Wohnen versus leben

Question

Ist es deiner Meinung nach besser, auf dem Land oder in einer Stadt zu wohnen/zu leben?

Which one sounds more natural, wohnen or leben? Or are they both valid but with different nuances or connotations?

Answer 1

One could argue that "leben" includes living in a house/flat, working, shopping, all in the countryside, whereas "wohnen" could possibly hint at commuting to work in a city, but I don't think any native speaker would give that much thought. So I'd say that the two words can be used completely interchangeably.

Also note that it should be "deiner Meinung nach" because it's Genitiv. (question word: Wessen Meinung?) And you could also say "in der Stadt" as a general term, even if not referring to a specific city.

Answer 2

First of all I fully agree with the comments, previously given. With the following example you may find a case where one would use wohnen and leben differently. Imagine a farmer for example, who works and lives auf dem Land, here, I guess, both terms wohnen and leben fit, but if someone works in the city and sleeps auf dem Land, you would rather say Er arbeitet in der Stadt und wohnt auf dem Land. One would rather not say Er arbeitet in der Stadt und lebt auf dem Land. This is some kind of contradiction, because a major part of his life happens in the city.

Answer 3

wohnen

Refers more to where your flat/house is located. You emphasize the location of your bed and property.

leben

Refers more to where you life is happening. This includes your home but also where you work, where you interact with people, where you do sports, where you go out to eat etc.

Thus in your example auf dem Land wohnen would emphasize that your house/flat is located in the countryside but auf dem Land leben empahsizes that most of your life happens there.

Answer 4

They are both valid and might have a small connotation:

"Ich wohne in der Stadt" vs "Ich lebe in der Stadt"*:

• wohne can describe the fact only - and give the hint, that the quality of life might not be best and the (specific or general) circumstances come with a compromise
• lebe can describe that you are "having a good life" in town. So your quality of life is measured as good and you see not much compromise.

That small nuance was used once by a furniture store with "wohnst Du noch oder lebst Du schon?".

Just in everyday life I would say "ich wohne" and care not to much about the nuance.

*_{I just picked one location}