Feindschaft

enmity, hostility

noun FYND-shaft Rare

Usage Note

Feindschaft denotes a sustained relationship of mutual hostility or antagonism between individuals or groups. Stronger than Rivalität — it implies active ill will. In Feindschaft leben means to live as enemies.

Examples

"Die alte Feindschaft zwischen den Familien hielt sich über Generationen."

Natural Translation

The old enmity between the families persisted across generations.

Literal Translation

The old enmity between the families held itself over generations.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Days, Months & Seasons (am, im & -tag)

Days of the week in German use am, months and seasons use im — plus the -tag pattern, capitalized nouns, and how to build a real sentence with a day.

June 5, 2026 4 min read

GermanNow

German Greetings by Region: Grüß Gott to Grüezi

German greetings change by region: say Moin in Hamburg, Grüß Gott in Bavaria, Grüezi in Switzerland. A map of every hello and goodbye, plus du vs. Sie.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

Der, Die, Das: Rules to Guess German Gender

German noun gender rules made simple: check the suffix first, then meaning. Endings like -ung, -chen, and -ling predict der, die, or das with ~90% accuracy.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

How to Tell Time in German Without Mistakes

Halb sieben means 6:30, not 7:30. Master telling time in German — Viertel nach, halb, vor, the 24-hour clock, and the prepositions that trip up beginners.

June 5, 2026 5 min read