die  Repression

C1

Estimated CEFR level.

/ʁɛpʁɛˈsi̯oːn/

📚 What does "die Repression" mean?

Die Repression (noun, feminine) generally describes the suppression or inhibition of something. It primarily has two fields of meaning:

• Political/Social: The forceful suppression of individuals, groups, or aspirations (e.g., political opinions, social movements) by those in power or state organs. This involves restricting freedoms, persecution, and control.
• Psychological: The unconscious pushing away of unpleasant or undesirable thoughts, feelings, memories, or drives from consciousness. This is a defense mechanism of the psyche (often translated as repression or sometimes suppression in English psychological contexts, though Verdrängung is a more specific German term for psychological repression).

⚠️ It's important to consider the context to understand the specific meaning.

Article rules for der, die, and das

🧐 Grammar of "Repression" in Detail

The word "Repression" is a feminine noun. The article is die. Words ending in -ion in German are almost always feminine.

Example Sentences

• Politisch: Die Regierung reagierte auf die Proteste mit starker Repression.
  (The government reacted to the protests with strong repression.)
• Politisch: Viele Menschen litten unter der staatlichen Repression während der Diktatur.
  (Many people suffered under state repression during the dictatorship.)
• Psychologisch: Die Repression traumatischer Erlebnisse kann zu psychischen Problemen führen.
  (The repression of traumatic experiences can lead to psychological problems.)
• Psychologisch: In der Therapie arbeitete er an der Aufhebung seiner emotionalen Repressionen.
  (In therapy, he worked on overcoming his emotional repressions.)

🗣️ How to use "die Repression"?

"Repression" is a rather formal word, frequently used in contexts such as politics, history, sociology, and psychology.

• Politics/Society: One speaks of staatlicher Repression (state repression), politischer Repression (political repression), or Repressionen gegen Minderheiten (repressions against minorities). It often implies violence or abuse of power.
• Psychology: Here, it refers to an unconscious process (Verdrängung is a more common synonym in this specific context). One might talk about the Repression von Gefühlen (repression of feelings) or sexueller Repression (sexual repression).

Risk of Confusion: Do not confuse it with Rezession (economic recession) or Regression (psychological regression or general decline).

🧠 Mnemonics for Repression

Article Mnemonic: Words ending in "-ion" in German are nearly always feminine, like die Nation, die Station, die Diskussion. So, it's die Repression.

Meaning Mnemonic: Think of "press down". Political Repression presses down on rights and people. Psychological Repression presses down (represses) feelings into the unconscious.

↔️ Synonyms & Antonyms

Similar but different words:

• Rezession: Economic recession.
• Regression: Regression (psychological or general decline).
• Depression: Psychological disorder or economic depression.

😄 A little joke

Warum hat der Diktator Angst vor dem Alphabet?
Weil nach R (wie Repression) S (wie Sturz) kommt! 😉

(Why is the dictator afraid of the alphabet? Because after R (for Repression) comes S (for Sturz - fall/overthrow)!)

📜 Poem about Repression

Wo Schatten Macht entfalten,
Die Repression lässt Rechte kalten.
Ein stummer Schrei im dunklen Raum,
Zerbrochen wird der Freiheits-Traum.

(Where shadows unfold power,
Repression lets rights grow cold.
A silent scream in a dark room,
The dream of freedom is broken.)

❓ A little riddle

Ich kann Stimmen zum Schweigen bringen
Und Gefühle tief verdingen.
Mächtige nutzen mich mit Gewalt,
Die Psyche kennt mich auch, mal jung, mal alt.

Was bin ich?

(I can silence voices
And make feelings deeply hidden.
The powerful use me with force,
The psyche knows me too, sometimes young, sometimes old.

What am I?)

Solution: die Repression

💡 Other Information

Word Origin: The word "Repression" comes from the Latin verb reprimere, meaning "to push back", "suppress", or "inhibit". It is composed of re- (back) and premere (to press).

International Term: The word exists in similar forms in many languages (e.g., English repression, French répression), usually with similar meanings in political and psychological contexts.