The German language, known natively as Deutsch, is an Indo-European language and part of the larger West Germanic family that includes English and Dutch. It is primarily spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein, and has around 95-100 million native speakers worldwide. It’s one of the major languages of the European Union and the most widely spoken first language in the EU.

Historical Development
The evolution of the German language is traditionally categorized into three phases: Old High German (OHG), Middle High German (MHG), and New High German (NHG). The Old High German phase (circa 750-1050 AD) represented the earliest form of the language, heavily influenced by the West Germanic dialect continuum. During the Middle High German period (1050-1350), the language developed significantly, mostly documented in religious texts and epic poetry, like the Nibelungenlied. The New High German period began around the 14th century, characterized by a standardization process that led to modern Standard German.

Dialects and Varieties
The linguistic landscape of the German language is diverse, with a wide variety of dialects influenced by regional, social, and historical factors. High German dialects, which developed in the southern highlands, are often differentiated from Low German dialects in the flat northern regions.

Among these dialects, Swiss German, Bavarian, and Swabian are some of the most distinctive. There are also several recognized minority languages and dialects in Germany, including Sorbian, Frisian, and Danish. Moreover, in regions like South Tyrol in Italy, Alsace in France, and parts of Eastern Europe, local variants of German are spoken.

Structural Features
The German language is known for its complex grammatical structure. It features four noun case endings (nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive), three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and a strong-weak adjective declension system. Verbs are conjugated based on person, number, tense, and mood.

Another distinct feature of German is compound noun formation, wherein separate words are combined to create new words. For example, the German word “Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung” is a combination of words meaning “motor vehicle liability insurance.”

Influence and Importance
German is a key language in academia and scholarship. Until the early 20th century, it was the primary language of science, literature, philosophy, theology, and many other fields. Even today, knowing German can be crucial in certain fields, such as physics, philosophy, and music, reflecting Germany’s historical and ongoing contribution to global arts and sciences.

Many significant works of literature, from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‘s “Faust” to Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” were originally penned in German, giving the language a prominent place in world literature. Similarly, German philosophy, represented by luminaries like Kant, Nietzsche, and Marx, has had a profound influence on global thought.

The German language is also an important factor in the cultural and economic life of Europe. It is the most widely spoken language in the European Union, and Germany’s strong economy makes German a valuable language for business.

From its historical evolution to its modern significance, the German language is a robust linguistic tradition, embodying the culture, philosophy, and scholarly heritage of the regions where it is spoken. Despite its complex grammar and dialect diversity, learning German opens doors to a rich literary world, a philosophical tradition, and an economic powerhouse, making it a language of considerable global relevance.

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There is nothing wrong with making mistakes – the point is to learn from them when you make them so you can avoid making them again and come yet one step closer to proficiency. Two of the common errors that beginners typically make are: first, those garbled sentences that you can avoid only by learning whole new structures and making sure you remember the right words and grammar. The second is the near misses: those that you can quickly fix and avoid in the future because what you are saying is so almost correct. Here are some tips to prevent making some of the most frequent errors made by beginning learners of German.

1. Use das da or das hier

German grammar endings can be difficult to use. Imagine you’re enjoying a wonderful afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) session with your friend and you want to compliment her awesome Streuselkuchen (heavenly crumble cake).
You want to say ‘this is delicious!’, but how the heck do you say “this” again? It is, diese? dieses? dies? or dieser? What is even the gender of a streuselkuchen?

Spare yourself all the stress and sound super German by simply using the two expressions das da and das hier, which means “this thing here” and “that thing over there” respectively. They’re pretty independent of gender and will work for any singular word.

2. Don’t use “in” when saying a date in German

There are two ways of saying that something happened in a certain year, and neither of them contains the word ‘in’. You can either use the expression im Jahr (in the year of), or you can say the year, i.e. just the number.

Here’s how it looks:
English: I was born in 1985
German: Ich bin 1985 geboren

3. When talking about languages, use ‘kann’

Instead of saying that you can “speak” any language, you can tell a German simply that you ‘can’ language! For example, if you speak German, French, Turkish, Spanish and Italian, this is how you’d tell your German friends: Ich kann Deutsch, Französisch, Türkisch, Spanisch und Italienisch (I can speak German, French, Turkish, Spanish and Italian). This is the one time you’re allowed to forget the actual verb at the end!

This is just another way to be more efficient with your German language skills.

4. Don’t Say Ich bin heiß or Ich bin kalt

In Germany, the temperatures can get high in the summer and low in the winter, so it’s handy to know how to express your feelings about the temperature.

While heiß (hot), warm (warm) and kalt (cold) are the correct words to use for “hot” and “cold”, using them with ich bin will mean you’re telling people that you’re a hot or cold person. When you’re talking about how you’re feeling in the moment, simply replace the words ich bin with mir ist:

Mir ist heiß = I am feeling hot
Mir ist warm = I am feeling warm
Mir ist kalt = I am feeling cold

5. Watch out for the time

Germans say the time in two different ways. In schedules and formal environments, you will often hear the 24-hour clock times said out loud, as in Der Zug geht um 19 Uhr 45. (The train is leaving at nineteen hundred hours and forty-five). Once you get used to this, it’s a great way to avoid misunderstandings.

