Rathaus

town hall

noun RAHT-hows Less Common

Also means

city hall

Usage Note

Rathaus comes from Rat ('council') plus Haus, the seat of the local council, not a 'rat house'. The plural mutates to Rathäuser, and the building is often the architectural centerpiece of a German town's market square.

Examples

"Das Rathaus steht am Marktplatz."

Natural Translation

The town hall stands on the market square.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Adjective Endings Made Simple

German adjective endings come down to one question, not three tables: does the article already show gender and case? If yes, the adjective stays lazy.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Modal Particles: doch, mal, ja, eben

German modal particles doch, mal, ja, and eben add attitude, not meaning. Before/after examples show how to use each one so your German stops sounding stiff.

June 9, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German False Friends: 25 Words That Trick You

German false friends like Gift (poison) and bekommen (to receive) trick English speakers daily. Here are 25 words that mean the opposite of what you'd guess.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Days, Months & Seasons (am, im & -tag)

Days of the week in German use am, months and seasons use im — plus the -tag pattern, capitalized nouns, and how to build a real sentence with a day.

June 5, 2026 4 min read