This repo is written in English and deliberately keeps German terms in place, because that is how you will meet them — in job adverts, on authority websites, and on forms. Around 250 recur across the files. These are the ones that carry meaning.
If you read only ten: Ausbildung, Geselle, Meisterbrief, Anlage A, Kammer, Anerkennung, Gleichwertigkeitsprüfung, Tarifvertrag, Beamter, brutto / netto.
Abschlussprüfung
The final examination of an Ausbildung. Modern occupations use a gestreckte Abschlussprüfung — split into Teil 1 partway through and Teil 2 at the end, with Teil 1 counting toward the final grade. See ausbildung.md.
Altgesellenregelung
§7b HwO. Lets a Geselle with six years in an Anlage A trade — four of them in a leading position — run a business without a Meisterbrief. Excludes the health-related trades. The most underused route in the Handwerk. See meister.md.
Anerkennung
Recognition of a foreign qualification. Mandatory before working in a regulated profession; otherwise needed only for the visa. See recognition-authorities.md.
Anerkennungspartnerschaft
§16d(3) AufenthG, since 2024. Lets you enter Germany with A2 German and a contract, and pursue recognition after arrival. Used mainly in nursing.
Anlage A / Anlage B
The two schedules of the Handwerksordnung. Anlage A trades require a Meisterbrief to run a business (Meisterpflicht); Anlage B trades do not. Not static — twelve trades were re-regulated in 2020.
Anpassungslehrgang
A supervised adaptation period, typically 6–12 months, used to close gaps found in a Gleichwertigkeitsprüfung. The alternative is a Kenntnisprüfung — the course is safer, the exam faster.
Anwärter/in
Someone in a Vorbereitungsdienst, appointed as a Beamter auf Widerruf and paid Anwärterbezüge, well below the eventual salary.
Approbation
The full, permanent licence to practise as a doctor, pharmacist, dentist or psychotherapist. Contrast Berufserlaubnis.
Arbeitszeugnis
A written reference given on leaving a job, in a coded formal register where bland phrasing carries grading. Have a German speaker read yours.
Ausbildung
The dual vocational training system: employed by a company, schooled at a Berufsschule, 2–3½ years, paid throughout. The backbone of German qualification. See ausbildung.md.
Auszubildende/r — Azubi
A trainee. The legal term since 1969. Lehrling is the historical word.
Ausnahmebewilligung
§8 HwO. A discretionary permission to run an Anlage A business without a Meisterbrief, on documented experience.
Beamter / Beamtin
A civil servant — appointed under public law, not employed under contract. Paid Besoldung, pensioned by the state, no right to strike, and generally restricted to EU/EEA/Swiss nationals. See beamte-vs-angestellte.md.
Beihilfe
The state’s contribution to a Beamter’s medical costs, commonly 50–80%. They insure only the remainder privately. A major reason Beamte net more than their gross suggests. See health-insurance.md.
Bereitschaftsdienst
On-call at the workplace, paid at a reduced rate. Distinct from Rufbereitschaft.
Berufserlaubnis
A temporary, restricted permission to practise — usually limited in time, place and employer — granted while a doctor or pharmacist works toward Approbation.
Berufsschule
The school half of an Ausbildung. Taught and examined in German, without exception — which is why the Ausbildung route requires B1–B2.
Besoldung
Beamten pay. Grades A (ordinary careers), B (senior), R (judges), W (professors), rising by Erfahrungsstufen. State law since 2006, so there are effectively seventeen systems.
Betriebsrat
The works council. Common in larger firms and genuinely influential over conditions, monitoring and on-call.
brutto / netto
Gross and net. Every figure in this repo is brutto. Net is commonly 60–65% of it for an employee. See taxes-and-net-pay.md.
Entgeltgruppe
A pay grade within a Tarifvertrag — E, P (nursing), S (social and education), N (paramedics). Combined with a Stufe (experience step) it fixes your salary.
Fachrichtung / Schwerpunkt / Einsatzgebiet
Specialisations within an occupation. A Fachrichtung is certified and printed on your qualification; an Einsatzgebiet is defined by your employer and is not. The difference matters — compare Zerspanungs- and Industriemechaniker.
