middle class
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middle class
The social class in a society that, in terms of income, education, and occupation, is located between the upper class and the lower class.
Die Steuerreform soll vor allem die Mittelschicht entlasten.
The tax reform is intended above all to ease the burden on the middle class.
The word consists of 'Mittel-' (middle) and 'Schicht' (layer/class). It metaphorically describes the social class located in the middle of society, like a geological layer.
Der Wohlstand der Mittelschicht ist ein wichtiges Thema in der Wirtschaftspolitik.
The prosperity of the middle class is an important topic in economic policy.
'Mittelschicht' (middle class) is part of a system for describing society. The other parts are the 'Unterschicht' (lower class, literally lower layer) and the 'Oberschicht' (upper class, literally upper layer).
Soziologen analysieren die Übergänge zwischen Ober-, Mittel- und Unterschicht.
Sociologists analyze the transitions between the upper, middle, and lower classes.
Common verbs in this context are 'zur Mittelschicht gehören' (to belong to the middle class) or 'in die Mittelschicht aufsteigen' (to rise into the middle class). A typical adjective is 'breit' (broad), as in 'die breite Mittelschicht' (the broad middle class).
Viele Familien hoffen, durch Bildung in die Mittelschicht aufzusteigen.
Many families hope to rise into the middle class through education.
SMEs / middle class
Mittelstand and Mittelschicht can both refer to a social group in the middle of society. Mittelschicht is the clear general term for this social class. Mittelstand can mean the bourgeois middle class, but it often also refers to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Die Studie untersucht die Mittelschicht in deutschen Städten.
The study examines the middle class in German cities.
Die Studie untersucht den bürgerlichen Mittelstand in deutschen Städten.
The study examines the bourgeois Mittelstand in German cities.