The other way of telling the time involves the words viertel (quarter) and halb (half) just like in English, but beware, when Germans say a time as halb, they actually mean one hour earlier than English speakers. This is because Germans think of half TO the hour, or the hour being half full.

So, remember: Half fünf is actually half past four.

6. Know Your Freund-ship

In English, you can simply call a friend a friend. But in German, watch out because the words Freund and Freundin can mean either a platonic friendship or a romantic relationship.

It’s common to use mein/meine (my) with the word Freund/Freundin. Be aware that this is ambiguous. It can mean a friend but often Germans will assume you are talking about a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you’re trying to impress a potential date when you drop a cool line about mein Freund (my boyfriend), things may not work out the way you liked.

So, how do you clear up your relationship status? Here are few tips:

When you want to say “my friend” as in “my buddy”, use the expressions ein Freund von mir (a friend of mine – male) and eine Freundin von mir (a friend of mine – female).
If it’s one of your besties, you can also say mein bester Freund (my best friend – male) or meine beste Freundin (my best friend – female).
The third way to make it clear that a friendship is platonic is to name that friend when you’re talking about them, for example, meine Freundin Daniela.

Here are some examples to help you clear it up:

Am Samstag gehe ich mit meiner Freundin ins Kino – On Saturday, I’m going to the cinema with my girlfriend. = LOVE RELATIONSHIP
Mein Freund Oliver und ich trinken heute Abend ein Bier zusammen – My friend Oliver and I are having a beer together tonight. = PLATONIC
Meine Freundin kommt auch zum Essen – My girlfriend is coming for the meal, too. = LOVE RELATIONSHIP…but we can’t be 100% sure.
Ich liebe meine Freundin. I love my girlfriend. = LOVE RELATIONSHIP…and we’re pretty sure 💋

Of course, Germany is a traditional country and many people assume your relationship preference is heterosexual. A female referring to her girlfriend as meine Freundin or a male referring to his boyfriend as mein Freund may find they need to make it clear that this IS a love relationship. As Pat Benatar said…love is a battlefield.

7. Don’t overuse the future tense

The German language does have a future tense which is not very difficult to use. However, in practice, most German speakers don’t actually use a future tense at all. When speaking the German language, I often hear learners tell me things like Ich werde am Wochenende nach Koblenz fahren (I will go to Koblenz at the weekend). It not incorrect German, but it feels complicated and doesn’t sound right..

The signal am Wochenende (at the weekend) tells your conversation partner that you’re referring to the future, so most native speakers will simply say Ich fahre am Wochenende nach Koblenz to express the same thing.

Language evolves to make communication as efficient as possible, so on this occasion, you can stick with using the present tense even when you’re talking about the future.

8. Put the verb in second position

The English language has a nice and firm sentence structure: Subject-verb-object. In German, the first sentences you learn are simple. They follow that same structure, so you may assume that the rule is the same.

But in fact, our word order is all about one big star diva called the verb. Your sentence doesn’t revolve around the order of those three parts together, but much more around where the verb stands.

And where is that verb? In simple statement sentences in the German language, the verb will stand in position two. That means once you add in anything else BEFORE the sentence kicks off, you need to put the verb before the subject.

Let’s have an example to bring light into this system:
Standard sentence structure in English and German:

My sister drives an Audi.
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

Meine Schwester fährt einen Audi.
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

Let’s add something else in position 1, such as a time signal:

Today my sister drives an Audi.
TIME SIGNAL SUBJECT VERB OBJECT

Heute fährt meine Schwester einen Audi.
TIME SIGNAL VERB SUBJECT OBJECT

In the German sentence, the verb stayed firmly in the second position. In the English sentence, the verb stayed behind the subject.
When learning German, it helps to focus on how the word order centres around the verb and not the order of the different parts. Once you figure that out and focus on putting the verb in the second position, your simple sentences will always sound right.

9. Don’t forget your separables

In German, many of the verbs take a range of prefixes. Some examples of these are auf-, ab-, um-, zu- or hin-. Every time a prefix is added to a verb, the meaning of the verb is altered.

For example, the word sehen means “to see” but the word aussehen means “to look”, referring to its appearance. They’re completely different words and show up separately in the dictionary.

The trick is to know that the prefix aus- separates from the stem sehen when you insert the verb in a sentence and it will sit at the end of the sentence.

Many learners know this in theory, but they often forget all about the prefix when they put this knowledge into practice. So this leads to sentences like Wow, diese Pizza sieht lecker! meaning “wow, this pizza sees deliciously!”. What the speaker meant to use was the word aussehen, but forgot the second half of the separable word and caused a misunderstanding. Said correctly, it should be, Wow, die Pizza sieht lecker aus. Guten Appetit!

10. Use Sie with strangers

Germans take their formality seriously. The English word “you” can be translated in several ways so it’s important to choose the correct one.

Use du when you are talking to friends, children, or animals.
Use Sie when you are talking to adult strangers, anyone in a formal or shop environment, and on the phone.
Use ihr when you are talking to a group of friends.

If you are worried about sounding too formal with Sie, don’t worry. Most Germans will happily guide you along in the conversation,and they may “offer the du” by saying wir können du sagen or du kannst du zu mir sagen? (we can use du, you can call me du?).

