24-Stunden-Pflege Deutsch: The German Live-in Carers Need
For 24-Stunden-Pflege, live-in care in a private German home, we found no legal minimum German level, but consumer advice centres call German skills a central selection criterion. You need everyday German for housework, shopping and routine, and enough to phone the family, the GP (Hausarzt) and 112. This 24-Stunden-Pflege Deutsch guide gives you the words and scripts.
What a Betreuungskraft usually does, and what she does not
The job has many names: 24-Stunden-Betreuung, 24-Stunden-Pflege, Live-in-Betreuung. The worker is a Betreuungskraft or Haushaltshilfe, often called Pflegekraft even without nursing training. “24 hours” is a label, not a working time: the European Consumer Centre Germany states that round-the-clock care by one person breaks German labour law, and Verbraucherzentrale NRW gives a limit of 8 hours per working day on average and 48 hours a week.
| Usually part of the job | Not part of the job |
|---|---|
| Housework: cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping | Treatment care (Behandlungspflege): injections, wound care |
| Simple help with basic care: washing, dressing, toilet, eating, walking | Preparing medication doses (Medikamente herrichten) |
| Company: talking, walks, reading aloud, games | Changing doses or other medical decisions |
| Going with the senior to the doctor or pharmacy | Tasks reserved for licensed nurses |
This is how the Pflegestützpunkt Nürnberg (checklist, July 2026) and Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg describe it. Treatment care is done by an outpatient nursing service (ambulanter Pflegedienst) on a doctor’s order, and the Nürnberg checklist recommends booking one in addition. The difference between helper and nurse tasks is explained in Pflegehelfer vs Pflegefachkraft.
One confusing term: the A1-Bescheinigung your agency mentions is a social insurance certificate from your home country, not a language level.
Muss eine 24-Stunden-Pflegekraft putzen?
Usually yes: normal cleaning of the senior’s household is part of the housework both sources list. The exact scope depends on your contract. Grey areas worth clarifying in writing before you start: window and deep cleaning, cleaning or cooking for other family members, garden work, pets, and caring for a second person such as the spouse.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Gehört das Fensterputzen zu meinen Aufgaben? | Is cleaning the windows one of my tasks? |
| Laut Vertrag bin ich für den Haushalt von Frau Weber zuständig. | According to my contract, I’m responsible for Mrs Weber’s household. |
| Das kann ich leider nicht übernehmen, das steht nicht in meinem Vertrag. | I’m afraid I can’t take that on; it isn’t in my contract. |
| Können wir das bitte mit der Agentur klären? | Can we please clarify that with the agency? |
What German level do you need?
We found no law that sets a minimum level. Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg calls German skills a central criterion, Verbraucherzentrale NRW lists language competence among the factors that change the price, and the voluntary standard DIN SPEC 33454 names knowledge of German among the selection criteria for carers. Agencies describe levels in their own terms, so ask which CEFR level (A1 to C1) they mean and whether they test it.
Our recommendation, not an official rule:
| Level | What you can manage |
|---|---|
| A1 | Survival words; you depend on translation apps, which is risky in an emergency |
| A2 | Daily routine, shopping, simple talk with the senior and the family |
| B1 | Calls to the GP and pharmacy, describing symptoms, the emergency call, a written weekly report |
24-Stunden-Pflege Deutsch: vocabulary for the day
Routine and household
| German | English |
|---|---|
| aufstehen / ins Bett gehen | get up / go to bed |
| sich waschen / sich anziehen | wash / get dressed |
| der Mittagsschlaf | afternoon nap |
| spazieren gehen | go for a walk |
| staubsaugen / den Boden wischen | vacuum / mop the floor |
| die Wäsche waschen, aufhängen, bügeln | wash, hang up, iron the laundry |
| die Spülmaschine ausräumen | empty the dishwasher |
| das Bett frisch beziehen | change the bed linen |
| lüften | air the room |
| den Müll trennen: Restmüll, Biomüll, Gelber Sack, Altpapier | sort the rubbish: general, organic, packaging, paper |
