German · Emotions & Descriptions
"Poor" in German: arm
arm
Poor in German is arm. Say Er ist arm or eine arme Familie. This arm is about money, not the body part der Arm. Soften with nicht reich or wenig Geld.
History class
Damals war die Familie noch sehr arm.Speak with an AI partner · 7 days free
How to pronounce arm
Say it
ARM
/aʁm/
ARM. Short a as in "father" cut short; final rm together.
"Poor" in German: quick reference
| German | English | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| arm | poor Core adjective (wealth). | Core adjective (wealth). |
| arme / armer / armes | poor (inflected) Before nouns. | Before nouns. |
| arm dran | out of luck / hard done by Colloquial sympathy. | Colloquial sympathy. |
| verarmt | impoverished Stronger. | Stronger. |
How to use arm in real life
- 1History class
Damals war die Familie noch sehr arm.
Back then the family was still very poor.
Predicate arm.
- 2Charity talk
Die Organisation hilft armen Kindern vor Ort.
The organization helps poor children locally.
Armen before Kindern.
- 3Empathy
Ohne Job fühlt man sich schnell arm.
Without a job you quickly feel poor.
Subjective arm.
Mistakes English speakers make with arm
Incorrect: Mein Arm ist arm. (meaning broke)
Correct: Ich bin arm. / Ich habe wenig Geld.
Der Arm is the body part; wealth uses adjective arm.
Incorrect: eine arm Familie
Correct: eine arme Familie
Inflect: arme before feminine noun.
Good to know
Calling someone arm can feel harsh. News prefers einkommensschwach or armutsgefährdet. Among friends, arm dran shows sympathy for bad luck.
Try it in a ChatPal conversation
Discussing rent prices
ChatPal
Mit diesen Mieten fühlt man sich arm.
With these rents you feel poor.
You
Ja. Arm zu sein heißt hier oft: kaum Rücklagen.
Yes. Being poor here often means barely any savings.
ChatPal
Genau. Viele wirken okay und sind trotzdem arm.
Exactly. Many look fine and are still poor.
You
Deshalb teilen wir die Wohnung.
That's why we share the flat.
This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.
Practice this conversation in ChatPal"Poor" in other languages
FAQ
Common questions about "Poor" in German
How do you say poor in German?
Arm (about money).
How is that different from der Arm?
Der Arm is the arm on your body; arm without der is the adjective.
How do you say a poor family?
Eine arme Familie.
What does arm dran mean?
Colloquial: out of luck / hard done by.
Learn a word, then use it out loud
- Step 1: See it in context
- Step 2: Say it out loud
- Step 3: Get feedback
- Step 4: Use it in real scenarios