11. Choose the right past tense verb

In German, the most common way of speaking about the past is to use the Perfekt, a tense that is very similar to the past perfect in English. For example, you say Ich habe gegessen for “I have eaten”. The trick with the German past tense is to know when to use the verb sein and when to use the verb haben (to have).

In English, you almost always say “I have” in these tenses: I have eaten, I have jumped, I have studied. But in German, the verb sein (to be) is sometimes used and you’ll need to learn when to use each one. Luckily, there’s a pretty straightforward rule. In the German Perfekt, you use a form of sein for verbs of motion or transition.

For example:

gehen (to walk, to go)
laufen (to run)
springen (to jump)
fahren (to drive, to go)
sinken (to sink)
werden (to become)
sterben (to die – yep, death is a transition)

Actually, the exact German equivalent to “hi” is, well, “hi”. It’s not really German, as you might assume, but Germans adopted it and it’s quite usual among younger and less conservative people.

From “hallo” to “na”, learn the different ways to say “hello” in the German language. You’ll fit right in regardless of where you are in the country.

1. Hallo – “Hello”

This is the simplest way to say “hello” in German. It’s a friendly, all-purpose greeting that can be used in pretty much any situation, formal or informal.

2. Guten Tag – “Good day”

Guten Tag is the German “hello” that’s best-known to English speakers. It’s slightly formal, but only slightly.

Guten means “good” (it’s the masculine accusative form of gut). Easy! Now just add the right word for the time of day:

• Before midday: say guten Morgen (good morning)
• Midday until approximately 6pm: say guten Tag (good day)
• 6pm until bedtime: say guten Abend (good evening)

A common question: why is it guten Tag and not gut Tag? I.e., why is it guten (the accusative form of the adjective) and not gut (the nominative)?

First of all, note that Morgen, Tag, and Abend are all masculine nouns, so we know that gut must be masculine in all three phrases. But what case are the nouns?

Think about it like this. When you say “good day” to somebody, what are you actually saying? Probably something like “I wish you a good day”. In German that’s ich wünsche dir einen guten Tag.

In that sentence the word Tag is the direct object of the verb wünsche, so it (and any associated adjectives) must be accusative. Therefore we must use the masculine accusative form of gut, i.e. guten. Simple!

3. Alles klar – “All clear”

If you live or travel in Germany, you’ll hear people saying alles klar all the time. It means “everything (is) clear!”.

It can be used as a question (alles klar?) a statement, or merely to fill empty space. What we care about here is that it’s also used as a greeting, especially by young people.

Greeting someone with “alles klar?” is a lot like greeting someone with “what’s up?” in English. The best way to answer alles klar? is with a simple ja, meaning “yes”. You could also reply with “Ja, alles klar, danke, meaning “Yes, everything is good thanks.

4. Was ist los? – “What’s up?”

Was ist los? is hard to translate directly.

The adjective los roughly means “separate” or “free”. Asking someone was ist los? is like saying “what’s up?” or “what’s going on?”, very similar to greeting someone with alles klar?

The confusing thing is that was ist los? can also mean “what’s the matter?”, i.e. it implies that you perceive that something is strange or wrong.

However, from the context and the tone of voice it’s usually obvious which meaning of was ist los? is being used.

It’s similar to how some English speakers, especially Brits, use “are you alright?” (or just “alright?”) as a greeting. Depending on the context, “are you alright?” may be a genuine question and a sign of concern. But when used as a greeting, it probably doesn’t require a thought-out answer.

5. Wie geht es dir? – “How’s it going?”

“How does it go to you?” is the literal translation of this essential German phrase. You can guess at a better translation: this is a common German way of saying “how’s it going?”

When you use dir, it’s informal. In a more formal situation, you should probably say wie geht es Ihnen?

When informally addressing a group, say Wie geht es euch?

The phrase is often shortened to wie geht’s? The easiest response is a simple gut, danke – “good, thanks”.

6. Grüß Gott! – “God bless you”

Within and between the German-speaking countries, there’s a lot of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Not every greeting is in equal use across the entire Germany. So for the next few items on this list, we’ll look at some greetings that are unique to certain areas.

Grüß Gott is an expression that’s mainly used in Bavaria (south-eastern Germany) and Austria. Literally, it means something like “greetings (from) God”. A better, less literal translation is “God bless you”. It’s a very formal way of saying hello.

Bavarians also use Grüß dich!, which essentially means “greetings to you!”. This is less formal, but it tends to be used more by the older generation than the younger.

7. Servus – “At your service”

Servus is Latin for “servant”, and its use as a greeting comes from a Latin phrase meaning “at your service”.

Like Grüß Gott, servus is mainly used in Bavaria and Austria. It can also be used to say goodbye.

8. Moin! – “Hi!”

Let’s move to the other end of the German map. Moin is a common greeting in northern Germany, especially in and around Hamburg. You also sometimes hear people doubling it up: moin moin!

The origins of the word “moin” are uncertain. Many think that it comes from a regional pronunciation of Morgen (“morning”), but it’s possible that it also comes from a Low German word meaning “good”.

Whatever the case, you can use moin at all times of day. The people of Schleswig-Holstein will love you for it.

9. Na – “Hi, how are you? Fine thanks, how are you?”

Na is another regional German greeting. It’s common in the north, and people from Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland tend to struggle with it.

