Reading German News Articles

Reading German news is one of the best ways to build vocabulary, improve comprehension, and stay informed about current events in the German-speaking world. This lesson introduces key vocabulary for understanding news articles, common structures used in journalism, and strategies for reading efficiently even when you do not understand every word.

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Common News Vocabulary

German	English
die Nachricht / die Nachrichten	the news (item) / the news
die Schlagzeile	the headline
der Artikel	the article
der Bericht	the report
der Journalist / die Journalistin	the journalist (m/f)
der Korrespondent / die Korrespondentin	the correspondent (m/f)
die Quelle	the source
die Meldung	the news report / bulletin
die Pressemitteilung	the press release
laut (+ Dativ)	according to
berichten	to report
bekanntgeben	to announce
erklären	to explain / to declare
fordern	to demand
warnen	to warn
bestätigen	to confirm
dementieren	to deny (officially)
kritisieren	to criticise
beschließen	to decide / to resolve
untersuchen	to investigate

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News Topic Vocabulary

Politics (Politik)

German	English
die Regierung	the government
der Bundestag	the federal parliament
der Bundeskanzler / die Bundeskanzlerin	the federal chancellor
der Bundesrat	the upper house of parliament
die Wahl / die Wahlen	the election / elections
die Partei	the political party
das Gesetz	the law
der Gesetzentwurf	the bill (proposed law)
die Debatte	the debate
die Opposition	the opposition

Economy (Wirtschaft)

German	English
die Wirtschaft	the economy
das Unternehmen	the company
die Inflation	inflation
die Arbeitslosigkeit	unemployment
das Wachstum	growth
der Handel	trade
die Börse	the stock exchange
der Haushalt	the budget
die Investition	the investment
die Steuer	the tax

Society (Gesellschaft)

German	English
die Gesellschaft	society
die Bildung	education
die Gesundheit	health
die Umwelt	the environment
der Klimawandel	climate change
die Flüchtlinge	refugees
die Integration	integration
die Gleichberechtigung	equality
die Digitalisierung	digitalisation
die Nachhaltigkeit	sustainability

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Sample News Article

Read the following adapted news article and answer the questions below: