German Disability & Care Vocabulary
This set covers disability, mobility aids, and care work: der Rollstuhl, die Pflege, and das Hörgerät are the anchor words, alongside the people and places around them like der Rollstuhlfahrer and das Pflegeheim. One thing that trips up English speakers: German doesn't have one catch-all word for "disabled" the way English does. Instead you get behindert as the general term, then gehbehindert and sehbehindert for specific mobility or vision impairments, and taub for deaf, none of which are interchangeable.
Learn these 20 words
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All 20 words
plural: die Rollstühle
wheelchair
Mein Opa sitzt im Rollstuhl. — My grandpa sits in a wheelchair.
disabled
Er ist seit dem Unfall behindert. — He has been disabled since the accident.
plural: die Behinderungen
disability
Meine Schwester hat eine körperliche Behinderung. — My sister has a physical disability.
nursing care
Sie braucht jeden Tag intensive Pflege. — She needs intensive care every day.
- blindB1
blind
Er ist von Geburt an blind. — He has been blind since birth.
plural: die Blindenhunde
guide dog
Der Blindenhund führt seinen Besitzer sicher. — The guide dog leads its owner safely.
mobility impaired
Der gehbehinderte Mann nutzt einen Rollstuhl. — The mobility-impaired man uses a wheelchair.
plural: die Gehhilfen
walking aid
Ohne Gehhilfe kann sie nicht laufen. — Without a walking aid she can't walk.
plural: die Hilfsmittel
aid device
Der Rollstuhl ist ein wichtiges Hilfsmittel. — The wheelchair is an important aid device.
plural: die Hörgeräte
hearing aid
Er trägt seit Jahren ein Hörgerät. — He has worn a hearing aid for years.
plural: die Pflegeheime
nursing home
Meine Oma lebt in einem Pflegeheim. — My grandma lives in a nursing home.
- pflegenB1
to care for
Meine Mutter ist sehr krank. Ich muss sie pflegen. — My mother is very ill. I must care for her.
plural: die Rollatoren
walker/rollator
Der alte Mann geht mit einem Rollator. — The old man walks with a rollator.
plural: die Rollstuhlfahrer
wheelchair user
Der Rollstuhlfahrer braucht eine Rampe. — The wheelchair user needs a ramp.
visually impaired
Meine Kollegin ist stark sehbehindert. — My colleague is severely visually impaired.
- taubB1
deaf
Sie hört schlecht, sie ist schon fast taub. — She hears poorly; she is almost deaf.
plural: die Krücken
crutch
Nach dem Unfall brauchte er eine Krücke. — After the accident, he needed a crutch.
plural: die Lernschwächen
a learning disability
Die Schule unterstützt Kinder mit Lernschwäche. — The school supports children with learning disabilities.
accessibility
Barrierefreiheit ermöglicht Menschen mit Behinderungen ein selbstständiges Leben. — Accessibility enables people with disabilities to live independently.
plural: die Missbildungen
malformation / deformity
Die Missbildung war bei der Geburt sichtbar. — The malformation was visible at birth.
How to learn this set
Notice how many words here are built from -behindert: behindert itself, gehbehindert, sehbehindert. Learn the base word first, then treat the compounds as add-ons rather than separate vocabulary. Same trick works for die Pflege: once you know it means nursing care, das Pflegeheim and the verb pflegen fall into place instead of feeling like three new words. For the equipment nouns (die Gehhilfe, die Krücke, der Rollator, das Hilfsmittel), drill them together as a physical group, maybe by picturing someone actually using each one, since they're the words most likely to come up in a real conversation about care.
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Frequently asked questions
Is der Rollstuhl masculine or is it die Rollstuhl?
It's der Rollstuhl. Most German words ending in -stuhl (chair) are masculine, so der Rollstuhl, der Lehnstuhl, der Drehstuhl all follow the same pattern.
What is the difference between behindert and gehbehindert?
Behindert is the general word for disabled. Gehbehindert narrows it down to mobility impaired (Geh- comes from gehen, to walk), and sehbehindert does the same for vision. German builds these specific terms by attaching a prefix to -behindert rather than using separate words.
What's the German word for nursing home?
Das Pflegeheim. It's built from die Pflege (nursing care) plus das Heim (home), and the compound takes the gender of Heim, so it's neuter even though Pflege itself is feminine.
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