The German word for floor (as in levels of a building)  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]

• Like “shock” but with a ‘t’ after the ‘sh’
  One syllable: SHTOCK

Example sentences

Ich wohne im dritten Stock.

I live on the third floor.

Der Aufzug fährt nur bis zum fünften Stock.

The elevator only goes up to the fifth floor.

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 second floor.” But be careful: in Germany, the ground floor is Erdgeschoss and the first floor above it is the zweiter Stock. That’s one floor “higher” than in American usage.

🔁 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 third floor.”

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 sixth floor.

"Der Aufzug ist kaputt. Ich muss in den vierten Stock laufen!"

The elevator’s broken. I have to walk up to the fourth floor!

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 eighth floor.
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 fourth floor.

Dative:
Mein Büro ist im zweiten Stock.

My office is on the second floor.

Genitive:
Die Fenster des ersten Stocks sind offen.

The windows on the first floor 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. It can refer to a stick or staff, especially in sports (Skistock = ski pole) or hiking (Wanderstock = hiking stick). 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. And then there’s the curious idiom bis in den letzten Stock, meaning “all the way up,” often used to describe old staircases or densely built houses.

🧠 Fun fact: In medieval German towns, the word Stock could also refer to a physical post or stake—eventually evolving into meanings for both building levels (as wooden beams separated stories) and walking sticks.

📘 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.