There’s no easy way to translate na into English. It’s best explained by example: when two (northern) Germans meet, one might say “na”, to which the other replies “na” – and then the conversation begins. It’s like “hey”, “how are you?”, and “fine, thanks” all rolled into one versatile syllable. Germans are famous for their efficiency, after all.

10. Hier ist… – “It’s…”

This one might not technically count as a greeting, but it’s still worth including, because you’re likely to say it when meeting someone… but only if you’re not meeting face-to-face.

Imagine you’re calling, texting, emailing, or otherwise communicating at a distance with someone who already knows you. If they don’t recognize your voice/number/address, what do you say to let them know who it is?

In English you’d say “it’s Benny”, but you can’t translate this directly into German (i.e. I can’t say es ist Benny). Instead you’d have to say hier ist Benny – “here is Benny.”

This is a subtle detail, but it’s absolutely something you should know!

11. Tschüss – “Goodbye”

Now let’s look at some ways to say “goodbye” in German. Probably the most common way to do this is to say Tschüss – “bye”!

Don’t be intimidated by the spelling. The cluster of consonants “tsch” is pronounced just like a “ch” in English.

12. Ciao – “Bye”

Ciao is Italian in origin, but it’s common in Germany, as it is in many other parts of Europe!

13. Auf Wiedersehen – “See you again”

Wieder means “again” and sehen means “to see”. So auf wiedersehen essentially means “when we see each other again!”

While this is a well-known phrase that every German will understand, it’s very formal-sounding and a bit old-fashioned.

14. Bis bald – “See you soon”

This literally means “until soon”. So it’s like saying “see you soon!”. It’s a friendly, informal way of saying goodbye.

Quotes can make you laugh, cry, or think. They can help you find that tiny bit of truth that kept evading you. In other words, quotes evoke emotion. And when you have an emotional connection to something, you are more likely to remember it. Besides, it’s a fun way to learn new words!

“Dumme Gedanken hat jeder, aber der Weise verschweigt sie”. – Wilhelm Busch, German humorist

Translation: “Everyone has stupid thoughts, but the sage keeps quiet about them.”

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“Zwei Dinge sind unendlich, das Universum und die menschliche Dummheit, aber bei dem Universum bin ich mir noch nicht ganz sicher.” – Albert Einstein, German scientist

Translation: “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. Although I’m not yet sure about the universe.”

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“Kein Mensch ist so beschäftigt, daß er nicht die Zeit hat, überall zu erzählen, wie beschäftigt er ist.” – Robert Lembke, German television presenter

Translation: “No one is so busy that he does not have time to tell everyone how busy he is.”

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“Die Eintagsfliege wird bereits zwölf Stunden nach ihrer Geburt von ihrer Midlife-Crisis erwischt. Das muss man sich mal klarmachen“ – Loriot, German comic

Translation: “The mayfly [which lives for one day] goes through its midlife crisis after twelve hours! That’s hard to comprehend.”

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“Sei mir gegrüßt, mein Sauerkraut, holdselig sind deine Gerüche.“ – Heinrich Heine, German poet and essayist

Translation: “Greetings my sauerkraut, sweet are your smells.”

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”Wir denken selten an das, was wir haben, aber immer an das, was uns fehlt.” – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher

Translation: “We rarely think of what we have but always what we lack.”

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“Wenn die Menschen nur über das sprächen, was sie begreifen, dann würde es sehr still auf der Welt sein.” – Albert Einstein, German scientist

Translation: “If people only talked about things they understand, then it would be very quiet in the world.”

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“Man reist nicht, um anzukommen, sondern um zu reisen.“ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and statesman

Translation: “You do not travel to arrive, but to travel.”

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“Wenn ein Mann sofort macht, was eine Frau will, bekommt er nicht mehr Liebe, sondern mehr Aufträge.” – Stefan Schwarz, German actor

Translation: “When a man immediately does what a woman wants, he doesn’t receive love, but more orders.”

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“Der Vorteil der Klugen besteht darin, dass sie sich dumm stellen können. Das Gegenteil ist schon schwieriger.” – Kurt Tucholsky, German writer

Translation: “The advantage of the wise is that they can be stupid. The opposite is more of a challenge.”

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“Fast jede Frau wäre gern treu. Schwierig ist es bloß, den Mann zu finden, dem man treu sein kann.” – Marlene Dietrich, German actress

Translation: “Almost every woman would like to be faithful. It is difficult to find the man to whom you can be.”

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“Es ist ein Brauch von Alters her, wer Sorgen hat, hat auch Likör.” – Wilhelm Busch, German humorist

Translation: “It is a tradition for the elderly: whoever has worries also has liqueur.”

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“Wussten Sie schon, dass der Walfisch das kleinste lebende Säugetier sein könnte, wenn er nur nicht so groß wäre?” – Loriot

Translation: “Did you know that the whale could be the smallest living mammal if it were not so big?”

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“Glück entsteht oft durch Aufmerksamkeit in kleinen Dingen, Unglück oft durch Vernachlässigung kleiner Dinge.” – Wilhelm Busch, German humorist

Translation: “Happiness often comes from attention to small things, misfortune often from neglecting little things.”

