21 December 2025
How do you say floor or stick in German?
The German word for floor (as in levels of a building) is der Stock. It also means stick (more on that below).It’s one of those deceptively simple words that becomes essential when you’re renting an apartment, looking at hotel rooms, or just trying to find the right level in a parking garage.
Stock is one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German, and you’ll hear it often, especially in real estate, architecture, and daily life.
Gender and Pronunciation
It’s a masculine noun: der Stock.Need help with gender? This video lesson will give you the tools to spot patterns that work.
Pronunciation:Stock is pronounced [shtock]
- Start with sht, then a short German o and final k; American shock is only a rough vowel approximation.One syllable: SHTOCK
Example sentences
Ich wohne im dritten Stock.
I live on the fourth floor (US numbering).
Der Aufzug fährt nur bis zum fünften Stock.
The elevator only goes up to the sixth floor (US numbering).
Sie hat eine Wohnung im obersten Stock.
She has an apartment on the top floor.
Nuance and usage tips
🏢 Stock refers to a building’s floor or story. If someone says im zweiten Stock, they mean “on the third floor” in usual American numbering. But be careful: in Germany, the ground floor is das Erdgeschoss, and the first floor above it is der erste Stock. Im ersten Stock is what Americans usually call the second floor.
🔁 When counting floors, you can use erster, zweiter, dritter Stock, and so on. If you want to say which floor something is on, you usually use im + ordinal (e.g. im dritten Stock).
🪜 Historically, Stockwerk is the more formal or complete version, but Stock is what’s used in everyday conversation. Ein Haus mit drei Stockwerken is a house with three stories, while im dritten Stock is how you’d say “on the fourth floor” in usual American numbering.
How does this word come up in real conversations?
“Entschuldigung, in welchem Stock ist das Büro Müller?”
Excuse me, which floor is the Müller office on?
“Wir wohnen ganz oben im sechsten Stock.”
We live all the way up on the seventh floor (US numbering).
“Der Aufzug ist kaputt. Ich muss in den vierten Stock laufen!”
The elevator’s broken. I have to walk up to the fifth floor (US numbering)!
Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)
Lea: Ist dein neues Büro schön?Ben: Ja, total modern. Aber es ist im achten Stock.Lea: Und der Aufzug?Ben: Zum Glück funktioniert er meistens.
Translation:Lea: Is your new office nice?Ben: Yes, really modern. But it’s on the ninth floor (US numbering).Lea: And the elevator?Ben: Luckily, it usually works.
Grammatical case examples
Nominative:Der Stock ist sehr hoch.
The floor is very high.
Accusative:Ich suche den vierten Stock.
I’m looking for the fifth floor (US numbering).
Dative:Mein Büro ist im zweiten Stock.
My office is on the third floor (US numbering).
Genitive:Die Fenster des ersten Stocks sind offen.
The windows on the second floor (US numbering) are open.
Other ways to say floor in German
The word Stock is the most common way to say floor in German when referring to building levels. However, you’ll also hear Etage, especially in hotels or formal announcements (e.g. die dritte Etage). Stockwerk is the full version of Stock and can sound more technical or architectural. In everyday language, Stock remains the most direct and familiar term - especially in phrases like im vierten Stock or der fünfte Stock.
Word variations and tidbits
Beyond floors, Stock has a few other meanings. For sticks the plural is Stöcke; building floors are usually Stockwerke. It can refer to a stick or staff, especially in sports (Skistock = ski pole) or hiking (Wanderstock = hiking stick), as in the idiom über Stock und Stein (over hill and dale). Two false friends: the floor you stand on is der Boden, and “stock” as in shares is die Aktie. You might also come across Stockwerk, which is just a longer version of the word for floor in German, used when talking about entire building levels. The phrase bis in den letzten Stock means up to the top floor; it is a literal description rather than a fixed idiom.
🧠 Fun fact: Duden traces the building-floor sense of Stock to Middle High German stoc, meaning timber framing.
📘 Duden entry for Stock🎥 Want to climb your way to fluency, floor by floor? Our free video course teaches the top 1000 German nouns with examples, context, and clarity.
Ready for more German Words of the Day?Do you know what Strand means? You might need it when you’re nowhere near a Stock.And what about Stück? It’s a small word that makes a big difference.
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