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Now there are new domain extensions available, I wonder if the following domain extensions are accepted and understood by germans.

arbeit.website
arbeit.site

for example, here in the Netherlands, the English word website translated in Dutch is also website and the usage of the word site is referring to the word website.

Are the words website and site also accepted in Germany?

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German speaking persons understand very much of English; among the internet users the rate of people who understand English is even higher (close to 100 %).

But still there is an issue with a pair of false friends:

  • German Seite (page in English)
  • English site (Ort, Platz in German)

Because of this false friends many German speaking people use the terms

  • Website
  • Webseite

as synonyms, which technically is not correct, because most websites contain many different pages.

Even the well known foreign word Homepage is often understood as synonym of website, although in fact it is just one of the many pages of a website.

Here are the correct translations of terms related to websites (pronunciation in square brackets):

English - German

  • internet [ˈɪntəˌnɛt] = das Internet [ˈɪntɐnɛt]
  • web = das Netz
  • website [ˈwɛbˌsaɪt] = die Website [ˈvɛpˌsaɪ̯t], der Internetauftritt, die Internetpräsenz
  • page = die Seite
  • homepage = die Startseite

So, the term Website is well known in Germany, Austria, Switzerland where ever people speak German, because it is an English loanword used in German language.

The word site has not been imported into German language. But since almost everybody who used internet understands English, also this word will be understood.

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    Endlich jemand, der gewahr ist, dass eine Website keine Web-Seite und eine Homepage keine Website ist! Danke!
    – Christian Geiselmann
    May 23, 2017 at 9:30
  • Hey Hubert, I'd love to see the source for the "close to 100%". That's a really strong result, and I'd like to see their definition of "understand", as well as their methodology. Can you provide a link, pleas?
    – hiergiltdiestfu
    May 23, 2017 at 14:08
  • Thanks Hubert, this is the answer I was looking for. I wanted to know if it would make sense to register a domain name like www.arbeit.website and if it would be accepted by German internet users.
    – Frankey
    May 23, 2017 at 18:49
  • @Frankey: I think it would work. But arbeit.de, arbeit.at and arbeit.ch (all three together) would work better.
    – Hubert Schölnast
    May 23, 2017 at 20:02
  • @hiergiltdiestfu: Nein, ich habe keinen Link und keine offizielle Statistik. Ich weis aber, dass (bis auf ganz wenige Ausnahmen) alle, die so alt wie ich sind (ich bin knapp über 50), und alle, die jünger als ich sind, in der Schule Englisch gelernt haben, und in der Lage sind, die Wörter »website« und »site« zu verstehen (mehr als diese beiden Wörter waren hier ja nicht gefragt).
    – Hubert Schölnast
    May 23, 2017 at 20:05
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The translation (if you have to) of the Website is Internetpräsenz. However, website is an accepted terminology in German speaking countries and if used, everybody (whether he/she can speak English or not) will understand what you mean.

I cannot say the same for the site because it has a different meaning and may not be understood by majority of people.

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Yes.

Internetseite and Webseite would booth be correct as well, but Website is the most commonly used term also in the German (colloquial) language.

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    Internetseite and Webseite are not same with Website. They are the translations of webpage. A webpage consists of one page, while a website has (mostly) more than one page.
    – Ad Infinitum
    May 22, 2017 at 13:09
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    @AdInfinitum: Still, you see often Webseite for English website, despite the difference in meaning: "Geh doch mal auf die Webseite von der Firma" doesn't mean a single page.
    – dirkt
    May 22, 2017 at 14:10
  • @dirkt You are right. In English, people use also homepage and website interchangeably even if they do not give the same meaning. I wanted to express the differences because as I understand, the OP will invest money in the domain names and did not want him to buy some false domain names.
    – Ad Infinitum
    May 22, 2017 at 14:13
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    @HubertSchölnast Es ist zwar richtig, was du sagst, nur kümmert sich der allgemeine deutsche Sprachgebrauch herzlich wenig drum ;)
    – tofro
    May 22, 2017 at 21:14
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    @dirkt You are right that in everday practice many people use Webseite (and also Homepage) when they mean *Website". However, this is just because of lacking knowlege of a) English b) internet technology. As soon as you leave Joe Public's everyday chatter and enter the realm of professional communication you will find correct use of Homepage and Website.
    – Christian Geiselmann
    May 23, 2017 at 14:31

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