die Nationalität
nationality
A person's legal belonging to a particular state; citizenship.
EXAMPLE
Bei der Einreise muss man seine Nationalität angeben.
When entering the country, you have to state your nationality.
die Nationalität
nationality
die Nationalität, die Nationalitäten
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Meanings
die Nationalität
nationality
Belonging to an ethnic group or people connected by a shared language, culture, and history.
EXAMPLE
In der Donaumonarchie lebten viele verschiedene Nationalitäten zusammen.
Many different nationalities lived together in the Danube Monarchy.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry Nationalität, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
At a glance
| gender | feminine die |
|---|---|
| plural | die Nationalitäten |
| genitive | der Nationalität |
The four cases
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | die Nationalität | die Nationalitäten |
| accusative | die Nationalität | die Nationalitäten |
| dative | der Nationalität | den Nationalitäten |
| genitive | der Nationalität | der Nationalitäten |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Usage tips
Word structure
The word is derived from the adjective 'national' (national). The ending '-ität' (-ity) is typical of abstract nouns formed from adjectives and means something like '-heit' or '-keit' (-ness/-ity).
EXAMPLE
Die Qualität dieses Produkts ist sehr hoch.
The quality of this product is very high.
Seine Flexibilität im Denken ist beeindruckend.
His flexibility in thinking is impressive.
Context clue
The meaning depends strongly on the context. In the singular in official situations, such as on a form, it usually means citizenship. In the plural in historical or sociological texts, it often refers to ethnic groups.
EXAMPLE
Bitte tragen Sie hier Ihre Nationalität ein.
Please enter your nationality here.
Das Land ist bekannt für seine vielen verschiedenen Nationalitäten.
The country is known for its many different nationalities.
Typical collocations
In connection with citizenship, 'Nationalität' (nationality) is often used with certain verbs. Typical phrases are 'die Nationalität haben' (to have the nationality), 'die Nationalität besitzen' (to possess the nationality), or 'die Nationalität angeben' (to state one's nationality).
EXAMPLE
Er besitzt die doppelte Nationalität.
He has dual nationality.
Auf dem Formular müssen Sie Ihre Nationalität angeben.
You must state your nationality on the form.
Compare with
Nationalität vs Staatsbürgerschaft
citizenship
Staatsbürgerschaft and Nationalität can both refer to a person's legal membership in a state. Staatsbürgerschaft clearly refers to legal status, whereas Nationalität can also refer, depending on the context, to belonging to a people or culture. Staatsbürgerschaft is therefore less ambiguous in official information.
Nationalität
Im Gespräch über Sprache und Kultur nannte sie ihre deutsche Nationalität.
In a conversation about language and culture, she identified her nationality as German.
Staatsbürgerschaft
Im Formular gab sie ihre deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft an.
She stated her German citizenship on the form.
In real life
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