German word of the day: Zugezogene
Germany possesses a revealing expression for people who relocate from one part of the country to another. The word Zugezogene offers international residents an important insight: the sometimes chilly reception newcomers experience may have less to do with nationality than many assume.
Zugezogene (der Zugezogene for a man, die Zugezogene for a woman, and die Zugezogenen for multiple people) refers to a newcomer, incomer, or transplant. Derived from the verb zuziehen, meaning to move to or into a place, the term appears regularly in newspapers, everyday conversation, and village gossip across the country.
The word primarily describes internal migration rather than international movement. For people arriving from abroad, Germans typically use terms such as Zugewanderte (migrants or immigrants) or Einwanderer (immigrants). This linguistic distinction reflects an important reality: nearly one million internal moves occurred across Germany in 2025, with Bavaria receiving 116,090 internal arrivals and Berlin 66,406, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Regional identity and historical roots
The prevalence of Zugezogene as a concept stems partly from Germany's relatively recent political unification in 1871. While the modern German nation-state is comparatively young, regional identities stretch back centuries, creating communities that draw firm distinctions between locals and everyone else.
Survey data from the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung demonstrates that Bavarian residents show exceptional pride in their federal state, with strong attachment extending to historical subregions. This pattern repeats throughout the country, with many regions developing their own local equivalents to Zugezogene.
In Bavaria, particularly around Munich, the dialect term Zuagraste literally means someone who has drifted in from elsewhere. Cologne uses Imis, widely said to derive from the local dialect phrase enne imiteete Kölsche (an imitation Cologner). Hamburg calls its newcomers Quiddje. These linguistic variations underscore a nationwide phenomenon: belonging is earned over time rather than granted immediately.
Berlin's ongoing divide
Berlin exemplifies the eternal struggle between Ur-Berliner (native Berliners) and Zugezogene, generating decades of jokes, complaints, and newspaper columns. The capital now consists of only 46.2 percent residents born in the city, with 53.8 percent—over two million people—having moved there from elsewhere, according to data published by rbb24.
Among Berlin's Zugezogene population, Brandenburg supplies the most residents with 191,875 people, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 137,627 and Saxony with 108,135. The stereotypical villain in local discourse remains the Schwaben-Zugezogene, the Swabian transplant. Interestingly, the term Schwaben has evolved beyond its geographic origins to serve as a catch-all label for well-to-do western German immigrants, regardless of their actual home region.
These tensions carry real consequences beyond cultural friction. In the gentrifying Neukölln district, rents increased by 150 percent in recent years—the highest increase in the capital—partly fueling conflicts between long-term residents and newcomers. The divide even manifests in voting patterns: newcomers who lived in Berlin less than ten years voted 35 percent for the Greens in the 2023 elections, while residents of 20 years or more voted 33 percent for the CDU and only 14 percent for the Greens.
A reassuring perspective
For international residents wondering whether a frosty reception stems from their nationality, Zugezogene provides reassuring evidence that someone arriving in Berlin from Düsseldorf could face similar challenges. The word reminds us that settling into German communities involves navigating deep-rooted regional identities that affect all newcomers, regardless of origin.
Across Germany, the unspoken belief persists that true belonging develops gradually. Whether called Zugezogene, Zuagraste, Imis, or Quiddje, newcomers join a long tradition of people learning to navigate the invisible boundaries between insiders and outsiders in German communities.
