Deciphering advertisements
German accommodation advertisements do not refer to the number of bedrooms in flats and houses, but to square metres of floor space (das Quadratmeter; m²). Floor space is also the means by which most rents for rooms in "Wohngemeinschaften" are usually calculated. You might for example see a phrase such as "65m² Wohnfläche", which means "65 square metres of living space". This living space normally comprises living room, dining room and bedroom(s).

Adverts may also refer to the total number of rooms in a residence - excluding the bathroom, hall and kitchen. So if you want a flat with a living room, a dining room and two bedrooms, then look for adverts with (4 Zimmer), or as the abbreviation in advertisements would have it (4Zi).

Note too the distinction between between "kalt" and "warm" when referring to rent. This has nothing to do with how warm or cold the building is, but instead whether the rent includes heating bills (warm) or excludes them (kalt). Make sure that you are aware of how much rent you are patying and what your rights and responsibilities are before you sign the lease (der Mietvertrag).

Advertisement abbreviations
The abbreviations used in accommodation advertisements are often as confusing to Germans as they are to non-native speakers. Below is a table of the most common abbreviations:

Vocabulary 7: Advertisement abbreviations AB  Altbau  (old building)  Abstand  Abstand  (money paid for renovation done by previous tenant)  Ap.  Appartement  (apartment)  At.  Atelier  (studio)  B.  Bad  (bathroom)  Balk.  Balkon  (balcony)  BK  Betriebskosten  (service costs)  ca.  circa  (approximately)  DG  Dachgeschoss  (attic)  DI  Diele  (hall)  3er-WG  Dreier-Wohngemeinschaft  (three-person shared flat)  Du.  Dusche  (shower)  EBK  Einbauküche  (fitted kitchen)  EFH  Einfamilienhaus  (detached house)  EG  Erdgeschoss  (ground floor)  erford.  erforderlich  (required)  F  Fahrstuhl  (lift)  FbH  Fußbodenheizung  (underfloor heating)  Ga.  Garten  (garden)  Gar.  Garage  (garage)  gemütl.  gemütlich  (comfortable)  gepfl.  gepflegt  (well looked after)  gfl.  gefliest  (tiled)  HH  Hinterhaus  (building behind courtyard)  Hk.  Heizkosten  (heating costs)  Ka.  Kamin  (fireplace)  Kab.  Kabel-TV  (cable television)  kalt  Kaltmiete  (excluding heating costs)  KDB  Küche, Dusche, Bad  (kitchen, shower, bath)  kft.  komfortabel  (comfortable)  Kl.  Keller  (cellar)  KM  Kaltmiete  (rent excluding heating costs)  KN  Kochnische  (kitchenette)  Kt.  Kaution  (deposit)  Kü.  Küche  (kitchen)  m²  Quadratmeter  (square metre)  max.  maximal  (a maximum of)  mind.  mindestens  (at least)  MM  Monatsmiete  (month's rent)  Mn.  Maisonette  (maisonette)  möbl.  möbliert  (furnished)  mtl.  monatlich  (monthly)  MVZ  Mietvorauszahlung  (rent to be paid in advance)  NB  Neubau  (new building)  NK  Nebenkosten  (additional costs)  NR  Nichtraucher  (non-smoker)  od.  oder  (or)  (2.) OG.  (zweites) Obergeschoss  (second) floor  OH  Ofenheizung  (coal oven heating)  Öl.  Ölheizung  (oil heating)  Pk.  Parkettboden  (parquet flooring)  Prov.  Provision  (commission)  qm.  Quadratmeter  (square metre)  ren.  renoviert  (renovated)  RH  Reihenhaus  (terrace house)  Rm.  Raum  (room)  ruh.  ruhig  (quiet)  SFL  Seitenflügel  (side wing of building with courtyard)  son.  sonnig  (sunny)  Sou.  Souterrain  (basement)  Tel.  Telefon  (telephone)  Tep.  Teppichboden  (wall-to-wall carpet)  Terr.  Terrasse  (terrace)  TG  Tiefgarage  (underground car park)  t-möb.  teilmöbliert  (partially furnished)  verm.  vermieten  (to let)  vg.  verkehrsgünstig  (close to public transport)  VH  Vorderhaus  (building with street frontage)  v-möb.  voll möbliert  (fulliy furnished)  vorh.  vorhanden  (present; available)  warm  Warmmiete  (including heating costs)  W-B  Wannenbad  (bath tub)  WBS  Wohnberichtigungsschein  (permit for subsidised housing)  Wfl.  Wohnfläche  (living space)  WG  Wohngemeinschaft  (shared flat / house)  Whg.  Wohnung  (flat)  WM  Warmmiete  (rent including heating costs)  Wm.  Waschmaschine  (washing machine)  ZH  Zentralheizung  (central heating)  Zi.  Zimmer  (room)  2 Zi.-Whg.  Zweizimmerwohnung  (two-room flat)  2 ZKDB  Zwei Zimmer, Küche, Diele, Bad  (two rooms, kitchen, hall, bathroom)  2er-WG  Zweier-Wohngemeinschaft  (two-person shared flat)  zzgl.  zuzüglich  (plus)

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of these abbreviations by clicking on the bar below:

Other advertisement vocabulary
Here is a list of further words and phrases that you may encounter in reader German advertisements. Whether the accommodation itself lives up to the description is a separate matter!

Vocabulary 8: General advertisement vocabulary das Angebot (-e)  offer  ausziehen (sep.)  to move out  baldig  quick; early  bequem  comfortable  die Besichtigung (-en)  viewing  bestens  excellently; very well  beziehen (insep.)  to occupy  biete...  I'm offering...  dringend  urgently  eingerichtet  furnished  einziehen (sep.)  to move in  gefliest  tiled  gelegen  situated  gemeinschaftlich  communal  gemütlich  comfortable; friendly  gepflegt  well looked after  geräumig  spacious  gesellig  sociable  gratis  free of charge  günstig  reasonably priced  hell  bright  das Hochparterre  upper ground floor  - im Hochparterre  - on the upper ground floor  hochwertig  high-quality  komfortabel  comfortable  die Kontaktperson (-en)  person to contact  die Lage (-n)  location  - Lage egal  - location unimportant  sich melden  to get in touch  möbliert  furnished  modern  modern  nach Möglichkeit  if possible  nett  nice  der Nichtraucher (-)  non-smoker  optimal  optimal; perfect  preiswert  reasonably-priced  renovieren  to renovate  renoviert  renovated  ruhig  quiet  sanieren  to renovate  saniert  renovated  sonnig  sunny  die Studentenwohnung (-en)  student flat  suche...  I'm looking for...  teilen  to share  teilmöbliert  partially furnished  umgänglich  friendly; sociable  Uni-Nähe  near the university  umziehen (sep.)  to move (house)  unmöbliert  unfurnished  die Verkehrsanbindung (-en)  transport connection  verkehrsgünstig  convenient for transport  vorhanden  present; available  WG-erprobt  experienced in living in a shared flat  WG-geeignet  suitable for a shared flat  die Wohnanlage (-n)  location  die Wohnfläche (-n)  living space  der Wohnungsmarkt  housing market  zentral  central  - möglichst zentral  - as central as possible

Chapter 12: Exercises

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