noun
traffic jam, congestion
B1
Stau (noun, der) primarily means a traffic jam or congestion on roads. Use it for vehicle delays and gridlocks. Plural is die Staus; genitive often der Staus. No special preposition required. Common collocations: im Stau stehen (to be stuck in traffic).
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Wegen eines Unfalls entstand ein starker Stau und viele Fahrer kamen zu spät.
Because of an accident there was severe congestion and many drivers were late.
Wegen eines Unfalls gibt es einen langen Stau auf der Autobahn.
Because of an accident, there is a long traffic jam on the highway.
Im Berufsverkehr gibt es oft einen langen Stau.
There is often a long traffic jam during rush hour.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
picture a line of cars piled up like a stack — a 'stau' on the road
sounds like 'stow' — think of cars all stowed up together
der — imagine a male traffic cop (der) directing a traffic jam
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Stau is commonly used for road traffic jams. It can also refer to congestion more generally (e.g., data or queues in figurative use).