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Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.

Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.
The hostel is close to the train station.
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Questions & Answers about Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.

Why is it Das Hostel and not der or die Hostel? What gender is Hostel in German?

Hostel is neuter in German, so it takes the article das.

Many newer loanwords from English are treated as neuter in German (for example: das Team, das Ticket, das Internet). You just have to learn the gender with the noun, but das Hostel is the standard and natural form.

Is Hostel in German the same thing as hostel in English, or is it more like hotel?

In German:

  • das Hostel = pretty much the same as hostel in English (budget accommodation, often with shared rooms / dorms).
  • das Hotel = hotel in English (usually more comfort, private rooms, higher price).

So Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof means specifically a hostel, not just any hotel.

What does am mean in am Bahnhof? I thought an means at/on and dem is the.

You’re right: am is a contraction of an + dem.

  • an = at / on (here: at, near)
  • dem = the (dative, masculine / neuter)
  • an + dem → am

So am Bahnhof literally is an dem Bahnhof = at the station.

Why is it am Bahnhof and not simply nah Bahnhof like near the station?

In German, you cannot say nah Bahnhof on its own. The adjective nah normally comes with a preposition, for example:

  • nah an + dative → nah am Bahnhof
  • nah bei + dative → nah beim Bahnhof

English often says:

  • near the station

German usually needs the preposition an or bei:

  • Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof. = The hostel is near the station.
  • Das Hostel ist nah beim Bahnhof. = Also correct, a bit less common here.

So nah almost always needs that extra preposition to sound natural.

What case is Bahnhof in here, and how can I tell?

In nah am Bahnhof, the noun Bahnhof is in the dative singular:

  • an is a preposition that can take dative.
  • With the meaning “at a place / near a place”, an normally uses dative.
  • der Bahnhof (nominative, masculine)
    dem Bahnhof (dative, masculine)

Then an dem Bahnhof contracts to am Bahnhof.

There’s no extra ending on Bahnhof in the dative singular, so it looks the same as the nominative except for the article.

Why does the sentence use ist and not liegt or steht?

ist is the neutral, general verb: to be.

You could say:

  • Das Hostel liegt nah am Bahnhof.
  • Das Hostel steht nah am Bahnhof.

But they have slightly different flavors:

  • ist – completely neutral: it is near the station.
  • liegt – often used for locations on a map: cities, buildings, places.
  • steht – more for objects/buildings “standing” somewhere, often with a bit of visual focus.

In everyday speech, Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof is perfectly natural and maybe the most straightforward.

What’s the difference between nah, nahe, and in der Nähe?

They’re all related to the idea of near/close, but used a bit differently:

  1. nah (most common in modern spoken German here)

    • Predicative/adverb-like:
      • Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.

  2. nahe (slightly more formal / literary in this use)

    • Often similar to nah, but a bit less common in everyday speech:
      • Das Hostel ist nahe am Bahnhof. (correct, but sounds a touch formal or old-fashioned in some regions)

  3. in der Nähe (von) = in the vicinity (of)

    • Very common and very natural:
      • Das Hostel ist in der Nähe des Bahnhofs.
      • Das Hostel ist in der Nähe vom Bahnhof.

All are possible; nah am Bahnhof and in der Nähe des/​vom Bahnhofs are the most typical choices in everyday German.

Could I also say Das Hostel ist in der Nähe vom Bahnhof instead of nah am Bahnhof?

Yes. That’s very natural German.

  • Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.
  • Das Hostel ist in der Nähe vom Bahnhof.

Both mean “The hostel is near the station.”
The nuance:

  • nah am Bahnhof – a little shorter, slightly more “adjectival”.
  • in der Nähe vom Bahnhof – very common in everyday conversation; literally “in the vicinity of the station”.
Can I change the word order and say Das Hostel ist am Bahnhof nah?

No, that sounds unnatural in modern German.

The normal word order is:

  • Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.

Putting nah at the very end (am Bahnhof nah) is odd here. For adjectives like this, you usually keep:

  • [Subject] + ist + [adjective] + [prepositional phrase]:
    • Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.
    • Das Kino ist direkt am Bahnhof.
    • Die Schule ist weit vom Bahnhof entfernt.
Is nah an adjective or an adverb here?

Formally, nah is an adjective used predicatively (after sein).

However, in German grammar, predicative adjectives often play a role similar to adverbs in English:

  • Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof.
    “The hostel is near the station.”

You practically never use nah in front of a noun in everyday German (ein naher Bahnhof sounds archaic). Instead, you’d say:

  • ein Bahnhof in der Nähe – a nearby station
  • ein nahegelegenes Hostel – a nearby hostel (more formal/literary)
How do I make this sentence plural? For example: “The hostels are near the station.”

You only need to change the subject and the verb:

  • Die Hostels sind nah am Bahnhof.

Details:

  • Die Hostels – plural of das Hostel.
  • sind – plural of ist.
  • nah am Bahnhof – stays exactly the same; the location phrase doesn’t change with plural.
How do you pronounce Das Hostel ist nah am Bahnhof?

One approximate phonetic version (using IPA-like notation):

  • Das – /das/ (short a, like duss)
  • Hostel – /ˈhɔstɛl/ (stress on Ho, like English HOST
    • el, but o is shorter)
  • ist – /ɪst/ (short i, like ist in list)
  • nah – /naː/ (long a, like “naah”)
  • am – /am/ (short a again)
  • Bahnhof – /ˈbaːnhoːf/
    • Bahn – /baːn/ (long a, like “bahn”)
    • hof – /hoːf/ (long o, like in “hope” without the final e)

Stress:
DAS HO-stel ist NAH am BAHN-hof.

Why is it Bahnhof and not a word like Zugstation?

Bahnhof is the standard German word for train station:

  • der Zug = train
  • der Hof = yard, court, area
  • die Bahn = rail, railway

So Bahnhof literally comes from Bahn + Hof (rail-yard), but in modern German it just means train station.

There is die Station, but that’s used differently (subway stops, bus lines, TV stations, etc.) and not normally as the everyday word for a train station. So:

  • am Bahnhof = at/near the (train) station.
Can I also use a comparative, like “The hostel is closer to the station”?

Yes. nah has a comparative and superlative:

  • näher = closer
  • am nächsten = nearest / closest

Examples:

  • Das Hostel ist näher am Bahnhof (als das Hotel).
    The hostel is closer to the station (than the hotel).

  • Das Hostel ist am nächsten am Bahnhof.
    The hostel is the closest to the station.

The structure näher am Bahnhof is very common.