Nationalität
/ˌnatsi̯onaliˈtɛːt/feminine
The German word for "nationality" is Nationalität.
The word Nationalität refers to the membership of a person in a particular nation or state.
Meaning: membership of a nation or state (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
Nationalität is a feminine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌnatsi̯onaliˈtɛːt/
Did you know?
- Unlike in English, adjectives derived from nationalities, such as deutsch or französisch, are not capitalized unless they start a sentence or are part of a proper name.
- In historical German texts, the concept of nationality was often intertwined with Volkszugehörigkeit, which refers to belonging to a specific ethnic people or 'folk'.
- In German, your nationality is often expressed through your citizenship, Staatsangehörigkeit, rather than a sense of ethnic or cultural 'nationalität'.
Examples in context
- Welche Nationalität hast du?What is your nationality?This sentence is useful for asking someone what their nationality is.Tatoeba #2980561 by pne, translation #1089463 by Eldad
- Welcher Nationalität sind Ihre Eltern?What is your parents' nationality?This sentence is useful for asking about the nationality of someone's parents.Tatoeba #4356777 by krtz, translation #4356495 by JNQ
- Welcher Nationalität ist dieser Kameramann da drüben?What is the nationality of that cameraman over there?This sentence is useful for asking about the nationality of a specific person, such as a cameraman.Tatoeba #2074497 by Espi, translation #71773 by CM
- Ich bin amerikanisch.I am American.
- Ich komme aus Frankreich.I come from France.
- Meine Nationalität ist spanisch.My nationality is Spanish.
- Ich komme aus Kanada.I come from Canada.
- Ich bin italienisch.I am Italian.
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sarah and Lukas are filling out registration forms for a language course.
- SarahLukas, was schreibst du bei Nationalität?Lukas, what are you writing for nationality?
- LukasIch schreibe einfach 'deutsch' hinein.I'll just write 'German' in there.
- SarahIst deine Nationalität wirklich nur deutsch?Is your nationality really only German?
- LukasJa, das ist meine einzige Nationalität.Yes, that is my only nationality.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nationality” translations and entries Nationalität, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
