2/18/2014 German I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar • Learn German Online • Free German Lessons

German I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

If you'd like to download the mp3s, use the DownThemAll add-on for Firefox to download all the mp3s at once
instead of right-clicking on each link. Recordings done by a native speaker of German from Austria. I've also
recommended some German books from Amazon.

Like 3,724 people like this.

1. BASIC PHRASES
NEW! If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go to
Basic German Phrases.

Guten Morgen Guten Tag Guten Abend

goot-en mor-gen goot-en tahk goot-en ah-bent
Good Morning Hello/Good Day Good Evening

Tag / Hallo / Servus

Gute Nacht Auf Wiedersehen
tahk / hah-loh / sair-voohs
goot-eh nakht owf vee-dair-zayn
Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye
Good Night Goodbye
(Southern Germany & Austria)

Grüß dich / Grüß Gott! Tschüs / Tschau Gehen wir!

Hello! / Greetings! (Southern tchews / chow geh-en veer
Germany & Austria) Bye! Let's go!

Bis später Bis bald Bis morgen

biss shpay-ter biss bahlt biss mohr-gen
See you later See you soon See you tomorrow

Bitte Danke (schön / sehr) Bitte schön

bih-tuh dahn-kuh shurn/zair bih-tuh shurn
Please Thank you You're welcome

Es tut mir leid. Entschuldigen Sie

Verzeihung
ehs toot meer lite ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee
Pardon me
I'm sorry Excuse me

Wie geht es Ihnen? Wie geht's? (Sehr) Gut / So lala

vee gayt es ee-nen vee gayts zair goot / zo lahlah
How are you? (formal) How are you? (informal) (Very) Good / OK
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Schlecht / Nicht Gut Es geht. Ja / Nein

shlekht / nisht goot ess gate yah / nine
Bad / Not good I'm ok. (informal) Yes / No

Wie heißt du?

Wie heißen Sie? Ich heiße...
vee hiesst doo
vee hie-ssen zee ikh hie-ssuh
What's your name?
What's your name? (formal) My name is... [I am called...]
(informal)

Es freut mich. Gleichfalls. Herr / Frau / Fräulein

froyt mikh glykh-fals hair / frow / froi-line
Pleased to meet you. Likewise. Mister / Misses / Miss

Woher kommen Sie? Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus...
vo-hair koh-men zee vo-hair kohmst doo
ikh koh-muh ows...
Where are you from? Where are you from?
I'm from...
(formal) (informal)

Wo wohnst du?
Wo wohnen Sie? Ich wohne in...
vo vohnst doo
vo voh-nen zee ikh voh-nuh in
Where do you live?
Where do you live? (formal) I live in...
(informal)

Wie alt sind Sie? Wie alt bist du? Ich bin ____ Jahre alt.
vee alt zint zee vee alt bisst doo ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt
How old are you? (formal) How old are you? (informal) I am ____ years old.

Sprechen Sie deutsch? Sprichst du englisch?

Ich spreche (kein)...
shpreck-en zee doytch shprikhst doo eng-lish
ikh shpreck-uh kine
Do you speak German? Do you speak English?
I (don't) speak...
(formal) (informal)

Verstehen Sie? /
Verstehst du?
Ich verstehe (nicht). Ich weiß (nicht).
fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-
ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht ikh vise nikht
shtayst doo I (don't) understand. I (don't) know.
Do you understand? (formal
/ informal)

Kannst du mir helfen?

Können Sie mir helfen? Natürlich / Gerne
kahnst doo meer hell-fen
ker-nen zee meer hell-fen nah-tewr-likh / gair-nuh
Can you help me?
Can you help me? (formal) Of course / Gladly
(informal)

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Kann ich Ihnen helfen? Kann ich dir helfen? Wie bitte?
kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen kahn ikh deer hell-fen vee bih-tuh
May I help you? (formal) May I help you? (informal) What? Pardon me?

Wie heißt ___ auf

deutsch? Wo ist / Wo sind... ? Es gibt...
vee heist ___ owf doytch voh ist / voh zint ess geept
How do you say ___ in Where is / Where are... ? There is / are...
German?

Was ist los? Das macht nichts. Das ist mir egal.
vahs ist lohs dass makht nikhts dass ist meer eh-gahl
What's the matter? It doesn't matter. I don't care.

Ich habe es vergessen.

Keine Angst! Jetzt muss ich gehen.
ikh hah-buh ess fehr-geh-
ky-nuh ahngst yetz mooss ikh geh-en
sen
Don't worry! I must go now.
I forgot.

Ich habe Hunger / Durst.

Ich bin krank / müde. Ich habe Langeweile.
ikh hah-buh hoong-er /
ikh bin krahnk moo-duh ikh hah-buh lahn-guh-vy-luh
dirst
I'm sick / tired. I'm bored.
I'm hungry / thirsty.

Ich möchte / Ich hätte

gern... Das gefällt mir. Prima / Toll / Super!
ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh-tuh dahs geh-fehlt meer pree-mah / tohl / zoo-pair
gairn I like it. Great / Fantastic!
I'd like...

Herzlichen
Gesundheit! Sei ruhig!
Glückwunsch!
geh-soont-hyt zy roo-hikh
herts-likh-en glewk-voonsh
Bless you! Be quiet! (informal)
Congratulations!

Schauen Sie mal! / Schau

Willkommen! Viel Glück!
mal!
vil-koh-men feel glewk
show-en zee mal / show mal
Welcome! Good luck!
Look! (formal / informal)

Bitte schön? Was darf's sein?

