Vocabulary in the News M-Z
German-to-English Version
Words and phrases found in German magazines or newspapers
in the fields of crime, disaster, war, politics, sports, weather, and other news
> English-German Version of this glossary
> Political Parties Glossary (CDU, FDP, SPD, etc.)
> Terrorism Glossary (English-German)
Noun genders are indicated by: r (der, masc.), e (die, fem.), s (das, neu.)
Abbreviations: adj. (adjective), n. (noun), v. (verb), pl. (plural)
NEWS/NACHRICHTEN - Links
NACHRICHTEN auf Deutsch
A-L | M-Z
M
e Magensonde (stomach) feeding tube
künstliche Ernährung artificial feeding/nourishment
e Magnetschnellbahn high-speed mag-lev train
See "Transrapid" below.
e Massenvernichtungswaffe (-n) weapon of mass destruction
r Mord murder r Mörder murderer, killer, assassin
r Mordfall murder case
N
e Notlage emergency (situation)
e NPD NPD (German Nationalist Party), a right-wing political party
O
e Ökosteuer ecology tax
See Benzin for details.
s Opfer victim
viele Opfer many victims
das Haus wurde ein Opfer der Flammen the house fell victim to the flames
P
PDS PDS, the Party of Democratic Socialism (the former SED political party of East Germany)
e Politik politics
r Politiker, e Politikerin politician
r Pranger pillory
am Pranger stehen to be in the hot seat, be pilloried
r Präsident president
r US-Präsident American president
Präsident Bush (USA) President Bush (US)
Präsident Putin (Russland) President Putin (Russia)
Land und Leute
glossary of nations and languages.
R
r Räuber (-) robber, burglar
r Raubüberfall, r Raub robbery
r Banküberfall bank robbery
s Recht law, justice
e/r Rechte rightist, rightwinger
die Rechten (pl.) the right, rightwing (sing.)
rechte Gewalt rightwing (skinhead) violence
e Rede zur Lage der Nation State of the Union address (U.S.)
r Regen rain
gefrierender Regen freezing rain
e Regierung government
e Bundesregierung federal government
e Rente pension, social security pension
e Rentenreform pension reform
e Rentenversicherung social security
r Rentner/e Rentnerin pensioner
In early 2001, the Bundestag passed new Rentenreform legislation that was criticized for not doing enough to keep the German pension system from going broke. State benefits were cut, while private pension saving is encouraged. The more recent Hartz IV legislation tries to address that problem.
e Rettungskräfte (pl.) rescue workers, rescuers
r Rücktritt resignation (from office), abdication (of king)
sie fordern seinen Rücktritt they are calling for his resignation
S
e Scheidung divorce (n.)
sich scheiden lassen to get a divorce
e Schlagzeile(n) headline(s)
e Schlammlawine mudslide
s Schulwesen education, educational matters
r Senat senate (n.)
r Senator/e Senatorin senator
r Soldat/e Soldatin soldier
e Armee/s Heer army
s Bundesheer German army
e Bundeswehr German armed forces
Beginning in 2001, women were allowed for the first time to serve in Germany's Bundeswehr as combat soldiers, Soldatinnen.
der Soli (slang) solidarity surtax
der Solidaritätszuschlag solidarity surtax (n.)
The Soli was enacted after German reunification to help pay for rebuilding eastern Germany.
SPD (e Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD (Social Democratic Party)
e Spendenaffäre (political) contributions affair/scandal
The CDU, the party of former Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl, has been embroiled in a contributions scandal ever since it was disclosed that Kohl had controlled millions of marks in illegal political funds.
r Spion spy (n.)
die Spione spies (n., pl.)
e Spionage espionage
r Sport (sing.) sports (n., pl.)
r Sprengstoff explosive(s)
r Sturm storm (high winds)
Sports and Olympics Glossary
steigen climb, go up (v.)
die Benzinpreise steigen gas prices are climbing
sterben die (v.)
er starb an Krebs he died of cancer
sie ist an Herzversagen gestorben she died of heart failure
e Steuer(n) tax(es)
e Einkommenssteuer(n) income tax(es)
r Steuerbescheid(e) tax assessment(s)
T
r Terrorismus terrorism > Terrorism Glossary
e Todesstrafe death penalty
The Todesstrafe is not allowed in EU countries, including Germany and Austria.
r Transrapid Transrapid (a German high-speed mag-lev train)
e Magnetschnellbahn high-speed mag-lev train
In January 2001 Germany and China signed an agreement to build the first commercial Transrapid train line in Shanghai. Earlier, plans to construct a similar Magnetschnellbahn line (e Strecke) between Berlin and Hamburg were cancelled because of the high cost and controversy over its environmental impact.
U
e Überflutung, e Überschwemmung flood (n.)
schwere Überschwemmungen heavy floods/flooding
e Umfrage(n) poll(s)
e Umwelt environment
r Unfall, s Unglück accident, crash
r Autounfall auto/car accident, car crash
s Bahn-, Zugunglück train crash
e Union (e CDU/CSU) Christian Democratic Union (political party)
e Untersuchung(en) study (studies), investigation(s)
s Unwetter (bad) storm, thunderstorm
e Uran-Munition depleted-uranium arms/munitions
In early 2001, the issue of Uran-Munition was being heavily debated in Germany (a member of NATO). Germany criticized the US for not being more forthcoming about the use and disposal of depleted-uranium munitions at US bases in Germany and in Kosovo, where German soldiers have been stationed.
V
verabschieden to pass (a law) (v.)
e Verabschiedung (eines Gesetzes) passage (of a law)
vergewaltigen rape (v.) e Vergewaltigung rape (n.)
e Versicherung insurance
e Verteidigung defence/defense
r Verteidigungsminister defense minister/secretary
r Vertrag contract, agreement
verurteilen sentence, condemn, pass judgment (v.)
Er wurde zum Tode verurteilt. He was condemned to death.
W
e Wahl (-en) election
r Wahlsieg election victory
e Währung currency (euro, dollar, mark, etc.)
r Waldbrand forest fire
Waldbrände in Spanien forest fires in Spain
e Wirtschaft economy, business
Z
r Zwangsarbeiter (-) forced laborer, slave laborer
die NS-Zwangsarbeiter (pl) Nazi-era forced laborers
e Zustimmung (-en) consent, agreement
mit der Zustimmung der SPD with the consent of the SPD
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Related Links
English-to-German Version of this Glossary
News-related terms from English to German.
Political Parties Glossary
A German-English glossary of political parties in the German-speaking countries.
English-German Terrorism Glossary
Vocabulary related to terrorism in the news.
Nachrichten auf Deutsch
Links to online news sites and newspapers with news in German.
News/Nachrichten
Links to online media with news in German and English.
A Beginner's Guide to Following the News in German
Tips and strategies that make it possible for even beginners to use the Web to follow news, sports and weather in German.
Techniques for Using Authentic Language Sources
Tips and suggestions for using the Web to your advantage. Even beginners can do it!
Text Translation
Our special text translation page (just don't expect too much!).
Date and Time Glossary
An annotated English-German glossary related to the calendar and the clock.
Land und Leute
An annotated glossary of nations and languages.
More English-German Glossaries
Annotated glossaries on many topics.
Online Dictionaries
Dictionaries and glossaries, including news-related terms.
Wort des Tages
What's today's German word of the day?
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