Die Busfahrt ins Zentrum dauert zwanzig Minuten.

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Breakdown of Die Busfahrt ins Zentrum dauert zwanzig Minuten.

• das Zentrum: the center
• zwanzig: twenty
• die Minute: the minute

Questions & Answers about Die Busfahrt ins Zentrum dauert zwanzig Minuten.

Why is it die Busfahrt and not der Busfahrt?

Because Fahrt is a feminine noun in German: die Fahrt.

Busfahrt is a compound noun made from Bus + Fahrt, and in German the last part of the compound decides the gender. Since Fahrt is feminine, Busfahrt is also feminine:

• die Fahrt
• die Busfahrt

So die Busfahrt means the bus ride / the trip by bus.

Why is Busfahrt written as one word?

German very often combines nouns into compound nouns. English usually writes these as separate words, but German usually writes them as one word.

So:

• Bus = bus
• Fahrt = ride, journey, trip

Together:

• Busfahrt = bus ride / journey by bus

This is extremely normal in German. You will see this all the time:

• Bahnhof = train station
• Hausaufgabe = homework
• Sommerferien = summer holidays

What does ins mean here?