die  Adoption

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/adopˈt͡si̯oːn/

📜 What does "die Adoption" mean?

Die Adoption (noun, feminine) primarily has two meanings:

1. Adoption of a child: This is the most common meaning. It describes the legal and social process by which a person (or couple) assumes the parenthood of a child who is not their biological child. The legal ties to the biological parents are usually severed.
2. Adoption / Acceptance: In a figurative sense, die Adoption can also mean the taking up or acceptance of ideas, methods, technologies, or names. Example: Die Adoption neuer Technologien im Unternehmen (The adoption of new technologies in the company).

⚠️ It's important to consider the context to understand the correct meaning, although the first meaning (child adoption) is much more common.

📊 Grammar of "die Adoption" in Detail

The word "Adoption" is a feminine noun. The article is "die".

Declension:

Note: The plural "Adoptionen" is used less frequently, mostly in legal or statistical contexts when talking about multiple individual adoption cases (e.g., die Zahl der Adoptionen ist gestiegen - the number of adoptions has increased).

📝 Examples:

• Die Adoption des Kindes wurde erfolgreich abgeschlossen. (The adoption of the child was successfully completed.)
• Die Bedingungen der Adoption sind streng. (The conditions of the adoption are strict.)
• Sie stimmten der Adoption zu. (They agreed to the adoption.)
• Sie ziehen eine Adoption in Betracht. (They are considering an adoption.)
• Im letzten Jahr gab es weniger Adoptionen als erwartet. (Last year, there were fewer adoptions than expected.)

🗣️ How to use "die Adoption"?

• In family law: This is the main context. It concerns the legal establishment of a parent-child relationship between the adopter and the child. Example: Das Paar hat sich nach langer Überlegung für eine Adoption entschieden. (The couple decided on an adoption after long consideration.)
• In social discussions: Topics like international adoption, adoption by same-sex couples, or the rights of adoptees are often discussed using *die Adoption*.
• Figurative meaning: Less common, but possible, is the use in the sense of taking up or acceptance. Example: Die schnelle Adoption der neuen Software sparte der Firma viel Zeit. (The quick adoption of the new software saved the company a lot of time.)

Comparison with similar words:

• Annahme: Can be a synonym (Annahme an Kindes statt - acceptance as a child), but is more general (e.g., *Annahme* of a package, *Annahme* of a theory). *Die Adoption* is more specific to the legal act of child adoption or the taking up of something new.
• Pflegekindschaft (Foster care): Unlike *Adoption*, in foster care, the child is placed in a foster family only temporarily or long-term, but legal parenthood often remains with the biological parents.

🧠 Mnemonics for "die Adoption"

Article mnemonic: Feminine nouns ending in "-ion" in German are almost always die. Think of: die Aktion (action), die Station (station), die Diskussion (discussion)... and also die Adoption. The ending -ion sounds like 'shun' - imagine a mother saying 'shun negativity' when welcoming a child - *die* is the feminine article.

Meaning mnemonic: Picture someone 'ad-op-ting' an open-armed posture (like the 'o's in Adoption) to welcome a child or a new idea. It's an act of opening up and accepting.

↔️ Synonyms & Antonyms

⚠️ Similar Words (Potential for Confusion):

• Adaption / Adaptation: Means adaptation or adjustment (e.g., to new circumstances, film adaptation of a book). Sounds similar to *Adoption* but has a different meaning.

😂 A Little Joke

Warum hat der Computer-Nerd seinen Hund adoptiert?

Weil er dachte, 'Adoptieren' sei eine neue Funktion von 'Adobe Tieren'!

(Why did the computer nerd adopt his dog? Because he thought 'Adoptieren' [to adopt] was a new function from 'Adobe Tieren' [Adobe Animals]!)

✍️ Poem about Adoption

Ein Herz, das offen stand und weit,
für ein Kind, zu jeder Zeit.
Nicht Blut, doch Liebe knüpft das Band,
durch die Adoption Hand in Hand.
Ein neues Leben, Glück beginnt,
wenn Familie zusammenfind't.

(A heart that stood open and wide,
For a child, at any time.
Not blood, but love ties the bond,
Through adoption, hand in hand.
A new life, happiness begins,
When family finds itself together.)

❓ Riddle

Ich schaffe Familien, ganz ohne Geburt,
bin ein rechtlicher Akt an manch fernem Ort.
Ich bringe Herzen zusammen, Kind und Eltern neu,
ich mache aus Fremden Familie, getreu.

Was bin ich?

(I create families, without any birth,
Am a legal act in many a place on Earth.
I bring hearts together, child and parents anew,
I make strangers into family, loyal and true.

What am I?)

Solution: die Adoption

🧩 Further Information

• Word Origin: The word "Adoption" comes from the Latin word adoptio, meaning "acceptance as a child" (from adoptare = to accept, choose).
• Related Words: The verb is adoptieren (to adopt). People who adopt are Adoptiveltern (adoptive parents), the child is an Adoptivkind (adoptive child).
• Legal Framework: In Germany, adoption is regulated in the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - BGB) (§§ 1741 ff.).