200+ Basic German Words for Beginners

If you’ve just started learning German, you might be struggling

to get past the beginner stage.

Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the Germanic umlauts on

vowels (ä, ö, ü), or maybe that eszett letter (ß). Perhaps it’s
the pace of spoken German that’s made you question your
decision to start learning.

While there’s definitely truth to those concerns, worry not.

There are several short and easy-to-learn words in German
that can serve as a springboard while you become familiar
with the language.

Memorizing even a few basic German words for beginners will

be enough of a stepping stone to help you eventually learn
more. This is because many German words are composed of
several shorter words that, when combined, have a unique
meaning.

Take Kühlschrank, for example. This word is composed

of Kühl- which means “cool,” and -schrank which translates
to “cupboard.”
Combine the two and you get “cool cupboard,” which is a funny
way to describe a refrigerator—the actual meaning of the
word Kühlschrank.

Pretty relieving to know this, right?

German isn’t that hard after all. The most difficult part is to
summon up the courage to begin.

That’s why we took the time to put together a categorized

masterlist of the most essential words in German for
beginners.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it…

Table of Contents

1. Pronouns
2. Numbers
3. Nouns
4. Verbs
5. Adjectives
6. Conjunctions
7. Others
8. Conclusion

1. Pronouns
The first set of words you should add to your German
vocabulary are pronouns. These are the words we use to refer
to people, places, or things without actually using their names:

 Susan ate the chocolate bar. = She ate the chocolate

bar.

Here, we’ll be covering three types of pronouns in German:

personal, demonstrative, and interrogative.

Personal Pronouns

We’ll start with personal pronouns, given their importance in

sentences. These are crucial for almost any sentence, and we
recommend you memorize them by heart before you start with
any other words.

English German
I ich
you du
he er
she sie
it es
we wir

The numbers from one to ten in German are rather similar to

those in English. Just like with most languages, learning the
first ten digits will help you understand and easily learn the
rest of the numbers.
Numbers English German

0 zero null

1 one eins

2 two zwei

3 three drei

4 four vier

5 five fünf

6 six sechs

7 seven sieben

8 eight acht

9 nine neun

10 ten zehn

3. Nouns

Nouns are one of the most important parts of speech, so you

should memorize as many of them in German as you can.
When used with verbs, they create a complete sentence—in a
pinch, you can even use them alone to get an urgent point
across! Below, you’ll find lists of beginner German nouns you
should focus on right away.

Time
Time is king, especially in a country like Germany where
punctuality is paramount. Learning time-related vocabulary
will come in handy in your day-to-day interactions.

English German

hour Stunde

minute Minute

morning Morgen

afternoon Nachmittag

evening Abend

day Tag

month Monat

year Jahr

Monday Montag

Tuesday Dienstag

Wednesday Mittwoch

Thursday Donnerstag

Friday Freitag

Saturday Samstag

Sunday Sonntag

People

These are the words you’d learn in the first lesson of probably
any German beginner copybook.
English German

butcher Metzger (m.) / Metzgerin (f.)

woodman Holzfäller (m.) / Holzfällerin (f.)

police officer Polizist (m.) / Polizistin (f.)

doctor Arzt (m.) / Ärztin (f.)

nurse Krankenpfleger (m.) / Krankenschwester (f.)

firefighter Feuerwehrmann (m.) / Feuerwehrfrau (f.)

teacher Lehrer (m.) / Lehrerin (f.)

father Vater

mother Mutter

sister Schwester

brother Bruder

Mr. Herr

Ms. Frau

Places Around Town

If you’re traveling in Germany, whether in one town or around

the country, these words will help you get by and even ask for
directions.

English German

hospital Krankenhaus

supermarket Supermarkt
school Schule

downtown Innenstadt

university Universität

city hall Rathaus

main square Hauptplatz

bank Bank

museum Museum

restaurant Restaurant

café Café

police station Polizeistation

train station Bahnhof

bus station Bushaltestelle

School/Office Essentials
If you have to study or work in Germany, these words will be
helpful when you’re in class or at the office.

English German

pen Kugelschreiber

notebook Notizbuch

computer Computer

pencil case Federmappe

headphones Kopfhörer

mouse Maus
keyboard Tastatur

wifi WLAN

charger Ladegerät

cable Kabel

backpack Rucksack

desk Schreibtisch

copybook Heft

Body Parts

English German

eye Auge

nose Nase

ear Ohr

face Gesicht

arm Arm

chest Brust

cheek Wange

forehead Stirn

mouth Mund

chin Kinn

armpit Achselhöhle

abdomen Bauch

leg Bein

toe Zeh
finger Finger

ankle Knöchel

hip Hüfte

forearm Unterarm

elbow Ellbogen

wrist Handgelenk

Food

Germans are proud of their cuisine and German culture values

eating healthy, fresh food rather than buying frozen or ready-
to-eat meals. Here’s a list of words for your next grocery
shopping spree.

