"Ich habe kein Auto."
Translation:I do not have a car.
14 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Vehicle is broader than car and car is broader than automobile. So if they can justify accepting car, when a car isn't necessarily an automobile, they should be able to justify vehicle, which isn't necessarily a car or automobile.
In the broad sense, a vehicle is a thing used to express, embody, or fulfill something. In the automotive sense, it includes cars, trucks, buses and more. So a vehicle isn't necessarily a car and a car isn't necessarily an automobile.
In English, when the prefix "auto" is used as a noun, it's understood to be an automobile. If you are talking about auto insurance or auto repair, it's clear what's meant. So the best translation for "auto" would be "auto." Likewise, if car is used with no additional context, it's assumed to be an automobile, but it's commonly used for train cars, elevator cars, a streetcar, a handcar, etc.
I often hear people say "I left it in my room" instead of "I left it in my bedroom." That doesn't mean that they mean the same thing, but that they are understood to mean the same thing in context. If a teacher made the same statement in school, I'd assume that it's the teacher's classroom, not the teacher's bedroom at home.
I wouldn't use it to refer to my car, but might use it to refer to yours, especially if I don't know if you have a car or SUV or light truck or some other vehicle.