Arbeiterin

Arbeiterin is a German noun meaning a female worker or a woman who works. It is the feminine form of Arbeiter, formed with the productive feminine suffix -in, which is used in German to create gendered agent nouns from masculine counterparts.

In standard grammar, the singular is die Arbeiterin (genitive der Arbeiterin, dative der Arbeiterin, accusative die Arbeiterin). The plural is die Arbeiterinnen (genitive der Arbeiterinnen, dative den Arbeiterinnen, accusative die Arbeiterinnen). The term is clearly gendered, referring specifically to women workers, as opposed to the masculine Arbeiter.

Usage and context have historical associations with industrial labor and the labor movement, where discussions of factory work and workers often appeared in both political and social texts. In contemporary German, the term is frequently encountered in contexts that distinguish gender, or in historical writing. To emphasize inclusivity or to refer to workers irrespective of gender, speakers and writers may use gender-inclusive constructions (for example, Arbeiterinnen und Arbeiter) or neutral terms such as Beschäftigte or Arbeitende.

Notes on nuance: as with other gendered occupational terms, the choice of Arbeiterin can reflect context, audience, and era. In modern style guides, there is attention to inclusive language, which may favor formulations that acknowledge all workers or provide parallel forms for different genders. The word remains a standard, widely understood term for a woman worker in German.