English German

ٍٍvegetables Gemüse

fruit Obst

meat Fleisch

milk Milch

egg Ei

coffee Kaffee

yogurt Joghurt

bread Brot

bacon Speck

pie Kuchen
ham Schinken

chicken Huhn

juice Saft

sausage Wurst

4. Verbs

As a beginner in German, you’ll greatly benefit from picking up

the most commonly used verbs. Learning them together with
nouns will give you a headstart when it comes to forming
sentences and communicating with others.

Daily Routine Verbs

If you’re into daily journaling, doing that in German will require

you to know a set of daily routine-related verbs. Here’s a list
to get you started:

English German

to get up aufstehen

to eat essen

to drink trinken

to go gehen

to work arbeiten

to study studieren

to drive fahren
to ride reiten

to sleep schlafen

to wake up aufwachen

to hang hängen

to do laundry Wäsche machen

to nap ein Nickerchen machen

to work out trainieren

to go out ausgehen

to prepare vorbereiten

to cook kochen

to clean putzen

to wash waschen

to tidy up aufräumen

to connect verbinden

to communicate kommunizieren

to wear tragen

to warm up aufwärmen

to grab greifen

to mix mischen

to hold halten

to freeze einfrieren

to change wechseln

to move bewegen
Other Common Verbs

English German

to give geben

to get bekommen

to do tun

to make machen

to let lassen

to ask fragen

to smile lächeln

to find finden

to use benutzen

to take nehmen

to come kommen

to look schauen

to hear hören

to smell riechen

to talk sprechen

to exit gehen

to call rufen

to feel fühlen

to answer antworten

to laugh lachen

to cry weinen

to steal stehlen

to run rennen
to walk gehen

to meet treffen

to create erschaffen

to finish beenden

5. Adjectives

Using adjectives in your speech or writing can add a layer of

meaning and help you better express yourself. To get you
started, here are a few beginner German adjectives in
different categories.

Describing Objects

English German

big groß

small klein

long lang

short kurz

round rund

rectangular rechteckig

smooth glatt

rough rau
Describing People

English German

pretty hübsch

handsome gutaussehend

tall groß

short klein

disgusting ekelhaft

sociable kontaktfreudig

funny lustig

beautiful schön

lovely lieblich

caring fürsorglich

selfless selbstlos

arrogant arrogant

humble bescheiden

courageous mutig

weak schwach

strong stark

quirky schrullig

Describing Emotions

Being able to describe our own emotions is critical for well-

being and also helps us better understand others. Here’s a list
of adjectives for describing emotions:
English German

happy glücklich

sad traurig

joyful freudig

angry sauer

depressed depressiv

anxious ängstlich

stressed out gestresst

jolly fröhlich

Describing Weather

English German

rainy regnerisch

wet nass

humid feucht

dry trocken

arid dürr

cool kühl

frigid kalt

foggy neblig

windy windig

stormy stürmisch

breezy luftig

windless windstill
calm ruhig

6. Conjunctions
English German

and und

but aber

then dann

because weil

so so / also

7. Others

Below is a short list of filler words that Germans use in their

conversations. Using these will make you sound like a
native and they’ll come in handy in many situations.

English German

I see (sudden understanding) ach so

sure klar

simply halt

well tja

already schon
8. Conclusion

Armed with these German beginner words, you’ll be able to

understand even more of the spoken language than you may
have thought (thanks to those nifty word combinations!). How
many of these words were new to you? And how many did you
know already? We look forward to hearing from you in the
comments!

As you read more German, pay attention to how different

words are composed. You’ll often notice they can be broken
down into parts, which will help you derive their meanings
more easily.

Your goal should be to learn around 1000 German words;

statistically, that’d cover 85.5% of all words you hear.

In other words, if you learn 1000 words, you’ll be able to speak

German almost fluently. You’ll only have issues expressing
yourself 14.5% of the time.

Memorize the 200+ from our list, and you’ll only be 800 words
away from fluency.

Wondering where and how to learn those other 800 words?

Buckle up and head to GermanPod101.com.

Here, you can access lessons and word lists for the most
important day-to-day vocabulary. Our lessons all feature the
most effective learning tools, such as flashcards, slideshows,
slowed-down audio, line-by-line breakdowns, and more.

You can also opt for 1-on-1 guidance from a language expert to
answer your questions. Your private tutor can even give you a
personalized learning program to match your learning goals.

Posted by GermanPod101.com in German Language, German

Lessons, German Online, German Words, Learn German

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