A chair is one of the most basic furnitures mankind ever invented. All you really need is a seat and three legs. OK, you may call it a stool, but it’s a piece of furniture to sit on. So in this post we’ll look at the different varieties of chair in German.
Despite it’s simplicity the chair became immensely popular. Even more so after more and more people starting working in offices. Today we are sitting so much during the day that some physiotherapists claim sitting is the new smoking. Even so, the history of the chair really reflects the history of man. From humble stools to magnificent royal thrones, from all purpose wooden chairs up to complicated treatment chairs of hairdressers or dentists. Chairs can tell us a lot about their owners and about the period in which they were made. So let’s crack on.
The German word for chair is der Stuhl (masculine, plural: die Stühle).
Basic Parts of a Chair in German
As I said above, you don’t need many parts to build a chair. But most chairs are a bit more complicated than a stool. So here are the German translations for the chair components.
| English Expressions | German Translations | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| chair | der Stuhl | masculine |
| arm rest | die Armlehne | feminine |
| chair-back | die Rückenlehne | feminine |
| chair cover | die Stuhlhusse | feminine |
| chair cushion | das Sitzkissen | neuter |
| chair leg | das Stuhlbein | neuter |
| seat | der Sitz / die Sitzfläche | masculine / feminine |
Different Kinds of Chair in German
Chairs come in all different shapes and materials. Some are general purpose, others highly specialized. SO here we compiled a list of German expressions for all kinds of furniture to sit on.
| English Expressions | German Translations | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| barber chair | der Frisörstuhl | masculine |
| beach chair | der Strandkorb | masculine |
| bean bag chair | der Sitzsack | masculine |
| boatswain’s chair | der Bootsmannsstuhl | masculine |
| cane chair | der Korbstuhl | masculine |
| cantilever chair | der Freischwinger | masculine |
| canvas chair | der Liegestuhl | masculine |
| coffeehouse chair | der Kaffeehausstuhl | masculine |
| confessional | der Beichtstuhl | masculine |
| deck chair | der Liegestuhl | masculine |
| dentist’s chair | der Zahnarztstuhl | masculine |
| desk chair | der Schreibtischstuhl | masculine |
| easy chair | der Sessel | masculine |
| elbow chair | der Lehnstuhl | masculine |
| electric chair | der elektrische Stuhl | masculine |
| executive chair | der Chefsessel | masculine |
| feeding chair | der Fütterstuhl | masculine |
| fireside chair | der Lehnstuhl | masculine |
| folding camp chair | der Campingstuhl | masculine |
| folding chair | der Klappstuhl | masculine |
| garden chair | der Gartenstuhl | masculine |
| hairdresser’s chair | der Frisierstuhl | masculine |
| high chair | der Hochstuhl | masculine |
| kitchen chair | der Küchenstuhl | masculine |
| lawn chair | der Gartenstuhl | masculine |
| lounge chair | der Clubsessel | masculine |
| office chair | der Bürostuhl | masculine |
| operating chair | der Operationsstuhl | masculine |
| padded chair | der Polsterstuhl | masculine |
| potty-chair | das Töpfchen | neuter |
| presidential chair | der Präsidentenstuhl | masculine |
| rocking chair | der Schaukelstuhl | masculine |
| stacking chair | der Stapelstuhl | masculine |
| swivel chair | der Drehstuhl | masculine |
| throne | der Thron | masculine |
| toddler chair | der Kinderstuhl | masculine |
| typists’s chair | der Schreibmaschinenstuhl | masculine |
| wheelchair | der Rollstuhl | masculine |
| wicker chair | der Korbstuhl | masculine |
| wing chair | der Ohrensessel | masculine |
| winged chair | der Ohrensessel | masculine |
| wooden chair | der Holzstuhl | masculine |
Other Words with Chair in German
| English Expressions | German Translations | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| chair caner | der Stuhlflechter | masculine |
| chair lift | der Sessellift | masculine |
| chair rail | die Stuhlschiene | feminine |
| chairman | der Vorsitzende | masculine |
| matching chair | passender Stuhl | masculine |
| self-propelling chair | der Selbstfahrer | masculine |
Example Sentences
- Er saß auf einem weißen Gartenstuhl an seinem liebsten Platz, unter der großen Eiche. — He sat on a white garden chair in his favorite place, under the big oak tree.
- Nachdem sie das Restaurant geschlossen hatte, begann sie damit die Stühle auf die Tische zu stellen, um den Boden zu wischen. — After closing the restaurant, she started putting the chairs on the tables to mop the floor.
German Sayings with Chair or Sitting
- zwischen zwei Stühlen sitzen — to be caught between two stools / to be caught between a rock and a hard place (American English)
- Zaungast bleiben — to sit on the fence
