German Political Vocabulary

Explore German political vocabulary, for discussions on politics and governance.

humanities

Let's start with some very basic political vocabulary, that you will come across quite a bit here in Germany. While there aren't that many

German-English cognates in the world of politics, the word Die Politik istelf is one and means... drumroll 🥁 ... politics 🎉.

German Political Vocabulary

die Politik
politics
der/die BundeskanzlerIn
federal chancellor
der/die BundespräsidentIn
federal president
der/die MinisterIn
minister
der Bundestag
German parliament

Politics, Government & Administration

die Regierung
government
das Parlament
parliament
die Wahl
election
Wählen
voting
das Gesetz
law
die Strategie
strategy

Political Parties and Ideologies

words related to political parties and ideologies, such as "communism", "fascism", "socialism", "conservatism", "liberalism"

die Partei
political party
die Ideologie
ideology
die Linke
left-wing
die Rechte
right-wing
der Sozialismus
socialism
der Kommunismus
communism

Political Parties

die Demokraten
democrats
die Republikaner
republicans
die Grünen
green party
der Konservative
conservative
der Progressivist
progressive
der Libertäre
libertarian

International Relations

words related to relations between countries and international organizations, such as "diplomacy", "alliance", "treaty", "sanctions", "peacekeeping"

die internationalen Beziehungen
international relations
die Diplomatie
diplomacy
die Vereinten Nationen
United Nations
die Allianz
alliance
der Vertrag
treaty
die Botschaft
embassy

Social Issues

words related to social and economic issues that are often politically debated, such as "income inequality", "taxes", "minimum wage", "healthcare", "education"

das gesellschaftliche Problem
social issue
die Diskriminierung
discrimination
die Geschlechtergleichheit
gender equality
die Rechte von LGBT
LGBT rights
die Armut
poverty
die Einkommensungleichheit
income inequality

Civil Rights and Liberties

words related to individual rights and freedoms, such as "freedom of speech", "privacy", "discrimination", "human rights", "civil rights"

Political Liberties

die Freiheit
liberty
die Meinungsfreiheit
freedom of speech
die Versammlungsfreiheit
freedom of assembly
die Religionsfreiheit
freedom of religion

Rights & Principles

die Bürgerrechte (pl.)
civil rights
das Wahlrecht
right to vote
das Eigentumsrecht
right to own property
das Recht auf ein faires Verfahren
right to a fair trial
der Grundsatz
policy / principle
der Gleichbehandlungsgrundsatz
principle to equal treatment

99 German Idioms

Download our free PDF: 99 German words & idioms. Each expression comes with a German example sentence, a translation & useful vocabulary.

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