Taking time off
Use Urlaub when the key idea is time away from work or school. The person may travel, stay home, rest, or handle private life.
Ich nehme naechste Woche Urlaub.
derA2DE-EN
noun
Urlaub
Translation
vacation; holiday; leave
Urlaub is time away from work or school, usually for rest or travel. It can mean vacation, holiday, or leave depending on the English variety and context.
Teacher note
Urlaub is the time off. Reise is the trip. You can have Urlaub without traveling, and you can travel for work without being on Urlaub.
Usage scenarios
Talking about vacation travel
Urlaub also appears when people describe where they spend their holiday time, especially with machen, fahren, buchen, and planen.
Wir machen Urlaub in Oesterreich.
Choose the right translation
vacation
Common in American English for time off and leisure travel.
holiday
Common in British English for vacation time.
leave
Best for formal work contexts such as parental leave or sick leave.
Usage guide
Urlaub is time off. It can include travel, but travel is not required. This is the main difference from Reise, which focuses on the trip.
Common phrases are Urlaub machen, Urlaub nehmen, im Urlaub sein, in den Urlaub fahren, and aus dem Urlaub zurueckkommen. These phrases cover most everyday uses.
In work contexts, Urlaub can translate as leave rather than vacation. Parental leave, annual leave, and vacation days all sit near this word family.
How to study this entry
Write a workplace mini-dialogue about time off. One person asks when the colleague is im Urlaub, and the other says when they Urlaub nehmen. This keeps Urlaub connected to work leave, not only beaches and hotels.
Make a three-word contrast card: Urlaub, Reise, Ferien. Under each word, write one English trigger and one German phrase. Vacation days should point to Urlaub, the trip route to Reise, and school holidays to Ferien.
For review, translate holiday in three contexts: public holiday, summer holidays at school, and two weeks of vacation from work. If you choose Urlaub for all three, slow down and identify what kind of free time the sentence means.
Add one administration phrase: einen Urlaubsantrag stellen. It ties Urlaub back to Antrag and makes the word useful in workplace German, where vacation is often something requested, approved, planned, and recorded.
For a practical drill, write two calendar notes: one for a colleague who is im Urlaub and one for a public Feiertag. Both may be days without work, but they are not the same kind of absence.
Word forms and word building
Der Urlaub is masculine and is usually used in the singular when talking about time off in general. The plural Urlaube is possible for separate vacations.
Urlaubstag means vacation day, Urlaubsantrag is a leave request, and Urlaubsgeld is holiday pay in some employment contexts.
Beurlauben means to grant leave or release someone temporarily from duty. It is more formal than everyday Urlaub machen.
Meaning boundaries
Urlaub vs Reise
Urlaub is time off. Reise is the trip or journey.
Urlaub vs Ferien
Ferien is school holidays or vacation periods. Urlaub is often used for workers' time off.
Urlaub vs Feiertag
Feiertag is a public holiday. Urlaub is leave or vacation time you take.
American vs British English
American English often says vacation. British English often says holiday. Work contexts may need leave.
Memory guide
Separate the calendar from the trip: Urlaub is the free time on the calendar, Reise is what you may do with that time.
Learn workplace phrases as chunks: Urlaub nehmen, einen Urlaubsantrag stellen, im Urlaub sein.
When translating holiday, ask whether it means public holiday, school holiday, or vacation time. German uses different words.
Patterns that sound natural
Urlaub machen
to go on vacation
Wir machen Urlaub an der Ostsee.
We are going on vacation at the Baltic Sea.
im Urlaub sein
to be on vacation
Meine Kollegin ist im Urlaub.
My colleague is on vacation.
Urlaub nehmen
to take time off
Ich nehme nächste Woche Urlaub.
I am taking vacation next week.
Common learner trap
Using Reise for vacation time away from work.
Use Urlaub for the time off. Use Reise for the trip itself.
Try it yourself
Your colleague is not working this week because she has time off. Reise or Urlaub?
Urlaub: Sie ist im Urlaub.
Examples
Ich brauche dringend Urlaub.
I urgently need a vacation.
Wir machen dieses Jahr Urlaub in Österreich.
We are going on holiday in Austria this year.
Wie viele Tage Urlaub hast du?
How many vacation days do you have?