learning german
For Members
German Word of the Day: Das Fernweh
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Published: 16 Oct, 2018 CET.
Updated: Wed 20 Sep 2023 11:57 CET
We’ve all heard of homesickness, or Heimweh. But German speakers have an excellent antonym: Fernweh.
Fernweh describes the desire to leave all your home and everything you know well to go and travel the world. It’s made up of Fern, meaning ‘far’, and weh, ‘woe’, so could be translated as a longing for distant places.
It’s a very similar concept to Wanderlust. But whereas Wanderlust denotes the desire to travel, Fernweh concerns more the longing for far-off destinations
Examples:
Dieser Fernweh zerstört meinen Verstand.
This longing for far-off places is destroying my mind
Eine Reise tritt nur an, dessen Fernweh gegenüber der Angst vor Veränderung überwiegt.
A journey only occurs when the desire for distant destinations is stronger than the fear of change.
Comments
See Also
Fernweh describes the desire to leave all your home and everything you know well to go and travel the world. It’s made up of Fern, meaning ‘far’, and weh, ‘woe’, so could be translated as a longing for distant places.
It’s a very similar concept to Wanderlust. But whereas Wanderlust denotes the desire to travel, Fernweh concerns more the longing for far-off destinations
Examples:
Dieser Fernweh zerstört meinen Verstand.
This longing for far-off places is destroying my mind
Eine Reise tritt nur an, dessen Fernweh gegenüber der Angst vor Veränderung überwiegt.
A journey only occurs when the desire for distant destinations is stronger than the fear of change.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.