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”Wenn ich mein Leben noch einmal leben könnte, würde ich die gleichen Fehler machen. Aber ein bisschen früher, damit ich mehr davon habe.” – Marlene Dietrich, German actress

Translation: “If I could live my life again I’d make exactly the same mistakes. Just a little earlier, so I have more of them.”

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”Glücklich allein ist die Seele, die liebt.“ – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and statesman

Translation: “Happy alone is the soul that loves.”

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”Nicht alles, was zählt, ist zählbar, und nicht alles, was zählbar ist, zählt.” – Albert Einstein, German scientist

Translation: “Not everything that counts is countable, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

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”Sage nicht alles, was du weißt, aber wisse alles, was du sagst.” – Matthias Claudius, German poet and journalist

Translation: “Don’t say everything you know; but know everything you say.”

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”Je älter ich werde, desto intensiver lebe ich und desto mehr registriere ich, was ich erreicht habe.” – Steffi Graf, German tennis player

Translation: “The older I get, the more intensely I live, and the more I realize what I have achieved.”

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”Schön ist eigentlich alles, was man mit Liebe betrachtet.” – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet

Translation: “Beautiful is everything one looks at with love.”

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”Tatsachen gibt es nicht, nur Interpretationen.“ – Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher

Translation: “There are no facts, only interpretations.”

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“Aus den Steinen, die Dir in den Weg gelegt werden, kannst du etwas Schönes bauen.” – Erich Kästner, German poet

Translation: “From the stones that block your way, you can build something beautiful.”

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”Arbeit ist schwer, ist oft genug ein freudloses und mühseliges Stochern; aber nicht arbeiten – das ist die Hölle.“ – Thomas Mann, German novelist and social critic

Translation: “Having a job is hard, and is often enough a joyless and laborious game; but to not work – that’s hell.”

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“In uns selbst liegen die Sterne unseres Glücks.” – Heinrich Heine, German poet and essayist

Translation: “Within ourselves lie the stars of our happiness.”

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”Nicht in die ferne Zeit verliere dich! Den Augenblick ergreife. Nur er ist dein.“ – Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German writer

Translation: “Don’t lose yourself in distant times! Seize the moment. Only that is yours.”

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“Man muss das Unmögliche versuchen, um das Mögliche zu erreichen.” – Hermann Hesse, German writer

Translation: “You have to try the impossible to achieve the possible.”

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“Für das Können gibt es nur einen Beweis: das Tun.“ – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer

Translation: “There is only one proof of skill: doing.”

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“Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.“ –Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher

Translation: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”

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”Die Gewohnheit ist ein Seil. Wir weben jeden Tag einen Faden, und schließlich können wir es nicht mehr zerreißen.” – Thomas Mann, German novelist and social critic

Translation: “A habit is a rope. Weave a thread into it every day and eventually it becomes unbreakable.”

Although the German language may seem harsh and hard at first, it is filled with humorous expressions (many of them food-related). However funny expressions and phrases are at first, it’s definitely worth learning a few. See for yourself!

German Phrase	Literal English Translation	Meaning
Jetzt geht’s um die Wurst	Now it goes around the sausage	All or nothing
Du bist auf dem Holzweg	There you are on the woodway	You are completely wrong
Mir stehen die Haare zu Berge	My hair stands up to the mountain	I’ve got goosebumps
Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof	I understand only train station	I have no idea what you are saying
Tut mir leid, aber mein Englisch ist unter aller Sau	Sorry but my English is under all pig	Sorry, but my English is just the worst
Ich glaube, ich spinne	I think I spider	I believe I’m dreaming
Den Teufel werd ich tun!	The Devil I will do!	I will NOT do that!
Komm schon, spring über deinen Schatten	Come on, jump over your shadow	Get out of your comfort zone
Du gehst mir tierisch auf den Keks	You walk me beastly on the cookie	You are getting on my nerves, big time
Holla die Waidfee	Holla the wood fairy	Well, that’s unexpected
Ich seh schwarz für dich	I see black for you	I don’t see any good news coming your way
Du bist so ein Angsthase	You are such a fear-rabbit	You are so easily scared
Sie ticken doch ganz nicht richtig	You might tick incorrectly	You are stupid
Du hast nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank	You are missing cups in your cupboard	You’re crazy
Du hast doch einen Vogel	You have a bird	You are crazy
Sie hatte einen Kreislaufzusammenbruch	She had a circleruntogetherbreak	She fainted
Ich falle aus allen Wolken	I fall from all clouds	I have not expected this
Niemand kann mir das Wasser reichen	No one can pass me the water	Nobody is better than me
Du bist das Gelbe vom Ei	You are the yellow from the egg	You are all I’m looking for
Es läuft mir eiskalt den Rücken runter	It runs me ice cold down my back	My blood runs cold
Ich bin fuchsteufelswild	I’m foxdevilswild	I’m super mad
Das macht mir so schnell keiner nach	That makes me nobody so quickly after	No one will copy that so easily
Nun haben wir den Salat	Now we have the salad	Well, here we have what we deserve
Ich glaube mein Schwein pfeift	I think my pig whistles	I believe I’m dreaming
Du kannst mir mal den Buckel runterrutschen	You can slide my back down	Leave me alone / get out of here
Mein lieber Herr Gesangsverein	My dear Mr Singing Club	Impressive
Das geht ab wie Schmitz Katze	That goes off like Schmitz’ cat	That escalated quickly
Ich lach mich kaputt	I laugh myself broken	You got to be kidding me
Du kommst in Teufelsküche	You will come in devil’s kitchen	You’re in deep trouble
Das Motiv heiligt die Mittel	The motive holies the means	The end justifies the means
Ich mach mich aus dem Staub	I make myself out of the dust	I’m leaving
Du hast einen Sprung in der Schüssel	You have a crack in your dish	You’re crazy
Nun sitzen wir hier in der Tinte	Now we sit here in the ink	We’re in trouble
Nun ist der Ofen aus	Now the oven is out	Game over. Nothing else to expect
Ich hab jetzt echt die Nase voll	I have now really my nose full	Enough of that bullshit
Du Glückspilz	You lucky mushroom	You lucky man
Ich kriege die Krise	I get the crisis	I’m going mad
Du bist ein Erbsenzähler	You’re a pea counter	You are very nitpicky
Totgesagte leben länger	Dead said live longer	Don’t write it off too early
Ich stehe auf dem Schlauch	I stand on the tube	I have no idea what is going on
Alles für die Katz’	Everything for the cat	All for nothing
Mir fällt ein Stein vom Herzen	A stone falls from my heart	I’m relieved
Nun schlägt’s aber dreizehn	Now it punches thirteen	That’s enough
Das geht auf keine Kuhhaut	That fits on no cowskin	Your lies are unbelievable
Darauf kannst du Gift nehmen	You can take poison on that	You can bet on it
Du hast mir keinen Meter weitergeholfen	You helped me no meter further	Your advice was a waste of time
Da guckst du dumm aus der Wäsche	There you are looking stupid out of the laundry	You didn’t expect that, no?
Da wird der Hund in der Pfanne verrückt	There the dog goes crazy in the pan	That’s unbelievable
Leg einen Zahn drauf	Put a tooth on it	Be quicker
Klapp zu, Affe tot	Lid down, dead monkey	That’s it

