German Conversation · Level 131
43 words
German word
Mittelstand
Pronunciation
IPA/ˈmɪtl̩ˌʃtant/
Meaning
- masculine nounsmall and medium-sized businesses
Example
Der Mittelstand sichert viele Arbeitsplätze.
Small and medium-sized businesses provide many jobs.
More examples
Viele Innovationen stammen aus dem familiengeführten Mittelstand.
Many innovations come from family-run small and medium-sized enterprises.
Core concept
The economic middle ground between a one-person operation and a multinational corporation, with a related social sense of the middle class.
Common phrases
deutscher Mittelstand
German small and medium-sized enterprises
familiengeführter Mittelstand
family-run small and medium-sized enterprises
innovationsfreudiger Mittelstand
innovation-driven small and medium-sized enterprises
Similar words
Mittelständisches Unternehmen: A single independently operated business of small or medium size.
KMU: A collective abbreviation for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Familienunternehmen: A company characterized by family ownership or management.
Mittelständler: A colloquial term for a small or medium-sized business or its proprietor.
Definition in German
Wort für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen, die oft familiengeführt, regional tätig und wichtige Arbeitgeber sind.
Word origin
German Mittelstand originally referred to a middle social standing through Mittel plus Stand, and its modern business sense grew from that middle-position concept.
Usage tips
- The English term "middle class" covers one sense of Mittelstand, but business contexts usually require "small and medium-sized businesses" or "the SME sector."
Other meanings
- middle classnoun
Opposites
- Großunternehmenlarge enterprisenoun
Related words
- Mittelständlersmall and medium-sized enterprise operatornoun
- mittelständischrelating to small and medium-sized enterprisesadjective
- Mittelstandsförderungsupport for small and medium-sized enterprisesnoun