noun
vacation, holiday
A1
Urlaub (der) primarily means 'vacation' or 'holiday' and can also mean paid leave at work. It’s a masculine noun: singular der Urlaub, plural die Urlaube. Note the genitive des Urlaubs and dative dem Urlaub. No special preposition required; context indicates travel or time off.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.EXAMPLES
Wir fahren in den Sommerferien in den Urlaub.
We're going on holiday during the summer break.
Die Mitarbeiterin beantragte Urlaub, weil sie sich erholen wollte.
The employee applied for leave because she wanted to rest.
Ich freue mich schon auf meinen Urlaub am Meer.
I'm already looking forward to my vacation by the sea.
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.DETAILS_LABEL
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Picture luggage and a sunny beach to remember 'Urlaub'.
Sounds like 'your-lob' — imagine someone praising your holiday.
der — think 'der Urlaub' as 'der man on holiday' (masculine anchor).
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
'Urlaub' is used for time off work; 'Ferien' is often used for school holidays. Both countable and uncountable uses exist.