The German vocab you need to understand the coronavirus
Here is some essential German vocabulary to help you during the coronavirus crisis.
We updated this story on March 16th with new vocabulary
The name for the virus in German is exactly the same as in English and most other languages - “das Coronavirus”. It’s scientific name, COVID-19, is the same in every language.
Media reports
Germany is currently dealing with a coronavirus pandemic. We are continually providing news updates and information on the latest developments. Here are some of the German words that will be useful to know at this time.
READ: What's the latest on coronavirus in Germany and what do I need to know?
ansteckend – contagious
das Ansteckungsrisiko – risk of contagion
die Epidemie – epidemic
die Pandemie – pandemic
der Notfall – emergency
der Ausbruch – outbreak
verbreiten - spread
die Übertragung – transmission
der Todesfall – fatality
die Abriegelung – cordoning off
die Selbstisolierung – self-isolation
das Gesundheitssystem – health system
der Impfstoff – vaccine
Photo: DPA
Government advice
The German government wants its citizens to remain calm (ruhig bleiben) in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, assuring that it has taken precautions (Vorkehrungen getroffen) and that it is prepared (vorbereitet) to deal with the disease.
Here is some vocabulary related to government advice on how to protect yourself from the virus:
Mensch zu Mensch – from person to person, be aware that this is how the virus spreads
die Handhygiene – hand hygiene
die soziale Distanzierung - social distancing
Solidarität mit den Risikogruppen – solidarity with risk groups (these include older people and those with immune deficiencies
die abgesagte Veranstaltungen – cancelled events
According to German government guidelines, this means Händewaschen (washing your hands) regularly throughout the day, for at least 20 seconds
Source: dpa-tmn
Die Husten- und Niesetikette – coughing and sneezing etiquette, meaning to cover your mouth and nose while sneezing with a tissue, which should then be disposed of
Abstand zu Erkrankten – distance from sick people
Medical treatment
If you have a suspected case (der Vedachtsfall) of coronavirus and need to seek medical assistance, here are some of the words which you will need to know, including the commonly reported symptoms (Symptome) of the disease:
der Husten - cough
die Atemnot – shortness of breath
das Fieber – fever
die Lungenentzündung – inflammation of the lungs
das Immunsystem - the immune system
infiziert – infected
testen – to test
der Abstrich – swab
positiv - positiv
negativ – negaitve
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See Also
We updated this story on March 16th with new vocabulary
The name for the virus in German is exactly the same as in English and most other languages - “das Coronavirus”. It’s scientific name, COVID-19, is the same in every language.
Media reports
Germany is currently dealing with a coronavirus pandemic. We are continually providing news updates and information on the latest developments. Here are some of the German words that will be useful to know at this time.
READ: What's the latest on coronavirus in Germany and what do I need to know?
ansteckend – contagious
das Ansteckungsrisiko – risk of contagion
die Epidemie – epidemic
die Pandemie – pandemic
der Notfall – emergency
der Ausbruch – outbreak
verbreiten - spread
die Übertragung – transmission
der Todesfall – fatality
die Abriegelung – cordoning off
die Selbstisolierung – self-isolation
das Gesundheitssystem – health system
der Impfstoff – vaccine
Photo: DPA
Government advice
The German government wants its citizens to remain calm (ruhig bleiben) in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, assuring that it has taken precautions (Vorkehrungen getroffen) and that it is prepared (vorbereitet) to deal with the disease.
Here is some vocabulary related to government advice on how to protect yourself from the virus:
Mensch zu Mensch – from person to person, be aware that this is how the virus spreads
die Handhygiene – hand hygiene
die soziale Distanzierung - social distancing
Solidarität mit den Risikogruppen – solidarity with risk groups (these include older people and those with immune deficiencies
die abgesagte Veranstaltungen – cancelled events
According to German government guidelines, this means Händewaschen (washing your hands) regularly throughout the day, for at least 20 seconds
Source: dpa-tmn
Die Husten- und Niesetikette – coughing and sneezing etiquette, meaning to cover your mouth and nose while sneezing with a tissue, which should then be disposed of
Abstand zu Erkrankten – distance from sick people
Medical treatment
If you have a suspected case (der Vedachtsfall) of coronavirus and need to seek medical assistance, here are some of the words which you will need to know, including the commonly reported symptoms (Symptome) of the disease:
der Husten - cough
die Atemnot – shortness of breath
das Fieber – fever
die Lungenentzündung – inflammation of the lungs
das Immunsystem - the immune system
infiziert – infected
testen – to test
der Abstrich – swab
positiv - positiv
negativ – negaitve
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