noun
subway, metro
B1
Means: subway/metro, urban underground railway. Gender: feminine (die). Plural: U-Bahnen. Declension regular; nominative plural die U‑Bahnen. Usage: common German term for underground rapid transit. Note orthography: often written U-Bahn with hyphen and capital U (short for Untergrundbahn). Used in cities like Berlin, Munich; contrast with S-Bahn.
Examples
Ich nehme die U-Bahn zur Arbeit.
I take the subway to work.
Die Fahrgäste in der U-Bahn mussten aussteigen, weil der Zug eine Störung hatte.
The passengers in the subway had to get off because the train had a malfunction.
Mit der U-Bahn kommt man in der Stadt schnell voran.
You can get around the city quickly by subway.
Details
Mnemonics
picture the yellow 'U' sign above an underground station
sounds like 'you-bahn' — think 'you ride the Bahn'
Die U-Bahn — 'Bahn' as a public transport line is feminine (die).
Notes
Common term for underground urban rail in German-speaking countries. Often capitalized and written with a hyphen.