Guten Tag! This post is going to give you some German vocabulary for the following subjects: menstruation; contraception; and trying for a baby. I hope this will be useful for anyone in Germany who needs the vocabulary to communicate with a doctor, pharmacist, shop assistant, partner/family member, or to navigate words in shops, online, or in leaflets!

Die Menstruation – menstruation

Ich habe meine Periode – I have my period

Another way of saying ‘I have my period’ in German is Ich habe meine Tage – ‘I have my days’. This is akin to saying ‘it’s my time of the month’.

You can get feminine Hygieneprodukte (hygiene products) in most Supermärkte (supermarkets) and Drogerien (drug stores) in Germany. These include Rossmann, DM, Edeka, Aldi, Lidl, and Müller.

Things you can buy:

die Damenbinden – sanitary towels
die Tampons – tampons
die Menstruationstasse – menstrual cup
die Slipeinlagen – pantyliners

Eine verspätete Periode – A late period

If your period hasn’t come yet and you think you might be schwanger (pregnant), you’ll want to get yourself a pregnancy test – der Schwangerschaftstest in German. I can’t insert a photo here, but if you search for Schwangerschaftstest on any German drug store/supermarket website (there are a few listed above), you will see what they look like!

Der Kinderwunsch – The desire for a baby, literally ‘the baby wish’

Some Schwangerschaftsteste will say the word ‘Frühtest’ on them. This means ‘early test’. These tests are for people who are trying to get pregnant. It allows you to check for pregnancy before your period is due. Sometimes it will say ‘Schwangerschaftstest – Frühtest’ on the box, and other times it’ll just be one word – ‘Schwangerschaftsfrühtest’.

Ich bin schwanger! – I’m pregnant!

Another test that’s available is an ovulation test – der Ovulationstest in German, so you can calculate the most fertile time in your cycle. Should you wish to track your Zyklus (cycle), you can use a Zyklusrechner (cycle calculator).

Die Verhütung – Contraception

However, should you not want a baby, this section on contraception will be more useful for you! Here are the German names of various Verhütungsmethoden (methods of contraception) available at the Arzt (doctor):

das Kondom – condom
die Antibabypille – The contraceptive pill (literally ‘anti-baby-pill’, a humorous example of how German words often get straight to the point!)
die Dreimonatsspritze – The injection (given every three months, hence ‘drei Monat’)
das Hormonimplantat – The hormone implant
das Diaphragma – The diaphragm

If you want to visit a gynaecologist, these are called der Gynäkologe, aka. der Frauenarzt. Be aware that the word Frauenarzt (lit ‘women doctor’) doesn’t mean a female doctor, but rather a doctor specialising in women’s health.

Die Symptome – symptoms

Finally, everyone’s period symptoms are different, so it’s important to be able to express how your period affects you- whether that’s for the benefit of your doctor, or your partner/family member. Here are some ways to express how your period affects you:

Ich habe (schlimme) Regelschmerzen – I have (bad) period pains
Ich habe Kopfweh – I have a headache
Mir ist müde – I am tired
Ich bin traurig – I am sad
Ich bin schwach – I feel faint
Meine Brüste tun weh – My breasts hurt
Mein Rücken tut weh – My back hurts
Alles nervt mich – Everything is irritating me

Other vocabulary you might need:

PMS – das Prämenstruelles Syndrom
Iron deficiency – der Eisenmangel
Mood swings – die Stimmungsschwankungen
Painkillers – das Schmerzmittel
Regular – regelmäßig
Irregular – unregelmäßig

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I hope this post will help you, or someone you care about!

If you liked this post, you might also like this one: 10 Cute German Words About Pregnancy

Bis bald (see you soon)
Constanze