German nouns ending in -schaft are generally words for qualities, conditions, or collective groups. These nouns are always feminine and can be derived from nouns, adjectives, or verbs.

banner1 PLACEHOLDER

One English suffix that is similar is "-ship," like in the words "friendship," "championship," and "membership."

Hat es eure Freundschaft verändert?

Has it changed your friendship?

Caption 10, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Probleme

 Play Caption

Also, wir waren letztes Wochenende auch auf der deutschen Meisterschaft.

Well, we were at the German championships last weekend.

Caption 40, Geoökologie: Cettina interviewt Sarah

 Play Caption

... hat Großbritannien formal den Europäischen Rat darüber zu unterrichten, dass es seine Mitgliedschaft beenden möchte.

...Great Britain must formally inform the European Council that it would like to end its membership.

Captions 2-3, Brexit-Votum: Merkel warnt vor Spaltung Europas

 Play Caption

However, German words for nouns as diverse as "the message" and "the landscape" also end with -schaft (see "Further Learning" below!), so mainly it's a matter of learning them individually rather than expecting a pattern. At the same time, there are a few clusters of words for related concepts:

Die internationale Gemeinschaft bemüht sich um Friedensverhandlungen.

The international community is trying to negotiate peace.

Caption 67, Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: Künstliche Intelligenz und Nahostkonflikt

 Play Caption

Da das Wasser in meiner Nachbarschaft ziemlich hart ist, gebe ich noch etwas Weichspüler in die Waschmaschine.

Since the water in my neighborhood is quite hard, I additionally put some fabric softener in the washing machine.

Captions 14-15, Wäsche waschen: mit Eva

 Play Caption

Sie ist wichtig für ein gutes Miteinander in der Gesellschaft.

It is important for good coexistence in society.

Caption 32, Bundesregierung: Wie geht Raumordnung?

 Play Caption

And to conclude, here are two examples of nouns ending in -schaft that are derived from adjectives: 

Wir erwarten von Ihnen außerdem Bereitschaft zu umfänglicher Reisetätigkeit.

We additionally expect you to be open to extensive travel activity.

Caption 13, Bundestagswahl – Stellenanzeige: Bundeskanzler gesucht

 Play Caption

Und eine Schwangerschaft ist übrigens kein Grund, nicht mitzuhelfen.

And pregnancy is no reason not to help.

Caption 18, Nicos Weg: Partnerschaft

 Play Caption

Further Learning
There are many more nouns ending with -schaft that you can look for on Yabla German, including die Botschaft, die Eigenschaft, die Landschaft, die Mannschaft, die Wirtschaft, and die Wissenschaft. 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next lesson, and send your topic suggestions to [email protected].