“Antisemitism” came in second place, the Society for the German Language (GfdS) announced on Friday, referring to a resurgence on both the far-right and the left-wing extremes of the political spectrum since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
The third-placed word translates as “unable to read”, referring not just to illiteracy but also increasing difficulties faced by people in comprehending complex texts.
These topped a ranking of 10 words that have dominated public debate in recent months, GfdS head Andrea Ewels said. “The list reflects reality – and reality is currently pretty bleak.”
“The state of emergency has become a permanent state,” said Ewels. “This triggers fear, insecurity and powerlessness in people. These feelings dominate everyday life and you don’t know what will come next.”
The Word of the Year was first chosen by the GfdS in 1971 and has been awarded regularly since 1977.
An in-house jury of linguists and media experts selected this year’s winners from around 1,800 entries found in media usage, as well as individual submissions.
The decisive factor is not the frequency of an expression, but rather its significance and popularity, according to the judges.
Last year’s winning word was “Zeitenwende” (epochal turning point), memorably used by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in relation to Russia’s war in Ukraine.