How do you say condition (Zustand) in German?

Whether you’re talking about someone’s health, the shape of a building, or the emotional chaos after a breakup - Germans call it a Zustand. It’s a word that captures the current situation or status of a thing, person, or system.

The noun Zustand means condition, state, or status, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll find it in medical reports, science, everyday speech, and any kind of official assessment.

It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Zustand.

Pronunciation

Zustand is pronounced approximately [TSOO-shtant], with long u, short a and final t.

• The “Z” is pronounced like “ts”,
• The “u” is long, like “oo” in “food,” and st sounds like “sht” (zu + Stand),
• The “a” is short - a clipped “ah,”
• The final “d” is pronounced like a “t.”
• Stress is on the first syllable: TSOO-shtant

It’s a serious-sounding word - fitting for diagnoses, reports, and news headlines.

Example sentences:

• Sein gesundheitlicher Zustand ist stabil.His medical condition is stable.
• Das Haus ist in einem schlechten Zustand.The house is in bad condition.

Nuance and usage tips

Zustand comes from zu (to) + Stand (standing/status), so it literally means “how something stands.”

Common contexts:

1. Physical condition
   • Neuwertiger Zustand - like-new condition
   • gebrauchter Zustand - used condition
   • Zustandsbericht - condition report
2. Medical / emotional
   • bewusstloser Zustand - unconscious state
   • emotional instabiler Zustand - emotionally unstable state
3. Physics or technical systems
   • Aggregatzustand - state of matter (solid/liquid/gas)
   • Ruhezustand - resting state (in computers or mechanics)
4. Legal / bureaucratic
   • rechtlicher Zustand - legal status
   • sozialer Zustand - social condition

Related words: