German Word of the Year 2015 is 'Flüchtlinge' - refugees

The Wiesbaden-based Society for the German Language (GfdS) has chosen the most important word of the year since 1977 - a word or expression that best reflects the political, economic and social mood in Germany in that particular year.

Amidst the crisis situation affecting Germany and the whole world, it's not surprising that "Flüchtlinge" (refugees) was chosen to represent 2015.

'We can do it'

The GfdS chose 10 words out of about 2,500 suggestions.

"Je suis Charlie" came in second, and "Grexit" was placed third. The latter term has meanwhile spawned similar terms, including "Brexit" (a British exit from the EU) and even "Schwexit" (German soccer star Bastian Schweinsteiger swapping Bayern Munich for Manchester United).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's much-quoted slogan "Wir schaffen das!" (We can do it), in reference to the refugee crisis, was placed 10th among the 2015 wining words.

db/eg (Reuters, dpa)