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How to Say ‘The flight is delayed.’ in German

Der Flug hat Verspätung.

dair floohk haht fer-SHPAY-toong

[dair floohk haht fer-SHPAY-toong]

💬 Usage Tip: German says the flight 'has delay', not that it 'is delayed'. You'll hear the same pattern on station announcements: Der Zug hat Verspätung "The train is delayed".

Phrase Breakdown

Der Flug

dair floohk

The flight

'Flug' has a long 'u' and ends with a 'k' sound: 'flook'.

Example

Der Flug ist lang.

The flight is long.

Words in this phrase

Der

[dair]

the

Feminine article in the dative case, used after 'in' for location.

Example

Das steht in der Zeitung.

That's in the newspaper.

Flug

[floohk]

flight

A journey by plane; masculine noun (der Flug).

Example

Der Flug nach Berlin ist ausgebucht.

The flight to Berlin is fully booked.

hat Verspätung.

haht fer-SHPAY-toong

is delayed

Literally 'has delay'. Say 'fer-SHPAY-tung'; the 'v' sounds like 'f' and 'sp' sounds like 'shp'.

Example

Der Zug hat Verspätung.

The train is delayed.

Words in this phrase

hat

[haht]

has

Form of haben used with he, she, it, or formal you.

Example

Hat deine Schwester heute Geburtstag?

Is it your sister's birthday today?

Verspätung

[fer-SHPAY-toong]

delay

Lateness; 'Verspätung haben' means to be delayed.

Example

Der Zug hat zwanzig Minuten Verspätung.

The train is twenty minutes late.

Guides for German learners

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