Fachsprachprüfung
A profession-specific German exam at the relevant Kammer, required of third-country doctors and pharmacists. The usual failure point — not clinical knowledge.
Geselle / Gesellin
A qualified tradesperson who has passed the Gesellenprüfung, the journeyman’s examination. The rung below Meister.
Gleichwertigkeitsprüfung
The comparison of your foreign training against the German reference qualification. Outcome: full equivalence, partial with stated gaps, or none. (Gleichwertigkeitsfeststellung is the same procedure for unregulated occupations.)
Handwerk
The skilled trades, regulated by the Handwerksordnung through the Handwerkskammer (HWK). Distinct from industry, which answers to the IHK.
Handwerksordnung — HwO
The law governing the trades, including Anlage A / B and the Handwerksrolle.
Handwerksrolle
The register of Handwerk businesses. Entry is required to run one, and normally means a Meisterbrief — or §7b, §8, §9 for EU nationals, or an employed Betriebsleiter.
IHK
Industrie- und Handelskammer — the chamber for industrial, commercial, IT, logistics and hospitality occupations. IHK FOSA handles foreign-qualification equivalence for them.
Kammer
A self-governing chamber: IHK, Handwerkskammer, Landwirtschaftskammer, and the professional chambers of doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, tax advisers, architects and engineers. Which one is competent for you decides where your recognition file goes. See recognition-authorities.md.
Kenntnisprüfung
An examination used instead of an Anpassungslehrgang to close recognition gaps. Faster, harder, and sometimes offered only twice a year.
Kirchensteuer
Church tax, 8–9% of your income tax, payable if you register as a member of a tax-collecting religious community — including on the Anmeldung form in your first week. See taxes-and-net-pay.md.
Kündigungsfrist
Notice period. Long by international standards, and symmetrical.
Lehrling
Historical German word for an Azubi. Still heard in the Handwerk, still standard in Austria, not the legal term.
Meisterbrief
The master craftsman’s qualification. Four parts, including Teil IV, the AEVO, which licenses you to train apprentices. Sits at DQR level 6 — the same as a Bachelor — and grants university entrance without Abitur. See meister.md.
Meisterpflicht
The requirement to hold a Meisterbrief to run a business in an Anlage A trade.
Mindestlohn
The statutory minimum wage. Some sectors have a higher branch minimum declared under the AEntG — construction, security, building cleaning.
Probezeit
Probation. One to four months in an Ausbildung, usually six in employment. After it, dismissal protection is strong.
Rufbereitschaft
On call from home — a standby payment plus full pay for hours actually worked.
Scheinselbständigkeit
Bogus self-employment: working as a contractor while in substance an employee. The client becomes liable for back social contributions. Relevant to software contracting and Stuhlmiete. Enforced by the FKS.
Sozialabgaben
Social contributions — pension, unemployment, health, care. Roughly 20–21% of gross, capped, and matched by your employer.
Steuerklasse
Tax class I–VI, determining monthly withholding rather than total tax owed. The III/V combination distorts Elterngeld and Arbeitslosengeld, which are computed on net pay.
Tarifvertrag
A collective agreement. Which one applies — TVöD, TV-L, IG Metall, DEHOGA, or none — is frequently worth 20–30% of the package. See pay.md.
Unterrichtung
A 40-hour instruction course, notably the basic §34a requirement for security work. Not a qualification for visa purposes.
Verbeamtung
Appointment as a Beamter. Gated by citizenship, age and an amtsärztliche Untersuchung.
Vorbereitungsdienst
The paid preparatory service before full appointment as a Beamter — the Referendariat for teachers, the police Bachelor, the customs training.
Westbalkanregelung
§26(2) BeschV. Lets nationals of six Western Balkan states take any job, qualified or not, subject to an annual quota. Widely used in hospitality, logistics and construction.
Zeitzuschläge
Hourly supplements for unsocial hours — night 20%, Sunday 25%, holidays up to 135% under TVöD, largely tax-free under §3b EStG. See shift-work-and-supplements.md.
Zusatzbeitrag
The supplementary health-insurance contribution set by each individual Krankenkasse, on top of the 14.6% base rate.