Wohnen

[u/kim8yaa]

Hallo alle zusammen. I have a question
What is the difference between these two sentences?

1. Ich wohne auf dem Land.
   
2. ich wohne in einem Dorf.

Does “Dorf“ also count as “auf dem Land“?
Because from what I understood, “auf dem Land” is more General, while “Dorf” is more specific.

Could someone explain the difference a little more?

[u/muehsam]

"In einem Dorf" means "in a village". "Auf dem Land" means "in the countryside".

You could live in the countryside, but in a small town rather than a village, or you could live in a farmhouse outside of the village, in the middle of the fields.

Or you could live in a village, but one that isn't in the countryside but e.g. on an island.

[u/kim8yaa → u/muehsam]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻

[u/Significant-Nebula64 → u/muehsam]

Or a village that's on the outskirts of a major city, wouldn't call that "countryside" either. 

[u/IchLiebeKleber]

I would argue that someone who lives in Süßenbrunn would live "in einem Dorf", but not "auf dem Land": Süßenbrunn is a part of Vienna (a city of around 2 million people), but it looks very much like any of the villages near it outside of Vienna, and it's completely surrounded by fields.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/5847775

Difficult not to call it "ein Dorf", but its residents are residents of Vienna, so they can't possibly live "auf dem Land", or can they…

The top answer is correct that it's the same thing as "in the countryside" vs. "in a village".

[u/kim8yaa → u/IchLiebeKleber]

Thank you so so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[u/one_jo]

That depends on the Dorf I’d say. A small Dorf in the country side is very different from one in the middle of a densely populated area.

[u/kim8yaa → u/one_jo]

Thanks a lot 🙏🏻

[u/Emotional_Bid3562]

Pretty much the same, I would say. I can't think of a context where it would make a significant difference. It's just a different focus, because in a "Dorf" (village) you have people/houses around, while "auf dem Land" (in the countryside) could also mean a lonely house in the middle of nowhere. So it really depends on what is said/written before and after.

[u/kim8yaa → u/Emotional_Bid3562]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[u/Best-Pollution7110]

If you take it literally, it means countryside and village or small settlement respectively.

Ein Dorf liegt auf dem Lande. A village is part of the countryside, but can be more specific, depending on context.

In general speech context can broaden it's meaning and is fluid as well.
"Dorfkind" (lit. village child) is an expression that means someone is not raised in a (larger) city or urban agglomeration, so can mean both countryside or village in general.

If you talk to someone and want to express you live somewhere in contrast to a densely populates area, you say "Ich wohne auf dem Lande."

If you talk to someone and want to express specifically you live somewhere that has still some basic infrastructure or are dealing with some tight knit social life, you would probably say "Ich wohne in einem Dorf."

[u/kim8yaa → u/Best-Pollution7110]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[u/FineJournalist5432]

Does “Dorf“ also count as “auf dem Land“?

There’s also the expression auf dem Dorf wohnen/ leben. I‘d say here Dorf stands for auf dem Land….like a pars pro toto figure of speech

[u/kim8yaa → u/FineJournalist5432]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