German word of the day: Stau

Why do I need to know Stau?

Because whether you drive a car or prefer to take the bus, you've no doubt been stuck in one. 

And you're not alone. According to research by traffic data specialist Inrix, drivers in Germany on average lost a total of 47 hours in 2025 due to traffic congestion, four hours more than the previous year.

What does it mean?

Der Stau, which sounds like this, is the German word for a traffic jam or traffic congestion. It's a word you'll hear often in Germany, whether casually at the bus stop or in the media.

You might hear of Staumeldungen (traffic reports) during radio broadcasts or read about Stauprognose (traffic jam forecasts).

In fact, over the Ascension Day holiday weekend, there's a Hohe Staugefahr (high risk of traffic jams) on many roads, according to Germany's motoring club, the ADAC.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the word ‘Stau’ is short for ‘stehende Autos’ (parked cars). However, it was used long before cars existed. Water could become "gestaut" or dammed up – in this context, a Stau meant water stagnation.

So Stau is said to be an abbreviation of the word stauen. And stauen (or stouwen) is an old word meaning to hinder or bring to a standstill. The word stauen is therefore related to stehen (to stand).

Use it like this:

Ich stehe seit einer Stunde im Stau.

I’ve been stuck in a traffic jam for an hour.

Auf der A40 gab es heute Morgen einen langen Stau.

There was a long traffic jam on the A40 this morning.

I'm stuck in traffic! I will be late!

Ich stecke im Stau fest! Ich komme zu spät!