Today's words · 👶 Pregnancy & babies
A new arrival: 10 German words for pregnancy and babies
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From congratulations to chatting with a midwife — here's the German for welcoming someone new.
At lunch, a colleague says shyly, ‘Ich bin schwanger!’ Everyone claps, and you catch on a second later. After the congratulations, what do you actually talk about?
Today's ten words come up in every conversation about pregnancy and birth. With them you can congratulate people and follow talk about midwives and parental leave — and if it's happening to you, even better. 👶
📋 The ten words at a glance
- schwanger — pregnant
- die Schwangerschaft — pregnancy
- das Baby — baby
- die Geburt — birth
- geboren werden — to be born
- die Hebamme — midwife
- die Windel — nappy, diaper
- der Kinderwagen — pram, baby carriage, stroller
- stillen — to breastfeed; to satisfy, quench (hunger, thirst); to stop (bleeding)
- die Elternzeit — parental leave
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
schwanger
[SHVANG-er]pregnant📌 Meine Schwester ist schwanger.
→ My sister is pregnant.
💡 It originally meant ‘heavy’ 🤰 — a baby on board weighs you down!
Bonus Sie ist im fünften Monat schwanger. = She's five months pregnant.
die Schwangerschaft
[SHVANG-er-shaft]pregnancy(Pl. die Schwangerschaften)
📌 Während der Schwangerschaft trinkt sie keinen Alkohol.
→ During her pregnancy she doesn't drink alcohol.
💡 schwanger + -schaft (-ship) = the state of being pregnant 🤰 -schaft nouns are always die.
das Baby
[BAY-bee]baby(Pl. die Babys)
📌 Das Baby schläft gerade.
→ The baby is sleeping right now.
💡 Straight from English 🍼 A free word!
⚠ The plural is die Babys, not -ies.
die Geburt
[ge-BOORT]birth(Pl. die Geburten)
📌 Nach der Geburt ihres Kindes blieb sie ein Jahr zu Hause.
→ After the birth of her child she stayed at home for a year.
💡 Same root as English birth 🎂 Geburtstag = birthday!
Bonus Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Geburt! = Congratulations on the birth!
geboren werden
[ge-BOR-en VAIR-den]to be born(wird geboren – wurde geboren – ist geboren worden)
📌 Mein Sohn wurde im Mai geboren.
→ My son was born in May.
💡 geboren is a twin of English born 👶 Being born happens to you, so it's passive with werden.
⚠ For living people: Ich bin 1995 geboren. For historical figures: Goethe wurde 1749 geboren.
die Hebamme
[HAYB-ah-muh]midwife(Pl. die Hebammen)
📌 Die Hebamme hat bei der Geburt geholfen.
→ The midwife helped with the birth.
💡 Often explained as the one who lifts (heben) the baby 🙌 A key person in German births.
die Windel
[VIN-del]nappy, diaper(Pl. die Windeln)
📌 Kannst du bitte dem Baby die Windel wechseln?
→ Could you change the baby's nappy, please?
💡 Related to winden, to wind 🌀 You wrap the baby up in a Windel.
Bonus to change a nappy = die Windel wechseln
der Kinderwagen
[KIN-der-vah-gen]pram, baby carriage, stroller(Pl. die Kinderwagen)
📌 Mit dem Kinderwagen nehme ich lieber den Aufzug.
→ With the pram I'd rather take the lift.
💡 Kind (child) + Wagen (cart) = a cart for a child 🚼
⚠ The plural looks the same: die Kinderwagen.
stillen
[SHTILL-en]to breastfeed; to satisfy, quench (hunger, thirst); to stop (bleeding)(stillt – hat gestillt)
📌 Sie hat ihr Baby sechs Monate lang gestillt.
→ She breastfed her baby for six months.
💡 From still (quiet) 🤫 Feeding the baby makes it quiet!
Bonus The same verb quenches thirst: den Durst stillen
die Elternzeit
[EL-tern-tsite]parental leave(Sg.)
📌 Mein Mann nimmt nach der Geburt sechs Monate Elternzeit.
→ My husband is taking six months' parental leave after the birth.
💡 Eltern (parents) + Zeit (time) = time to be a parent ⏳
Bonus to take parental leave = Elternzeit nehmen
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Midwives (Hebammen) play a big role in Germany before and after birth. After the baby arrives, a midwife usually visits you at home to check on mother and baby, and health insurance normally covers it. In big cities they can be hard to find, so people often contact one early in the pregnancy.
Pregnant women get a maternity record booklet (Mutterpass) with all their check-up results. Take it to every appointment.
It's common to see fathers taking Elternzeit, too. On a weekday afternoon in the park, you'll often see dads pushing a Kinderwagen. 🍼
✅ Quick quiz
Q. A colleague has some good news. Which sentence means ‘I'm pregnant’?
- ① Ich nehme Elternzeit.
- ② Ich bin schwanger.
- ③ Das Baby schläft.
Show the answer
② Ich bin schwanger.
schwanger = pregnant, so Ich bin schwanger. means ‘I'm pregnant’.
When you hear baby news, be the first to say Herzlichen Glückwunsch! And today, ask someone Wann bist du geboren? to practise. 👶
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🏡 Housewarming