Today's words · 📈 Prices & the economy
From your shopping basket to the news: 10 economy words
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Germans sigh at their supermarket receipts too. Let's learn to sigh in German.
On the way out of the supermarket you check the receipt and wince. Butter's gone up again? At home you put the news on, and words like Inflation and Rezession fly past faster than you can follow.
Today's ten words come up all the time when people talk about prices and the economy. With them you can chat about rising prices and actually follow the headlines. Grown-up German starts here! 📈
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Preis
[PRICE]price; prize(Pl. die Preise)
📌 Der Preis ist mir zu hoch.
→ The price is too high for me.
💡 English price and prize rolled into one 🏷️ It can mean either!
Bonus Das ist mir zu teuer. = That's too expensive for me.
sinken
[ZINK-en]to sink; to fall, to drop(sinkt – ist gesunken)
📌 Die Preise sind gesunken.
→ Prices have fallen.
💡 Same root as sink 📉 Ships sink, prices sink.
⚠ Perfect with sein: Die Preise sind gesunken. To lower something is senken.
steigen
[SHTY-gen]to rise, climb, go up(steigt – ist gestiegen)
📌 Die Preise steigen jedes Jahr.
→ Prices go up every year.
💡 Think of climbing stairs 🪜 Getting on a bus, einsteigen, uses the same verb!
⚠ Perfect with sein: Die Preise sind gestiegen.
die Inflation
[in-fla-TSYOHN]inflation(Pl. die Inflationen)
📌 Die Inflation lag im letzten Monat bei drei Prozent.
→ Inflation was three per cent last month.
💡 From Latin inflare, to blow up 🎈 Prices puff up like a balloon. -tion is always die!
die Wirtschaft
[VEERT-shaft]economy; (regional) pub, inn(Pl. die Wirtschaften)
📌 Die deutsche Wirtschaft ist stark vom Export abhängig.
→ The German economy is heavily dependent on exports.
💡 der Wirt (host) + -schaft 🏦 It used to mean running a household — now it's the country's household.
Bonus In southern Germany, eine Wirtschaft can also be a local pub.
die Lebenshaltungskosten
[LAY-bens-hal-toongs-kos-ten]cost of living(pl. only)
📌 In München sind die Lebenshaltungskosten besonders hoch.
→ The cost of living is particularly high in Munich.
💡 Leben (life) + Haltung (keeping) + Kosten (costs) 🧾 Three Lego bricks of living expenses!
⚠ Plural only: Die Lebenshaltungskosten sind hoch.
die Arbeitslosigkeit
[AR-bites-loh-zikh-kite]unemployment((no pl.))
📌 Die Arbeitslosigkeit ist gesunken.
→ Unemployment has fallen.
💡 Arbeit (work) + los (-less) + -igkeit = being workless 😔 -keit means die!
Bonus The adjective arbeitslos = unemployed
das Wachstum
[VAKS-toom]growth((no pl.))
📌 Das Wirtschaftswachstum ist gering.
→ Economic growth is weak.
💡 From wachsen, to grow 🌱 Ends in -tum, and it's das Wachstum.
Bonus economic growth = das Wirtschaftswachstum
die Krise
[KREE-zuh]crisis(Pl. die Krisen)
📌 Die Firma steckt in einer Krise.
→ The company is in a crisis.
💡 Same Greek root as crisis ⚡ It once meant a turning point.
Bonus in einer Krise stecken = to be stuck in a crisis
die Rezession
[ray-tsess-YOHN]recession(Pl. die Rezessionen)
📌 Ökonomen warnen vor einer drohenden Rezession im kommenden Jahr.
→ Economists are warning of a looming recession next year.
💡 Nearly the same as recession 🌧️ The economy steps backwards.
⚠ The first s sounds like ‘ts’ in German. -ion nouns are always die.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Card payments have become much more common in Germany, but plenty of people still prefer cash (Bargeld). Some small bakeries and corner shops only take cash, so it's worth keeping a few coins in your wallet.
When the euro arrived in 2002, many people felt prices had shot up and combined Euro and teuer (expensive) into ‘Teuro’. You still hear it now and then when people grumble about prices. 💶
Germans have a reputation for being careful with money and saving. Comparing supermarket leaflets and hunting for special offers (Angebote) is a very normal habit.
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Your friend says groceries have got expensive lately. How do you agree?
- ① Die Arbeitslosigkeit ist gesunken.
- ② Ja, die Preise sind stark gestiegen.
- ③ Das Wachstum ist gering.
Show the answer
② Ja, die Preise sind stark gestiegen.
steigen means to rise, so this says ‘Yes, prices have gone up a lot’ — note the perfect with sind.
Next time you go shopping, whisper „Teurer!“ or „Billiger!“ at each price tag. Your supermarket is now a German class! 🛒
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🏘️ Housing & real estate