Heimat

homeland

noun HY-maht Less Common

Also means

home region

Usage Note

Heimat is a deeply emotional word with no exact English equal: it's the place you feel rooted to, your home region or country. It anchors a whole genre of Heimatfilm (nostalgic regional films) and compounds like Heimatstadt ('hometown'); it carries more sentiment than the plain Zuhause ('home').

Examples

"Bayern ist meine Heimat."

Natural Translation

Bavaria is my homeland.

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

Weil vs Denn vs Da: "Because" in German

Weil and da send the verb to the end; denn keeps it in second position. Here's how to pick the right German "because" and place the verb correctly.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

How to Memorize German Vocabulary Fast

Memorize German vocabulary fast with a five-step workflow: drill the top 100 words, learn nouns with their article, color-code gender, and use spaced repetition

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

Order Food in German: Restaurant Phrases

Order food in German with confidence: use ich hätte gern, read the Speisekarte, ask die Rechnung bitte, and handle zusammen oder getrennt like a local.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Adjective Endings Made Simple

German adjective endings come down to one question, not three tables: does the article already show gender and case? If yes, the adjective stays lazy.

June 5, 2026 6 min read