Shopping and mobility aids
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Einkaufsliste / das Haushaltsgeld | shopping list / housekeeping money |
| der Kassenbon | receipt |
| die Pfandflasche | deposit bottle |
| ein Rezept in der Apotheke einlösen | fill a prescription at the pharmacy |
| der Rollator / der Rollstuhl / der Gehstock | walker / wheelchair / walking stick |
| der Toilettenstuhl / der Duschhocker | commode chair / shower stool |
| der Haltegriff / das Pflegebett | grab bar / care bed |
| der Hausnotruf | home emergency call button |
Medication reminders
Preparing doses is treatment care, so it belongs to the nursing service or, by arrangement, the family. Reminding is a normal part of the day. Whether you may hand over tablets from a prepared weekly pill box (Wochendosierer) depends on your contract and the agreement with the nursing service: get it in writing.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Frau Weber, es ist acht Uhr. Zeit für Ihre Tabletten. | Mrs Weber, it’s eight o’clock. Time for your tablets. |
| Haben Sie Ihre Tabletten schon genommen? | Have you already taken your tablets? |
| Das Fach für Dienstag ist noch voll. | The Tuesday compartment is still full. |
| Die Tabletten sind bald aufgebraucht. | The tablets will run out soon. |
Talking with the senior
Use Sie unless you are offered du. With dementia, short sentences and one idea at a time: Guten Morgen, Frau Weber. Ich bin Ana. / Möchten Sie Tee oder Kaffee? / Wir gehen jetzt ins Bad. / Ich bin da. More phrases are in our Altenpflege vocabulary guide.
On the phone with the family
Start with Ihrer Mutter geht es gut when it is not an emergency, so nobody panics.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Hallo Herr Weber, hier ist Ana. Ihrer Mutter geht es gut, ich rufe nur kurz an, weil … | Hello Mr Weber, it’s Ana. Your mother is fine, I’m just calling because … |
| Ich mache mir Sorgen, weil sie seit gestern sehr müde ist. | I’m worried because she has been very tired since yesterday. |
| Sollen wir einen Termin beim Hausarzt machen? | Shall we make an appointment with the GP? |
| Das Haushaltsgeld reicht bis Freitag. | The housekeeping money will last until Friday. |
| Am Sonntag habe ich frei. Wer ist dann bei Ihrer Mutter? | Sunday is my day off. Who will be with your mother then? |
| Können Sie mich bitte zurückrufen? | Could you call me back, please? |
Calling the Hausarzt
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Guten Tag, mein Name ist Ana Popescu. Ich bin die Betreuungskraft von Frau Helga Weber, geboren am 3. Mai 1938. | Hello, my name is Ana Popescu. I’m the live-in carer of Mrs Helga Weber, born 3 May 1938. |
| Frau Weber hat seit gestern Abend Fieber, 38,5 Grad, und hustet. | Mrs Weber has had a fever since last night, 38.5 degrees, and is coughing. |
| Kann der Arzt einen Hausbesuch machen, oder sollen wir in die Praxis kommen? | Can the doctor make a home visit, or should we come to the practice? |
| Die Blutdrucktabletten sind bald aufgebraucht. Könnten Sie bitte ein neues Rezept ausstellen? | The blood pressure tablets will run out soon. Could you issue a new prescription, please? |
Some practices only share medical details once the senior or the family has told them who you are, so ask the family to do that early. Outside opening hours, the medical on-call service 116117 helps when something cannot wait until the next working day; it runs around the clock. More: making a phone appointment in German, German at the doctor and German at the pharmacy.
Phone calls are hard in a new language, because there are no gestures to help. SipLingo (our app) lets you rehearse conversations such as the doctor’s visit out loud with an AI partner and explains grammar and word-order mistakes, with the correct sentence, in English, Spanish, European Portuguese, Russian, Italian or French. If your first language is Polish or Romanian, you would get the explanations in one of those six languages. Try SipLingo free.
Emergency: the 112 script
Call 112 in an emergency: unconsciousness, breathing problems, chest pain, heavy bleeding, or a fall with severe pain where the person cannot get up. The dispatcher (Leitstelle) leads the conversation; fire-safety educators (vfdb) teach: say where, say what happened, say who is calling, then wait for questions. Never hang up first.
