehr' (traffic) + '-s-' + 'Unfall' (accident). The '-s-' is a linking sound that connects the words. So it literally means an accident that happens in traffic.
Die Polizei untersucht die Ursache des Verkehrsunfalls.
The police are investigating the cause of the traffic accident.
Common verbs used with this noun are 'einen Verkehrsunfall haben' (to have a traffic accident), 'einen Verkehrsunfall verursachen' (to cause a traffic accident), or 'in einen Verkehrsunfall verwickelt sein' (to be involved in a traffic accident).
Leider war mein Nachbar in einen schweren Verkehrsunfall verwickelt.
Unfortunately, my neighbor was involved in a serious traffic accident.
To describe the severity of the accident, the adjectives 'schwer' (serious), 'leicht' (minor), or 'tödlich' (fatal) are often used.
Zum Glück war es nur ein leichter Verkehrsunfall mit Blechschaden.
Fortunately, it was only a minor traffic accident with damage to the vehicles.
crash
Verkehrsunfall (traffic accident) is the neutral term for an incident involving a vehicle in road traffic that causes damage, and it is also suitable for official reports. Crash also refers to a serious vehicle accident, but sounds more informal or journalistic and places greater emphasis on the violent impact.
Die Polizei untersucht den schweren Verkehrsunfall auf der Landstraße.
The police are investigating the serious traffic accident on the country road.
Die Zeitung berichtet über den heftigen Crash auf der Landstraße.
The newspaper reports on the serious crash on the country road.
