citizenship
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citizenship
A person's legal membership in a particular state, which is connected with rights and duties. It is also referred to as nationality.
Nachdem sie zehn Jahre in dem Land gelebt hatte, beantragte sie die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft.
After she had lived in the country for ten years, she applied for German citizenship.
The word is made up of three parts: 'Staat' (state/country), 'Bürger' (citizen; person who lives in a country), and the ending '-schaft' (which describes a state or a community). So it literally means the 'state of being a citizen of a state.'
Die Staatsbürgerschaft bringt sowohl Rechte als auch Pflichten mit sich.
Citizenship brings both rights and duties with it.
In connection with 'Staatsbürgerschaft' (citizenship), certain verbs are often used: you can 'beantragen' (apply for), 'erwerben' (acquire), 'annehmen' (accept/adopt), or 'besitzen' (possess) it. A state can 'verleihen' (grant) it to a person.
Er hat die österreichische Staatsbürgerschaft beantragt.
He applied for Austrian citizenship.
To name the country, you usually use an adjective before the word (e.g., 'die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft' — German citizenship) or a genitive construction (e.g., 'die Staatsbürgerschaft der Schweiz' — Swiss citizenship / citizenship of Switzerland).
Sie besitzt die italienische Staatsbürgerschaft.
She has Italian citizenship.
nationality
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.
Im Formular gab sie ihre deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft an.
She stated her German citizenship on the form.
Im Gespräch über Sprache und Kultur nannte sie ihre deutsche Nationalität.
In a conversation about language and culture, she identified her nationality as German.
