Personalabteilung
In German, 'hr' is referred to as Personalabteilung.
While Personalabteilung is the standard German term, the English acronym 'HR' is frequently used in modern German corporate environments.
What does it mean word for word?
Personalabteilung is a compound of Personal (personnel/staff) and Abteilung (department).
Which one should you use?
Personalabteilung translates to personnel department, whereas Personalwesen is a formal term meaning personnel management.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Personalabteilung and Personalwesen are both formal terms. In modern corporate settings, the informal English acronym 'HR' is also very common.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Austria, Human Resources is sometimes expressed as Personalmanagement. In parts of Switzerland, some companies may adopt the French term Ressources Humaines in bilingual regions.
How does it change in a sentence?
Personalabteilung is a feminine noun.
Did you know?
- In traditional German bureaucracy, the HR function was often called Personalverwaltung, which literally means 'personnel administration' and implies a more clerical role than modern HR.
- In many German companies, the term Personal is used as a shorthand for the entire department, effectively turning a noun for 'staff' into a proper name for the HR office.
- The term Personalwesen describes the entire field of HR as a science or profession, whereas Personalabteilung refers specifically to the physical or organizational office.
Examples in context
- Haben Sie eine Personalabteilung?Do you have an HR team?This sentence is useful for asking if a company has a Personalabteilung.Tatoeba #13305390 by Waldelfe, translation #10856483 by Amastan
- Maria arbeitet in der Personalabteilung einer großen Firma.Mary works in the HR department of a large company.This sentence shows how to use Personalabteilung when describing where someone works.Tatoeba #8644329 by Melang, translation #9457024 by sundown
- Die Personalabteilung ist verantwortlich für die Einstellung neuer Mitarbeiter.The HR department is responsible for hiring new employees.
- Das Personalwesen spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der Förderung von Mitarbeitern.Personnel management plays an important role in employee development.
- Ich habe gehört, die HR-Abteilung sucht nach neuen Mitarbeitern.I heard the HR department is looking for new employees.
- Die Personalabteilung sucht gerade neue Mitarbeiter.The HR department is currently looking for new employees.
Example conversation
Lukas and Laura are talking at a coffee shop about their jobs.
- LauraLukas, arbeitet deine Personalabteilung auch so viel?Lukas, does your HR department work that much too?
- LukasJa, sie haben momentan sehr viel zu tun.Yes, they have a lot to do at the moment.
- LauraDas klingt wirklich anstrengend für sie.That sounds really exhausting for them.
- LukasDas stimmt, aber sie sind sehr effizient.That's true, but they are very efficient.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry Personalabteilung, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