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Dispatcher | Notruf Feuerwehr und Rettungsdienst. Wo genau ist der Notfallort? | Fire and ambulance emergency. Where exactly is the emergency? |
| Ana | Lindenstraße 12 in Musterstadt, Erdgeschoss, Name Weber an der Klingel. | 12 Lindenstraße in Musterstadt, ground floor, Weber on the doorbell. |
| Dispatcher | Was ist passiert? | What happened? |
| Ana | Eine 88-jährige Frau ist gestürzt. Sie ist wach, kann aber nicht aufstehen und hat starke Schmerzen in der Hüfte. | An 88-year-old woman has fallen. She is awake but can’t get up and has severe pain in her hip. |
| Dispatcher | Atmet sie normal? | Is she breathing normally? |
| Ana | Ja, sie atmet normal und spricht mit mir. | Yes, she’s breathing normally and talking to me. |
| Dispatcher | Wer ruft an? | Who is calling? |
| Ana | Ana Popescu, ihre Betreuungskraft. Meine Nummer ist … | Ana Popescu, her live-in carer. My number is … |
| Dispatcher | Bleiben Sie bei ihr. Der Rettungswagen ist unterwegs. | Stay with her. The ambulance is on its way. |
Useful words: bewusstlos (unconscious), atmet nicht (is not breathing), Atemnot (shortness of breath), blutet stark (is bleeding heavily), ist verwirrt (is confused). After the call: open the front door, switch on the lights, shut pets away, and have the health insurance card (Versichertenkarte) and medication plan ready. Then call the family.
Weekly report to the family: a template
Liebe Familie Weber,
hier ist mein Wochenbericht vom 5. bis 11. Oktober.
Gesundheit: Ihrer Mutter geht es insgesamt gut. Am Mittwoch hatte sie leichte Kopfschmerzen, am Donnerstag waren sie weg.
Essen und Trinken: Sie isst gut, trinkt aber zu wenig. Ich biete ihr jede Stunde etwas an.
Schlaf: Sie ist zweimal pro Nacht aufgestanden.
Aktivitäten: Wir waren dreimal spazieren. Am Samstag war Frau Müller zu Besuch.
Termine: Am Dienstag, 13. Oktober, um 10 Uhr ist der Termin bei Dr. Schmidt.
Einkäufe: Ich habe 85 Euro ausgegeben. Die Kassenbons liegen in der Küchenschublade.
Bitte besorgen: Einlagen und Batterien für das Hörgerät.
Viele Grüße, Ana
In English: health (overall good, a mild headache on Wednesday), eating and drinking (eats well, drinks too little), sleep (up twice a night), activities, appointments, money spent with receipts, and what the family should buy. The same headings every week make the report quick to write and easy to read.
Checked in October 2026 against the Pflegestützpunkt Nürnberg checklist (July 2026), Verbraucherzentrale NRW (updated August 2026), the Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg brochure on household help, the European Consumer Centre Germany, DIN’s description of DIN SPEC 33454, 116117.de and the vfdb guidance on emergency calls.
Official sources
For the official details and the latest updates, see:
- Anerkennung in Deutschland (BIBB): General nurse or healthcare assistant? (recognition portal) – How Pflegefachperson and nursing assistant roles differ for recognition
Frequently asked questions
Muss eine 24-Stunden-Pflegekraft putzen (Does a live-in carer have to clean)?
Usually yes: normal cleaning of the senior’s household is part of the housework. Window or deep cleaning, cleaning for other family members and garden work depend on the contract, so clarify them in writing.
What German level do I need for 24-hour care?
There is no legal minimum we could find, but German skills are a central selection criterion and affect the price. We recommend at least A2 for daily routine and B1 for phone calls with doctors and emergencies; 24-Stunden-Pflege Deutsch is mostly everyday German.
What does a Betreuungskraft do?
Housework, simple help with basic care such as washing and dressing, company and going along to the doctor or pharmacy. Medical treatment care is done by a nursing service.
May a live-in carer give medication?
Preparing doses, injections and wound care are treatment care and not part of the job. Reminding the senior is normal; handing over pre-sorted tablets depends on your contract and the nursing service’s instructions, so get it in writing.
How do I talk to the family as a live-in carer in German?
Start with Ihrer Mutter geht es gut if it is not urgent, then say why you are calling. A short weekly report with fixed headings (health, eating, sleep, appointments, money) avoids most misunderstandings.
Rehearse the GP call and the 112 call out loud before you ever need them.
