verb

auswandern

emigrate

Ein Land für immer verlassen, um in einem anderen Land zu leben.

Definition & meaning

auswandern means to emigrate: to leave one’s home country and move permanently or for a long period to another country.

It can also refer more generally to moving abroad in order to live, work, or start a new life there. The focus is on leaving one’s own country, whereas the destination country may be less important.

Viele Menschen wandern wegen besserer Arbeitsmöglichkeiten aus.
“Many people emigrate because of better job opportunities.”
Sie ist nach Kanada ausgewandert.
“She emigrated to Canada.”

Grammar & Word origin

Word class: separable verb
Infinitive: auswandern
Present tense: ich wandere aus
Simple past: ich wanderte aus
Perfect tense: ich bin ausgewandert
Auxiliary verb: sein, because it describes a change of location

The word consists of:

aus — “out of” or “away from”
wandern — “to wander,” “to travel,” or “to move”

Thus, auswandern literally means “to move out” or “to wander away.” The related noun is die Auswanderung , meaning “emigration.”

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

emigrieren — “to emigrate”; a more formal and international term, often used in official or academic contexts.
ins Ausland ziehen — literally “to move abroad”; neutral and common, with emphasis on the relocation itself.
wegziehen — “to move away”; broader than auswandern and not necessarily involving another country.
das Land verlassen — “to leave the country”; describes the departure but does not always imply permanent settlement abroad.

Antonyms

einwandern — “to immigrate”; describes moving into a country, viewed from the perspective of the destination country.
zurückkehren — “to return”; means going back to one’s original country or place.
bleiben — “to stay”; the opposite of leaving or emigrating.

Common phrases & collocations

ins Ausland auswandern — to emigrate abroad
aus beruflichen Gründen auswandern — to emigrate for professional reasons
endgültig auswandern — to emigrate permanently
nach Amerika auswandern — to emigrate to America
eine neue Heimat suchen [?](vocabuo://word eine%20neue%20Heimat%20suchen) — to look for a new home or homeland