This verb list comes from Randall Jones & Erwin Tschirner’s A Frequency Dictionary of German. Core Vocabulary for Learners, which lists the 4034 most commonly used words in German. Here are the 100 most common German verbs along with their English translations. You just have to learn these verbs to start studying German because they are used very often.

1. sein to be
2. haben to have
3. werden to become
4. können can, to be able to
5. müssen must, to have to
6. sagen to say
7. machen to do, make
8. geben to give
9. kommen to come
10. sollen should, ought to
11. wollen to want
12. gehen to go
13. wissen to know
14. sehen to see
15. lassen to let, allow, have done
16. stehen to stand
17. finden to find
18. bleiben to stay, remain
19. liegen to lie, be lying
20. heißen to be called

21. denken to think
22. nehmen to take
23. tun to do
24. dürfen may, to be allowed
25. glauben to believe
26. halten to stop, hold
27. nennen to name, to call (a name)
28. mögen to like
29. zeigen to show
30. führen to lead
31. sprechen to speak
32. bringen to bring, take
33. leben to live
34. fahren to drive, ride, go
35. meinen to think, have an opinion
36. fragen to ask
37. kennen to know
38. gelten to be valid
39. stellen to place, set
40. spielen to play
41. arbeiten to work
42. brauchen to need
43. folgen to follow
44. lernen to learn
45. bestehen to exist, insist, pass (an exam)
46. verstehen to understand
47. setzen to set, put, place
48. bekommen to get, receive
49. beginnen to begin
50. erzählen to narrate, tell
51. versuchen to try, attempt
52. schreiben to write
53. laufen, to run
54. erklären to explain
55. entsprechen to correspond
56. sitzen to sit
57. ziehen to pull, move
58. scheinen to shine, seem, appear
59. fallen to fall
60. gehören to belong
61. entstehen to originate, develop
62. erhalten to receive
63. treffen to meet
64. suchen to search, look for
65. legen to lay, put
66. vor·stellen to introduce, imagine
67. handeln to deal, trade
68. erreichen to achieve, reach
69. tragen to carry, wear
70. schaffen to manage, create
71. lesen to read
72. verlieren to lose
73. dar·stellen to depict, portray
74. erkennen to recognize, admit
75. entwickeln to develop
76. reden to talk
77. aus·sehen to appear, look (a certain way)
78. erscheinen to appear
79. bilden to form, educate
80. an·fangen to begin
81. erwarten to expect
82. wohnen to live
83. betreffen to affect, concern
84. warten to wait
85. vergehen to elapse; to decay
86. helfen to help
87. gewinnen to win
88. schließen to close
89. fühlen to feel
90. bieten to offer
91. interessierento interest
92. erinnern to remember
93. ergeben to result in
94. an·bieten to offer
95. studieren to study
96. verbinden to connect, link
97. an·sehen to look at, watch
98. fehlen to lack, be missing, be absent
99. bedeuten to mean
100. vergleichen to compare

Germans are universally known as a rather serious lot, lacking any sense of humor (disclaimer: NOT TRUE). However, German language bears so many pitfalls, leading to an array of funny situations.

