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What was going on in your year of birth? The word of the year reveals it
What were the topics in your year of birth? What did everyone talk about? Which word has influenced your year of birth? The "Word of the Year" for your year of birth gives exciting insights.
Everything flows, everything is changing. Our society, our language, everything is constantly changing. And that's a good thing and incredibly exciting to watch.
Words that were so special a few years ago, so much on everyone's lips that they were voted "Word of the Year", are everyday life for us today.
The word of the year is chosen since 1971 and since 1977 regularly by the "Society for German Language". Each year, suggestions for the word can be submitted by each and a jury of experts then decides which word will become the word of the year.
The word of the year is chosen by the jury as being "the most characteristic word of the year in question", which has appeared in the course of the year, been used in new meanings or has been particularly present.
Unfortunately, the "word of the year" has only been chosen since 1991, and we have written it in the years to come. However, the nonsense of the year is not appointed by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, but by an independent jury of linguists and journalists. They, too, choose from proposals that anyone who wishes to submit can choose.
A look at these words in the past is really exciting. What shaped the world in my year of birth? Which word was on everyone's lips?
(By the way, also exciting: These were the most popular baby names in your year of birth)
Words of the year 2015
- refugees
- Je suis Charlie
- Grexit
- Selektorenliste
- Cheat engine
- by waving
- Selfie Staff
- Cheat World Cup
- Flexitarians
- We make it!
Undef of the year: good man
Words of the year 2014
- light limit
- black zero
- Götzseidank
- Russia understanders
- railfan
- Welcoming culture
- Social freezing
- Terror tourism
- vanishing spray
- Generation head down
Undef of the year: lying press
2013
- GroKo
- Swank Bishop
- poverty immigration
- interest melt
- Big Data
- Ausschließeritis
- Generation sandbag
- foreigners toll
- wrong nine
- Friend listens
No word of the year: social tourism
2012
- rescue routine
- Registrar President
- Education avert premium
- Schlecker women
- Wulffen
- network baiting
- Gottesteilchen
- Punk Prayer
- Curse Harbor
- pretty best ...
No word of the year: Victim subscription
2011
- stress test
- to leverage
- Arabellion
- Merkozy
- Fukushima
- burnout
- guttenbergen
- killer sprouts
- From now on delivery!
- We are the 99%
No word of the year: kebab kills
2010
- Wutbürger
- Stuttgart 21
- Sarrazin gene
- cyberwar
- Wikileaks
- gravel
- ash cloud
- Vuvuzela
- Femitainment
- slip under the euro rescue screen
No word of the year: no alternative
2009
- Abwrackprämie
- warlike conditions
- swine flu
- Bad bank
- World Climate Summit
- Germany is European champion
- tweet
- Studying Bolognese
- Growth Acceleration Act
- Did it cost a billion?
No word of the year: contaminated with works council
2008
- financial crisis
- verzockt
- data theft
- Hessian conditions
- Low Emission zone
- multipolar world
- Nacktscanner
- bailout
- Education spring
- Yes, we can
No word of the year: distressed banks
2007
- climate catastrophe
- stove premium
- smoking pub
- poor by work
- doping confession
- Lustreisen
- Second Life
- Federal trojan
- fuel-thirsty
- Everything will be Knut
No word of the year: Herd premium
2006
- fanmeile
- Generation internship
- cartoon controversy
- Spell Peace
- precariat
- Pay study
- Problembär
- polonium traces
- Klinsmann
- black-red-hot
No word of the year: voluntary departure
2005
- Chancellor
- We are Pope
- tsunami
- locusts
- gammelfleisch
- Jamaica coalition
- hoyzern
- suboptimal
- telenovela
- FC Germany 06
No word of the year: dismissal productivity
2004
- Hartz IV
- parallel societies
- Pisa-shaken nation
- felt poverty
- Ekelfernsehen
- consultation fee
- One euro job
- placed
- rehakles
No word of the year: human capital
2003
- the old Europe
- Agenda 2010
- reform dispute
- SARS / Sars
- embedded journalists
- Toll-disaster
- Tax benefits Reduction Act
- Jahrhundertglut
- googling
- alcopops
- »Germany seeks superstar (DSDS)«
No word of the year: offenders
2002
- TEURO
- PISA shock
- Millennium flood
- cacophony
- Ich-AG
- Bush Warrior
- Job Floater
- verhunzingern
- Dispensary Limitation Act
- "There is only one 'Rudi Völler!"
