Polyglot Dictionary

Heimweh

/ˈhaɪ̯mˌveː/

das noun B1

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

N Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Common Domain General Tone Negative

Meaning

  1. homesickness

    • Im Ausland hatte sie oft Heimweh.

      Abroad she often felt homesick.

N Category Thing Concreteness Concrete Animacy Inanimate Countability Countable Scope Individual

Similar words

Fernweh

Exact opposites built from the same -weh pattern: Heimweh aches for home, Fernweh aches to leave it.

Sehnsucht

Heimweh ("home-pain") is longing specifically for home. Sehnsucht is broader and can attach to anything missing — a person, a place, or something the speaker can't even fully name.

Similar in other languages

Spanish

morriña

morriña is the Spanish word for the same thing — both mean "homesickness."

Practice

1 What does Heimweh mean?

2 Fill the gap: Im Ausland hatte sie oft ___.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches Heimweh?

noun

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