01
der Waggon
railcar
A single vehicle of a railway train intended for transporting people or goods.
example
Der Zug bestand aus acht Waggons, darunter ein Speisewagen.
The train consisted of eight railcars, including a dining car.
der Waggon
railcar
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Meanings
Usage tips
Typical combinations
'Waggon' is often described more precisely by a defining word in order to make the type of car clear, e.g., 'Personenwaggon' (passenger car), 'Güterwaggon' (freight car), or 'Schlafwaggon' (sleeping car).
EXAMPLE
Der letzte Waggon des Zuges war ein Güterwaggon.
The last car of the train was a freight car.
Movement and location
Pay attention to the preposition 'in' and the case: 'in den Waggon einsteigen' (to get into the car; accusative for direction) and 'im Waggon sitzen' (to sit in the car; dative for location).
EXAMPLE
Die Passagiere stiegen schnell in den Waggon.
The passengers quickly got into the railcar.
Typical verbs
Common verbs in connection with 'Waggon' are 'einsteigen' (to get on/in), 'aussteigen' (to get off/out), 'umsteigen' (to transfer/change trains), as well as the technical terms 'ankoppeln' (to couple/attach) and 'abhängen' (to uncouple/detach).
EXAMPLE
Am Bahnhof wurden zwei weitere Waggons an den Zug angekoppelt.
At the station, two more railcars were coupled to the train.
Compare with
Waggon vs Zug
train / move / draft
'der Zug' and 'der Waggon' both belong to the topic of railways, but they do not mean the same thing. 'Der Zug' is the whole vehicle or the whole unit that moves. 'Der Waggon' is only a single car within a train. Learners can easily confuse the words because in both cases you see a vehicle on rails. Remember: you get on the train, but you sit in a specific railcar.
Waggon
Noah hat mit seinem Freund im letzten Waggon einen freien Platz gefunden.
Noah found a free seat with his friend in the last railcar.
Zug
Der Zug nach Hamburg hatte wegen des Wetters zwanzig Minuten Verspätung.
The train to Hamburg was twenty minutes late because of the weather.
In real life
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