The way German speakers are unintentionally funny is priceless and an invaluable way to break the ice in awkward situations. Just imagine all the business dinners and formal gatherings that were instantly alleviated by a simple mechanical linguistic mistake, which inevitably cracked a smile on every face. It is so human, kind of endearing and brings people together.

Indeed humor can be found everywhere. Did you just hear that reliable businessman (yes, the one in the cutting edge designer suit and its respective ten-thousand-euros watch) saying he was becoming a steak?!  He most probably meant he was getting a steak for dinner, but the direct translation from German to English tends to play surrealistic tricks too often.

A very common mistake regarding dinners is the so called invitation issue. Just watch the face of your German business partner when you cheerfully say, “Thank you for inviting me”. In German to invite means “to pay the bill”. The confusion and then the acknowledgment “Oh, you don’t mean I have to invite you, but, of course, …” is simply priceless.

And what would you answer to: “Excuse me, do you have fire?” Bet you would come up with something original, while that girl only asked for your lighter. But wasn’t it poetic?! You are intrigued on so many levels, aren’t you?! Maybe you would even consider “to make a party” with her after all! Oh, the Germans, they “machen” everything! They don’t just “party”, they “machen Party” (make party). They also “dress up” to go jogging. If only they could see the images that come to the average Anglophone mind at this point.

All these translation affairs also work the other way round. When an English speaker intuitively translates “I am warm” to “ich bin warm”, the German person in front of them takes it as a slang confession they were gay. And if occasionally you are “heiß,” than you have just said you are horny.

Back to German speakers: have you already heard that your sister’s roommate’s sister is “getting a baby?” Undoubtedly the Germans are a progressive breed, but believe me, they still “have” their babies just like all of us.

And then people will tell you Germans weren’t funny! How many people do you know who refer to their boss as their “chef”?! Or, when they call you to reschedule your “date”? That is more than certain to bring a smile to your face.

Memorizing the gender of countless German nouns can be pretty frustrating. For someone who is just starting out with German, this can be really confusing – especially as the genders don’t necessarily seem logical.

German nouns can be masculine, feminine or neuter, and this gender affects the form of the articles (and the adjectives) we use:

Feminine: die Frau (the woman)

Masculine: der Mann (the man)

Neuter: das Kind (the child)

There are some general classes of things that always have the same gender:

Masculine:

• male humans and animals (der Mann, der Bock);
• seasons, months, days of the week (der Sommer, der Januar, der Montag);
• winds, weather, points of the compass (der Schnee, der Norden);
• rocks, minerals (der Granit, der Diamant);
• alcoholic and plant-based drinks (der Gin, der Kakao);
• makes of car (der BMW, der Audi);
• rivers outside Germany (der Ganges, der Nil);
• monetary units (der Euro, der Dollar);
• mountains, mountain ranges (der Brocken, der Spessart)

Feminine

• female humans and animals (die Frau, die Henne);
• airplanes, motor-bikes, ships (die Boeing, die “Bismark”);
• rivers inside Germany (die Weser, die Donau);
• names of numerals (die eins, die Milliard)

Neuter

• young humans and animals (das Baby, das Lamm);
• metals, chemicals, scientific units (das Gold, das Aspirin, das Volt);
• letters of the alphabet, musical notes (Das A, das hohe C);
• other parts of speech used as nouns (das Aber, das modern Deutsch);
• hotels, cafes, restaurants, cinemas (das “Hilton”);
• continents, countries, towns (das alte Europa, das neue Polen, das geteilte Berlin)

How to Identify Masculine Nouns in German (der/ein)

Masculine German nouns take the definite article der (the) and indefinite ein (a/an).

To figure out whether a word is masculine, look for the following word endings:

-er, -el, -ling, -ich, -ig, -ner, -ismus, -or, -us, -eich, -ant

Following this rule, you’ll be correct around 80% of the time.

Also, anything to do with calendar dates tends to be masculine – days, months and seasons fall under this category.

Finally, male animals and weather elements are usually masculine.

From this, you can deduce that the following words are masculine:

• der Autor (author)
• der Vater (father)
• der Mittwoch (Wednesday)
• der Regen (rain)*

How to Recognize Feminine Nouns in German (die/eine)

Feminine German nouns use the definite article die (the) and indefinite article eine (a/an).

As with masculine nouns, the easiest way to identify a feminine noun is to look at the word ending. Look out for the following word endings:

-e (mostly, as the exception is male persons or animals, such as der Löwe (the lion)), -ie, -heit, -ei, -in, -ik, -keit, – schaft, -ung, -tät, -ur, -tion

Funnily enough, things that would normally be associated with femininity are usually feminine too – like flowers and trees, along with female animals and people.

• die Blume (flower)
• die Familie (family)
• die Mannschaft (team)

How to Identify Neutral Nouns in German (das/ein)

Neutral German nouns take the definite article das (the) and indefinite article ein (a/an).

To spot neutral nouns, look out for the following word endings:

-chen, -o, -lein, -en, -il, -ma, -tel, -ment, -nis, -tum, -um

Most inanimate objects do fall under the category of neutral. Also, most metals, as well as babies (both human and animal) tend to have neutral genders.

Let’s look at some examples.

