The word of the year (, ) is an annual publication by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, established in 1971 (on a regular basis since 1977). Each December, a German word or word group is named in a linguistic review of the year.
Year Word of the year(German) EtymologyEnglish translation Explanation 1971 Rebellious, insubordinate Characterization of the 1960s counterculture, especially the German student movement 1977 Scene, community Reference to a number of news-making communities, e.g. drug scene, gay scene, disco scene 1978 Conspirative apartment Reference to the hideout of the kidnappers of Hanns Martin Schleyer, which the police failed to locate 1979 Holocaust The original broadcast of the American TV miniseries Holocaust, which led to an increased public interest in Nazi crimes. 1980 Dragnet investigation Proposed measures for computer-aided searches for wanted criminals that led to a heated political and public debate about information privacy. 1981 Zero Option Reference to a proposal by then-President of the United States Ronald Reagan for the withdrawal of all Soviet and US intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe 1982 Literally "elbow society", dog eat dog competition Term used by critics who feared a culture lacking social skills was growing, which emphasized egoism, ruthlessness, and competitiveness 1983 Hot/heated autumn Reference to a series of large-scale protests against the NATO Double-Track Decision and the strengthening peace movement 1984 Environment-friendly car, low-energy vehicle Reference to one of the topics of the environmental movement 1985 Diethylene glycol The toxic additive uncovered in a widespread wine adulteration scandal. 1986 Chernobyl Reference to the Chernobyl disaster 1987 , AIDS and condom The growing media attention paid to the spreading HIV/AIDS disease and subsequent campaign for safe sex 1988 Healthcare reform Reference to the dominant political discussion of that year 1989 Freedom of travel The most prominent demand during the Peaceful Revolution, which was achieved with the fall of the Berlin Wall 1990 The new German states The states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and , which became part of the Federal Republic of Germany in the German reunification 1991 Compound of ("better") and (informal term for a citizen of West Germany), thus resembling the German word ("know-it-all", "smart arse") A perception by former citizens of East Germany in the post-reunification period that their lifetime achievements under Communist rule were regarded as inferior and valueless by West Germans 1992 Indifference to politics Perceived political indifference from decreasing voter turnouts and party membership numbers 1993 Reduction of social benefits Reference to austerity measures taken by the conservative government of Helmut Kohl 1994 super election year The environment of perpetual election campaign for politicians, due to a federal election, European parliament election, and eight state elections converging in 1994 1995 Multimedia Buzzword used for state-of-the-art developments in computer and digital technology 1996 Austerity package The dominance in political discussions of the time about how to shoulder the immense follow-up costs of the German reunification 1997 Literally "reform jam" The perceived political standstill during the later years of the Kohl government 1998 Red-green Reference to the coalition government of Social Democrats and Greens, led by newly elected chancellor Gerhard Schröder 1999 Millennium The term was used as an ubiquitous buzzword in public anticipation of the year 2000 2000 Literally "black money affair" Reference to the donations scandal of the Christian Democratic Party, with Helmut Kohl as its key figure 2001 11 September Reference to the September 11 attacks 2002 Portmanteau of ("expensive", "pricey") and The widespread public perception that the currency changeover from the to the Euro had led to a hidden price increase 2003 The old Europe A term coined by then U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, referring to European countries that did not support the 2003 invasion of Iraq 2004 Name of a highly controversial set of reforms of the German labor market 2005 Female form of "Federal Chancellor" Angela Merkel became the first woman to hold the post of German chancellor 2006 Literally "fan mile" Reference to public screenings of the matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators 2007 Climate catastrophe Reference to the worst possible outcome of the global warming, which came to widespread public attention, mainly due to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth 2008 Financial crisis The dominance of the 2008 financial crisis in political discussions that year 2009 Scrapping bonus Reference to a political measure to help the automobile industry through the Great Recession, which saw a bonus of €2,500 for those buying a brand new car and scrapping the old one instead of reselling it 2010 Compound of ("anger", "rage") and ("citizen") – literally "enraged citizen" Stereotype of middle-aged, socially and financially secure people without any previous experience in attending demonstrations, who protest in the streets in an emotional, heated manner (especially characterizing the opponents of the Stuttgart 21 project) 2011 Stress test A reference to a series of unrelated stability simulations: the 2011 European Union bank stress test, a reassessment of nuclear power stations following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and the arbitration process concerning Stuttgart 21. 2012 Literally "rescue routine" A rarely used term coined by German politician , criticizing the series of measures addressing the European debt crisis that passed the in a rushed manner, possibly without sufficient debate and consideration of alternatives 2013 Acronym for ("grand coalition") A reference to the upcoming governmental coalition in the , formed by CDU/CSU and SPD 2014 Literally light border The name of an art installation by , tracing the path of the Berlin Wall as part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of its Fall. 2015 Refugees A reference to the European migrant crisis, with refugees of the Syrian Civil War and other refugees, asylum seekers and forcibly displaced people arriving in European Union countries, to varying degrees of welcome. In 2015, some 40% of these arrivals applied for asylum in Germany. 2016 post truth A reference to the increasing tendency to form opinions based on emotions rather than facts in political and public discourse. More and more people are turning so reluctant towards "those on top" that they become willing to ignore facts and accept even open lies eagerly. Not claims to the truth, but openly daring to speak the "felt truth" leads to success in a post-truth age. The Brexit campaign's thriving partially on deliberate misinformation, as well as discriminatory remarks and untrue claims (such as President Barack Obama supposedly having founded ISIS) leading to the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election, are cited as recent examples of this phenomenon. 2017 end of the Jamaica coalition A reference to the failure of preliminary talks for negotiations a coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Green Party factions, represented by the colors black, yellow, and green, respectively, as found in the Flag of Jamaica, and the public announcement thereof. 2018 "hot time / heat age", i.e. hothouse earth A reference to the 2018 European heat wave, which was considered by many Germans to last from April to November. It is also supposed to hint at one of the gravest global phenomena of the early 21st century: climate change. Last but not least, "Heißzeit" is an interesting word creation – phonologically analogous to "Eiszeit" ("ice age"), the expression acquires an epochal dimension transcending the literal meaning of "time interval during which it is hot" and potentially points to a changing climatic period. 2019 "respect pension" "It refers to pensioners being able to enjoy their retirement with dignity after many years of hard work."" 2020 "corona[virus] pandemic" A reference to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected most of the world and weakened most countries' economies.2021 "wave-breaker"A word describing measures which "stop new waves of COVID-19 infections".2022 "historic turning point" Coined by chancellor Olaf Scholz in his Zeitenwende speech, refers to the Russian war against Ukraine.2023 "crisis mode"GfdS managing director Andrea Ewels said that society has been in "crisis mode" since 2020, she said, referring to the Coronavirus pandemic, Russia's attack on Ukraine, the energy crisis, the educational crisis and the attack by the terrorist militia Hamas on Israel.GfdS wählt »Krisenmodus« zum Wort des Jahres 2023, 8. Dezember 2023Das Wort des Jahres durch die Kameralinse der GfdS, 19. Dezember 2023"Krisenmodus" ist Wort des Jahres“Krisenmodus” chosen as German Word of the Year 20232024Ampel-Ausend of the "traffic light" coalitionParallel to the 2017 Word of the Year, referring to the end of the coalition government between Social Democratic Party (SPD), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Green Party (represented by the red, yellow, and green colors in a traffic light) in December 2024.2025 "AI era"Reference to the AI boom of the 2020s.
See also Word of the year Un-word of the year Youth word of the year (Germany)
References