homesickness
Loading your saved state.
homesickness
The feeling of longing for home, family, or familiar surroundings when you are in an unfamiliar place.
Nach drei Wochen im Ausland bekam sie schreckliches Heimweh.
After three weeks abroad, she became terribly homesick.
The word consists of 'Heim' (home) and 'Weh' (an old word for pain). So 'Heimweh' (homesickness) is literally 'home pain' or longing for home.
Das Gefühl von Heimweh kann sehr stark sein.
The feeling of homesickness can be very strong.
'Heimweh' (homesickness) is usually used with the verbs 'haben' (to have), 'bekommen' (to get), or 'leiden unter' (to suffer from). You cannot say 'Heimweh sein'.
Am Anfang hatte ich starkes Heimweh.
At the beginning, I was very homesick.
To describe the strength of the feeling, you use adjectives such as 'starkes' (strong), 'großes' (great), or 'schreckliches' (terrible) Heimweh.
Als Austauschschüler hatte er anfangs großes Heimweh.
As an exchange student, he was very homesick at first.
longing
Die Sehnsucht can be directed toward different distant people, places, or states, and here it is specified more closely as longing for home or family. Das Heimweh refers to this feeling on its own when you are in an unfamiliar place.
Während ihres Auslandssemesters bekam Mia starkes Heimweh.
During her semester abroad, Mia became very homesick.
Während ihres Auslandssemesters hatte Mia große Sehnsucht nach ihrer Familie.
During her semester abroad, Mia felt a strong longing for her family.
