21 December 2025
How do you say “to live” in German?
The German words “leben” and “wohnen” are both used to express where one lives. But what’s the difference?
Leben
“Leben”, aside from its general meaning of “to be alive” describes living or life more broadly. Both leben and wohnen can describe permanent or temporary residence; the distinction is not how long you stay.
If, for example, you live in a country but you stay in different cities within that country, you would say “Ich lebe in [country name].” This word carries with it a sense of completeness (“I live my life”).
Wohnen
“Wohnen” is best translated as “to reside” - it’s about where your home is: your city, your street, your apartment.
For example:
Ich wohne in der Schillerstraße. - I live on Schillerstraße. Ich wohne in einer WG. - I live in a shared apartment.
It is common to use “wohnen” when giving someone your street address.
Note that wohnen is used almost exclusively for people.
But, as so often happens, in reality there is a great amount of overlap and interchangeability with “leben” and “wohnen”.
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