The purpose of this list is to give a rough idea of the German language. The words listed below are not the most common German words, but a broad sampling of words. See the Word Lists page for more details.
English | German (Deutsch) |
I | ich |
you (singular) | du, Sie *(formal)* |
he | er |
we | wir |
you (plural) | ihr, Sie *(formal)* |
they | sie |
this | dieses |
that | jenes |
here | hier |
there | dort |
who | wer |
what | was |
where | wo |
when | wann |
how | wie |
not | nicht |
all | alle |
many | viele |
some | einige |
few | wenig |
other | andere |
one | eins |
two | zwei |
three | drei |
four | vier |
five | fünf |
big | groß |
long | lang |
wide | breit, weit |
thick | dick |
heavy | schwer, heftig |
small | klein, schmal |
short | kurz |
narrow | eng |
thin | dünn |
woman | Frau |
man (male) | Mann |
man (human) | Mensch |
child | Kind |
wife | Frau, Ehefrau, Weib |
husband | Mann, Ehemann |
mother | Mutter |
father | Vater |
animal | Tier |
fish | Fisch |
bird | Vogel |
dog | Hund |
louse | Laus |
snake | Schlange |
worm | Wurm |
tree | Baum |
forest | Wald, Forst |
stick | Stock |
fruit | Frucht |
seed | Samen, Saat |
leaf | Blatt |
root | Wurzel |
bark (of a tree) | Rinde, Borke |
flower | Blume |
grass | Gras |
rope | Seil |
skin | Haut |
meat | Fleisch |
blood | Blut |
bone | Knochen, Gebein |
fat (noun) | Fett |
egg | Ei |
horn | Horn |
tail | Schwanz |
feather | Feder |
hair | Haar |
head | Kopf |
ear | Ohr |
eye | Auge |
nose | Nase |
mouth | Mund |
tooth | Zahn |
tongue | Zunge |
fingernail | Fingernagel |
foot | Fuß |
leg | Bein |
knee | Knie |
hand | Hand |
wing | Flügel |
belly | Bauch |
guts | Eingeweide |
neck | Hals, Nacken, Genick |
back | Rücken |
breast | Brust |
heart | Herz |
liver | Leber |
to drink | trinken |
to eat | essen |
to bite | beißen |
to suck | saugen |
to spit | spucken |
to vomit | erbrechen |
to blow | blasen |
to breathe | atmen |
to laugh | lachen |
to see | sehen |
to hear | hören |
to know | wissen, kennen |
to think | denken |
to smell | riechen |
to fear | fürchten |
to sleep | schlafen |
to live | leben |
to die | sterben |
to kill | töten |
to fight | kämpfen |
to hunt | jagen |
to hit | schlagen |
to cut | schneiden |
to split | spalten |
to stab | stechen |
to scratch | kratzen |
to dig | graben |
to swim | schwimmen |
to fly | fliegen |
to walk | gehen |
to come | kommen |
to lie (as in a bed) | liegen *(state)* |
to sit | sitzen *(state)* |
to stand | stehen *(state)* |
to turn (intransitive) | drehen |
to fall | fallen |
to give | geben |
to hold | halten |
to squeeze | quetschen |
to rub | reiben |
to wash | waschen |
to wipe | wischen |
to pull | ziehen |
to push | drücken |
to throw | werfen |
to tie | binden |
to sew | nähen |
to count | zählen |
to say | sagen |
to sing | singen |
to play | spielen |
to float | schweben |
to flow | fließen |
to freeze | frieren |
to swell | schwellen |
sun | Sonne |
moon | Mond |
star | Stern |
water | Wasser |
rain | Regen |
river | Fluss |
lake | See |
sea | Meer |
salt | Salz |
stone | Stein |
sand | Sand |
dust | Staub |
earth | Erde |
cloud | Wolke |
fog | Nebel |
sky | Himmel |
wind | Wind |
snow | Schnee |
ice | Eis |
smoke | Rauch |
fire | Feuer |
ash | Asche |
to burn | brennen |
road | Straße |
mountain | Berg |
red | rot |
green | grün |
yellow | gelb |
white | weiß |
black | schwarz |
night | Nacht |
day | Tag |
year | Jahr |
warm | warm |
cold | kalt |
full | voll |
new | neu |
old | alt |
good | gut |
bad | schlecht |
rotten | verfault, verrottet |
dirty | schmutzig, dreckig |
straight | gerade |
round | rund |
sharp (as a knife) | scharf |
dull (as a knife) | stumpf |
smooth | glatt |
wet | nass, feucht |
dry | trocken |
correct | richtig, korrekt |
near | nahe |
far | weit, fern |
right | rechts |