German word

Autobiografie

Pronunciation

IPA/aʊ̯toˌbi̯ogʁaˈfiː/

Meaning

  • feminine nounautobiography

Example

Viele Menschen lesen die Autobiografien berühmter Personen.

Many people read the autobiographies of famous people.

Illustration for Autobiografie (autobiography)

More examples

Nach dem Gewinn des Preises begann er, seine Autobiografie zu verfassen.

After winning the prize, he began writing his autobiography.

Core concept

A person looks back on an entire life and records it in the first person.

Common phrases

  • seine Autobiografie verfassen

    write his autobiography

  • an der Autobiografie arbeiten

    work on his autobiography

  • die Autobiografie herausgeben

    publish his autobiography

Similar words

Biografie: A factual account of a person's life, often covering it comprehensively.
Memoiren: A retrospective account focused on particular periods or events.
Erinnerungen: A personal record of remembered events and impressions, often in fragments.
Tagebuch: A private record of daily events and feelings arranged by date.

Definition in German

Ein in Ich-Form verfasstes Werk, in dem eine Person ihr eigenes Leben schildert.

Word origin

Autobiografie is an international learned formation from Greek auto- 'self', bios 'life', and graphein 'to write'.

Usage tips

  • Autobiografie is feminine, with the plural Autobiografien, and German normally uses the ending -grafie rather than English -graphy.

Opposites

Related words

  • Autobiografautobiographernoun
  • autobiografischautobiographicaladjective

Word lists with this word