Today's words · 👵 Birth rate & ageing
Read the news: 10 German words on birth rates and ageing
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Falling birth rates and an ageing population are a constant topic in the German news, too.
On the evening news you hear, “Die Geburtenrate ist wieder gesunken,” followed by a long report on pensions and care homes. Knowing just a few key words would make it so much easier to follow.
Today's ten words are about birth rates and ageing. They're a bit harder, but they'll make news reports and articles far clearer — and let you join in when German friends talk about society. 📊
📋 The ten words at a glance
- die Rente — pension; retirement
- der Rentner — pensioner, retiree
- die Bevölkerung — population
- die Geburtenrate — birth rate
- der Geburtenrückgang — decline in births; falling birth rate
- die Überalterung — ageing (of the population), over-ageing
- die Lebenserwartung — life expectancy
- die Pflege — care, nursing; maintenance, upkeep
- das Pflegeheim — nursing home, care home
- die Altersarmut — old-age poverty, poverty in old age
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
die Rente
[REN-tuh]pension; retirement(Pl. die Renten)
📌 Mein Opa geht nächstes Jahr in Rente.
→ My grandpa is retiring next year.
💡 From French rente (regular income) 👴 Money that arrives every month!
⚠ Not rent! Rent is die Miete.
der Rentner
[RENT-ner]pensioner, retiree(Pl. die Rentner (f: die Rentnerin) · Austrian: der Pensionist)
📌 Mein Opa ist seit fünf Jahren Rentner.
→ My grandpa has been retired for five years.
💡 Rente + -er = someone who gets a pension 🧓 A woman is a Rentnerin.
Bonus to retire = in Rente gehen
die Bevölkerung
[beh-FUL-ker-oong]population(Pl. die Bevölkerungen)
📌 Die Bevölkerung der Stadt wächst.
→ The city's population is growing.
💡 Volk (people, like English folk) is inside 👥 -ung means die.
Bonus The population is growing / shrinking = Die Bevölkerung wächst / schrumpft.
die Geburtenrate
[guh-BOOR-ten-rah-tuh]birth rate(Pl. die Geburtenraten)
📌 Die Geburtenrate in Deutschland ist wieder gesunken.
→ The birth rate in Germany has fallen again.
💡 Geburt (birth) + Rate = birth rate 👶 A word-for-word match with English.
Bonus Geburtstag (birthday) comes from the same Geburt!
der Geburtenrückgang
[guh-BOOR-ten-ruek-gang]decline in births; falling birth rate(Pl. die Geburtenrückgänge)
📌 Der anhaltende Geburtenrückgang stellt die Sozialsysteme vor große Herausforderungen.
→ The persistent fall in births poses major challenges for social security systems.
💡 Geburten + Rück (back) + Gang (walk) = births walking backwards 📉
⚠ Gang makes it der; plural die Geburtenrückgänge
die Überalterung
[UE-ber-al-ter-oong]ageing (of the population), over-ageing(Sg.)
📌 Die Überalterung der Gesellschaft belastet die Rentenkassen.
→ The ageing of society is putting a strain on pension funds.
💡 über (over) + altern (to age) + -ung = a society getting “over-aged” ⏳
⚠ No plural: die Überalterung der Gesellschaft
die Lebenserwartung
[LAY-bens-air-var-toong]life expectancy((pl. rare))
📌 Die Lebenserwartung steigt weiter.
→ Life expectancy keeps rising.
💡 Leben (life) + Erwartung (expectation) = life expectancy 🎂 -ung = die!
Bonus Life expectancy is rising = Die Lebenserwartung steigt.
die Pflege
[PFLAY-guh]care, nursing; maintenance, upkeep((no pl.))
📌 Die Pflege alter Menschen ist anstrengend.
→ Caring for the elderly is exhausting.
💡 The noun from pflegen (to look after) 🤲 You can pflegen people, plants and even your skin.
Bonus a care worker = die Pflegekraft
das Pflegeheim
[PFLAY-guh-hime]nursing home, care home(Pl. die Pflegeheime)
📌 Ihre Großmutter lebt seit einem Jahr im Pflegeheim.
→ Her grandmother has been living in a nursing home for a year.
💡 Pflege (care) + Heim (home) = care home 🏡 Heim is neuter, so das.
Bonus Similar words: das Altenheim, das Seniorenheim
die Altersarmut
[AL-ters-ar-moot]old-age poverty, poverty in old age(Sg.)
📌 Viele Frauen sind wegen niedriger Renten von Altersarmut betroffen.
→ Many women are affected by old-age poverty because of low pensions.
💡 Alter (old age) + Armut (poverty) 💸 arm (poor) + -ut = poverty.
⚠ Armut is feminine, so the whole word is die.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Germany's state pension mainly works like this: today's workers pay in, and that money goes to today's pensioners. Germans call it the “contract between generations” (Generationenvertrag).
Alongside health insurance there is also long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung). Even so, many families still care for elderly parents at home, and a shortage of care workers is a regular news topic.
Many towns have a Mehrgenerationenhaus, a “multi-generation house” where older people, parents and children meet, eat and spend time together — like a neighbourhood living room. 👵
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You want to say your grandad is retiring next year. Which sentence is right?
- ① Mein Opa geht nächstes Jahr in Rente.
- ② Mein Opa geht nächstes Jahr ins Pflegeheim.
- ③ Mein Opa hat nächstes Jahr Geburtstag.
Show the answer
① Mein Opa geht nächstes Jahr in Rente.
in Rente gehen = to retire, literally to go into your pension.
Find one German news headline today and count how many of today's words appear in it. Even one is a win! 📰
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🤖 AI & technology