die  Übelkeit

B2

Estimated CEFR level.

/ˈyːbəlkaɪt/

🤢 What does Übelkeit mean?

Die Übelkeit translates to nausea or sometimes sickness in English. It describes an unpleasant sensation in the stomach area, often accompanied by the urge to vomit (der Drang zu erbrechen). It's a physical symptom that can have various causes, such as motion sickness (Reisekrankheit), pregnancy (Schwangerschaft), spoiled food (verdorbene Lebensmittel), or other illnesses (Erkrankungen).

There is only one article, die, for Übelkeit because it is an abstract noun describing a feeling or state.

• Meaning: Feeling of discomfort in the stomach, nausea, urge to vomit.

Article rules for der, die, and das

🧐 Grammar Deep Dive: Die Übelkeit

The noun „Übelkeit“ is feminine. It is typically used only in the singular, as it describes a state (it's a Singularetantum).

Plural forms are extremely rare and usually only conceivable in specific medical or literary contexts (e.g., „die Übelkeiten verschiedener Patienten“ - 'the nauseas of various patients'), but they are uncommon in general usage.

📝 Example Sentences

1. Die plötzliche Übelkeit überkam ihn während der Autofahrt.
   (Sudden nausea overcame him during the car ride.)
2. Gegen die Übelkeit helfen oft spezielle Medikamente oder Hausmittel wie Ingwertee.
   (Special medications or home remedies like ginger tea often help against nausea.)
3. Sie litt in den ersten Schwangerschaftswochen unter starker morgendlicher Übelkeit.
   (She suffered from severe morning sickness during the first weeks of pregnancy.)

💡 How to Use Übelkeit

Übelkeit is used to describe the specific feeling of discomfort that can precede vomiting.

• Typical Contexts: Medicine (symptom description), travel (Reiseübelkeit - motion sickness), pregnancy (Morgenübelkeit - morning sickness), describing discomfort after eating or drinking.
• Differentiation: While Unwohlsein is a more general term for feeling unwell, Übelkeit specifically refers to the stomach and the urge to vomit (Brechreiz). Erbrechen describes the actual act of vomiting.
• Combinations: Often used with adjectives like stark (strong), leicht (mild), plötzlich (sudden) or nouns like Anfall (von Übelkeit) (attack/bout of nausea).

🧠 Mnemonics and Memory Aids

Article Mnemonic: Most German nouns ending in "-keit" are feminine (die Ehrlichkeit - honesty, die Sauberkeit - cleanliness, die Möglichkeit - possibility...). Therefore, it's die Übelkeit.

Meaning Mnemonic: Imagine feeling "evil" (sounds like übel) and sick about some small, nagging thing ("-keit" can imply a state or quality). That feeling is Übelkeit (nausea).

🔄 Synonyms & Antonyms for Übelkeit

⚠️ Similar Terms

• Schwindel: Dizziness (feeling of spinning, often occurs with Übelkeit but is not the same).
• Erbrechen: Vomiting (the act of expelling stomach contents, often the result of Übelkeit).

😄 A Little Joke

Warum nehmen Skelette keine Medikamente gegen Reiseübelkeit?
Weil sie keinen Magen haben, der ihnen Probleme machen könnte! 😉

(Why don't skeletons take medicine for motion sickness?
Because they don't have the stomach for it!)

✍️ Poem about Nausea

Im Magen dreht sich's, alles schwankt,
Ein flaues Gefühl, das niemand dankt.
Die Welt scheint schief, die Farbe bleich,
Die Übelkeit macht weich.
Man hofft auf Ruhe, stillen Stand,
Bis das Gefühl im Nichts verschwand.

(In the stomach it turns, everything sways,
A queasy feeling nobody gives praise.
The world seems tilted, the color pale,
Nausea makes you frail.
One hopes for calm, a silent stand,
Until the feeling vanished from the land.)

❓ Little Riddle

Ich komme oft auf See und Fahrt,
Bin eine ganz besond're Art
Von Unwohlsein, im Bauch nicht fein,
Will oft der Grund fürs Spucken sein.

Was bin ich?

(I often come on sea and ride,
I am a very special kind
Of feeling unwell, in the belly not fine,
Often want to be the reason for spitting out what's inside.

What am I?)

(Answer: die Übelkeit / Nausea)

🧩 Further Details

Word Composition: The word "Übelkeit" is composed of the adjective übel (meaning bad, ill, evil) and the suffix -keit, which is often used to form abstract nouns from adjectives and usually indicates feminine gender.

Cultural Note: The perception of and response to Übelkeit can vary culturally, as can preferred home remedies (Hausmittel).