• das Kind (child)
• das Fragment (fragment)
• das Gold (gold)

The large majority of nouns beginning with Ge- are neuter, so das Gesetz (the law), das Gespräch (the conversation) or das Gebäude (the building) — BUT die Geschichte (probably the most common of the anomalous Ge- nouns) bucks the trend by taking the feminine form. We recommend you pay particular attention to the feminine noun endings, as these crop up very frequently. You should also ensure you internalize the gender of every new noun you learn — don’t just learn Lehrer, learn the word with it’s definite article: der Lehrer. This way you’ll begin to naturally couple articles with nouns, and this will facilitate your use of the German cases (the next little grammatical hurdle in the German language).

German and English belong to the group of West Germanic languages and have many words with common language roots. Sometimes you can guess the meaning of the German word because it sounds almost like an English word. This makes learning German language a bit easier for English speakers but it can also create some confusion when it comes to “false friends”. False friends are the words that look same or similar but have a totally different meaning in both languages. German learners need to memorize the most common false friends to avoid the confusion. To help you learn them, here is the list of the most used German-English false friends that every German learner needs to know.

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1. bekommen – to get, to receive

werden – to become

 Ich bekomme immer viele Geschenke zu meinem Geburtstag. –  I always get many presents for my birthday.

Ich will Fußballspieler werden. – I want to become a football player.

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2. spenden  – to donate

ausgeben (Geld) – to spend (money)

verbringen (Zeit) – to spend (time)

Sie spendet jedes Jahr ihre Kleidung. – She donates her clothing every year.

Ich will nicht so viel Geld für Kleidung ausgeben. – I don’t want to spend so much money on clothing.

Ich verbringe nicht sehr viel Zeit zu Hause. – I don’t spend a lot of time at home.

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3. will (from wollen) – want

Ich will – I want

Ich werde – I will

Ich will glücklich sein. – I want to be happy.

Meine Tochter will nicht in die Schule gehen. – My daughter doesn’t want to go to school.

Ich werde dich bald besuchen und wir werden zusammen grillen. – I will visit you soon and we will have a barbecue together.

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4. der Chef /die Chefin – boss

der Koch/die Köchin – chef, cook

also

der Küchenchef/die Küchenchefin, der Chefkoch/die Chefköchin – chef

Unser Chef ist sehr nett, ich arbeite gerne mit ihm. – Our boss is very nice, I like working with him.

Dieser Küchenchef ist sehr berühmt. – This chef is very famous.

Ihr Mann ist Koch von Beruf. – Her husband is cook.

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5. das Gift – poison

das Geschenk – gift

Die Polizei hat Spuren von Gift gefunden.  – The police found traces of poison.

Hast du viele Geschenke zum Geburtstag bekommen? – Did you get many gifts for birthday?

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6. die Rente – pension

die Miete – rent

Wie hoch ist die Rente in Deutschland? – How high is the pension in Germany?

Seine Rente ist sehr niedrig. – His pension is very low.

Die Miete für unsere Wohnung is ziemlich hoch. – The rent for our apartment is rather high.

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7. also  – so, therefore

auch – also

Du kannst mir also nicht helfen? – So, you can’t help me?

Also, ich kann das auch selbst machen. – So, I can also do it by myself.

Ich will auch nach Berlin fahren. –  I also want to go to Berlin.

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8. die Hochschule – college, university 

If you translate this word literally, it sounds like “high school”. But because of the difference in the school system, what is called high school in other countries can be different schools in Germany, for example, Gymnasium, Realschule, Hauptschule.

Ich habe an der Hochschule Deutsch studiert. – I studied German at college.

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9. wer  – who

wo – where

Wer ist dieser Mann? – Who is this man?

Ich weiß nicht, wer er ist. – I don’t know who he is.

Wo wohnst du?  – Where do you live?

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10. die Dose  – can, tin

die Dosis – dose

Er hat eine Dose Bier gekauft. – He bought a can of beer.

Magst du Gurken aus der Dose? – Do you like cucumbers from tin?

Eine tägliche Dosis von Zucker sollte nicht überschritten werden. – A daily dose of sugar should be not exceeded.

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11. fast – almost

schnell – fast

Ich bin fast 30 Jahre alt. – I am almost 30 years old.

Sie übt Yoga fast jeden Tag. –  She practices yoga almost every day.

Er spricht zu schnell. – He speaks too fast.

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12. die Note(-n) – mark(s), grade(s)

die Notiz(-en) – notes

Meine Kinder lernen viel und haben gute Noten. – My children learn a lot and have good grades.

Ich habe die Prüfung mit einer guten Note bestanden. – I  passed the exam with a good mark.

Ich muss Notizen machen, sonst vergesse ich alles. – I have to take notes, otherwise, I will forget everything.

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13.  die Kaution – deposit

die Vorsicht – caution

Hast du die Kaution zurückbekommen? – Did you get the deposit back?

Ja, aber der Vermieter hat einen Teil von Kaution behalten. – Yes, but the landlord kept a part of the deposit.

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14. dick – thick, fat

Meine Katze ist zu dick.– My cat is too fat.

Fast Food macht uns dick. – Fast food makes us fat.

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15. die Art – kind, sort, type, manner

die Kunst – art

Ich lese verschiedene Arten von Büchern. – I read different kinds of books.

Welche Art von Musik magst du? – What type of music do you like?

Interessierst du dich für Kunst? – Are you interested in art?