Sidebar: German Lexicon
With three out of four model manufacturers mentioned on this website being German, it might be useful to understand just a few German words, phrases and abbreviations.
German is characterized by concatenation, where short words are often combined to make longer ones. Thus modelleisenbahn = modell (model) + eisenbahn (railroad) [eisen (iron) + bahn (road)] = model railroad. And, modellspielwarenfabrik = modell (model) + spielwaren (toys) [spiel (game) + waren (goods)] + fabrik (factory) = model toy factory, or model manufacturer.
- GmbH = Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung = limited liability company (or LLC)
- modelleisenbahn = model railroad
- modellspielwarenfabrik = model manufacturer
- spur N = N [gauge] track
- VEB = Volkseigener Betrieb = publicly-owned business