Unwort of the year: Ich-AG
2001
- the 11th of September
- Anti-terror war
- anthrax attack
- sleeper
- import stem cells
- sleeping coins
- Gay marriage
- Agrarwende
- Lewd League
- Riester pension
- texting
- And that's just as well!
Unwort of the year: Gotteskrieger
2000
- Black money scandal
- BSE crisis
- Green Card
- Against the right wing
- SMS
- fighting dog
- brutalstmöglich
- dominant culture
- Big Brother house
- Basta
No word of the year: nationally liberated zone
1999
- millennium
- Kosovo war
- Generation @
- euro zone
- rework
- double pass
- escrow account
- hostile takeover
- Sofi
- Beef labeling monitoring delegation Act
Undef of the year: collateral damage
1998
- Red Green
- Viagra
- new middle
- "I've finished!"
- event
- year 2000 compliant
- cousin economy
- moral club
- Euro zone
- environmental tax
- sustained
- "Beep, beep, beep"
No word of the year: socially acceptable early death
1997
- Reformstau
- Jerk through Germany
- education crisis
- cloned sheep
- elchtest
- Tamagotchi
- Flood of the century
- paparazzi
- work society
No word of the year: prosperity garbage
1996
- Austerity
- budget deficits
- Sick pay
- globalization
- Homepage
- Spelling Reform
- genmanipuliert
- child abuser
- Inline skating
- closing time
No word of the year: Rentnerschwemme
1995
- multimedia
- euro money
- crucifix ruling
- Reichstag wrapping
- combat mission
- click (with the computer mouse)
- virtual reality
- Information superhighway
- We are church
- Spelling Reform
Unwort of the year: diet modification
1994
- Election year
- jackpot
- Unwort
- enlargement
- Philosophy
- lean state
- peanuts
- payable
- future Ministry
- red socks
No word of the year: Peanuts
1993
- welfare cuts
- Location Germany
- blood scandal
- Amigo affair
- Care (care insurance)
- rethink
- big eavesdropping
- asylum compromise
- nostalgia of GDR
- Dino
Unword of the year: alienation
1992
- politics
- xenophobia
- racism
- shift to the right
- fairy lights
- Solidarity Pact
- gaucken
- Maastricht
- ethnic cleansing
- Blue helmet use
- outing, outing
- Erlanger Baby
Undef of the year: ethnic cleansing
1991
- better Westerner
- transact
- Short-time work zero
- xenophobia
- Stasi syndrome
- Wealth Wall
- surgical warfare
- Pax americana
- No blood for oil
- Prussia fever
- Car diet, garbage diet
- solidarity surcharge
No word of the year: foreigners free
1990
- the new federal states
- United Germany
- 2 + 4 talks
- Polish western border
- cushion socially
- human shields
- packaging flood
- gridlock
- Crime scene principle, residence principle
1989
- travel freedom
- BRDDR
- Monday demonstrations
- Chinese solution
- refugees
- welcome money
- round table
- multicultural
- Mauerspecht
- Trabi
1988
- Health reform
- death of seals
- Veal meat scandal
- nuclear waste scandal
- Tiefflug
- Reichskristallnacht, imperial pogrom night
- European internal market
1987
- AIDS, condom
- Perestroika, glasnost
- Waterkant gate
- ozone hole
- whey powder
- for action
- Kremlin flyer
- Evening service
1986
- Chernobyl
- accident
- Meltdown
- Historikerstreit
1985
- glycol
- SDI
- Eureka
- High-tech
- D 1
- AIDS
- realist; Rambo
1984
- environmental car
- formaldehyde
- envy control
- speed limit
- banana republic
- Frozen Baby
1983
- hot autumn
- Volksaushorchung
- Zündi
- Waldsterben
1982
- elbow society
- turn
- center
- Descent of the economy
- unemployment
- save up
- Foreigners
- Indignant!
- Neue Deutsche Welle
1981
- zero option
- summer Theater
- (Rett) bar
- two box
- Slash marriage
- draufsatteln
- Job-sharing
1980
- dragnet
- Asylant
- maintenance squatters
- working funeral
- Olympic boycott
- on trial
1979
- holocaust
- Boat people
- retrofitting
- oil shock
- alternative
- to touch
1978
- safe house
- the green
- ghost driver
- Rooming-in
- the Smurfs
- Disco
- single
1977
- scene
- Terrorism, terrorist
- sympathizer
- disposal
- eavesdropping
- Blackout
In the years 1972 to 1976, unfortunately, no words of the year were chosen.
1971
- obstreperous
- Junktim
- environmental Protection
- environmental pollution
- nostalgia
- hot panties