Sonst noch etwas?
Yes? / What would you like What can I get you? / How
Anything else?
to order? can I help you?
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Bitte schön.
Zahlen bitte! Stimmt so.
Here you go. (handing
The check, please! Keep the change.
something to someone)

Ich bin satt. Mir ist schlecht. Es tut mir weh.

I'm full. I feel sick. It hurts.

Ich liebe dich.

Du fehlst mir. Alles ist in Ordnung.
ikh leeb-uh dikh
I miss you. (informal) Everything is fine.
I love you. (informal)

Wie wäre es mit ... ? Was für ein...? Nicht wahr?

How about...? What kind of (a)...? [general tag question]

Ich is not actually pronounced ikh, unless you are speaking a northern dialect of German. If you
are speaking a southern dialect, then it is more like ish. There is no equivalent sound in English.
In standard German, it is somewhere between ish and ikh. Technically, it is a voiceless palatal
fricative and its voiced counterpart is the y sound in yes.

2. PRONUNCIATION
German Vowels English Pronunciation
[i] viel meet, eat
[y] kühl ee rounded / long vowel
[ɪ] Tisch mitt, it
[ʏ] hübsch ih rounded / short vowel
[e] Tee mate, wait
[ø] schön ay rounded / long vowel
[ɛ] Bett met, wet
[œ] zwölf eh rounded / short vowel
[a] Mann mop, not
[ɑ] kam ah / longer vowel than [a]
[u] gut boot, suit
[ʊ] muss put, soot
[o] Sohn coat, goat
[ɔ] Stock caught, bought

[ə] bitte cut, what

[ɐ] Wetter uhr / also short vowel like [ə]

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Highlighted vowels do not exist in English.

Notice that words spelled with ö and ü can be pronounced with a long or short vowel, so
determining the pronunciation based on the spelling is not possible. The other umlauted letter, ä,
is generally pronounced as [e], though it can be pronounced as [ɛ] in some dialects. A general
rule for pronunciation, however, states that the short vowels / ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ ɔ / must be followed by a
consonant, whereas the long vowels / i y u e ø o / can occur at the end of the syllable or word.
German Diphthongs English Pronunciation
[aɪ] ein, mein eye, buy, why
[aʊ] auf, kaufen cow, now, how
[ɔɪ] neu, Gebäude toy, boy, foil
German Consonants
There are a few German consonants that do not exist in English, and some consonant
combinations that are not common in English. Notice that the pronunciation of the German r
changes according to the location in the countries that speak German, i.e. [R] in northern
Germany and [r] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Spelling IPA Sample words How to pronounce:
Chemie, mich, Make yuh sound voiceless (no vibration of
ch (with vowels e and i) [ç]
nicht vocal cords)
Buch, lachen, Make kuh sound a fricative (continuous
ch (with vowels a, o, u) [x]
kochen airflow)
Apfel, Pferd,
pf [pf] Pronounce together as one sound
Pfanne
z [ts] Zeit, Zug, Tanz Pronounce together as one sound
ja, Januar,
j [j] yuh
Junge
Quote, Quiz,
qu [kv] kv
Quitte
st / sp (at beginning of [ʃt] / Stadt,
sht / shp
syllable) [ʃp] sprechen
schenken,
sch [ʃ] sh
schlafen
th [t] Theater, Thron t
Vater,
v [f] f
verboten
w [v] Wasser, warm v
ß [s] Straße, groß s
s (before vowel) [z] Salz, seit, Sitz z
In addition, the sounds [b], [d], and [g] lose their voicing at the end of a syllable, so they are
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pronounced as their voiceless counterparts [p], [t], and [k], respectively. However, the spelling
does not reflect the pronunciation.
Stress
Stress generally falls on the first syllable of the word, except in words borrowed from other
languages, where the stress falls on the last syllable (especially with French words.)

3. ALPHABET

a ah j yoht s ess

b bay k kah t tay

c tsay l el u oo

d day m em v fow

e ay n en w vay

f eff o oh x eeks

g gay p pay y irp-se-lon

h hah q koo z tset

i ee r ehr

There is another letter in written German, ß (es-zet), pronounced like [s]. However, this letter is
only used after long vowels or diphthongs, and it is not used at all in Switzerland.

4. NOUNS & CASES

All nouns have a gender in German, either masculine, feminine or neuter. There really isn't a lot
of logic to which nouns are which gender, so you must memorize the gender of each noun.
1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are nouns
ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us.
2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -a, -anz, -
ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur.
3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet, hotels,
restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are nouns that end
in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um. Nouns referring to things that end in -al,
-an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words with the prefix ge- and most
nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.
All nouns in German are capitalized in writing.
All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what function they
serve in the sentence. These may seem strange, but remember that English uses cases also;
however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or indirect object instead of dative.
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Although these cases may make learning new words difficult, they actually help with word order
because the position of words in a sentence is not as fixed in German as it is in English. And the
reason for that is because words can occur in these four cases:
Nominative subject of the sentence The girl is reading.
We see the
Accusative direct objects mountain.
I bought a gift.
We talk to the
guide.
Dative indirect objects
I gave my mom a
gift.
indicates possession or The book of the girl.
Genitive
relationship The dog's tail.
The nouns you look up in a dictionary will be in the nominative case.

5. ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES

Definite Articles (The)
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der (dare) die (dee) das (dahs) die
Accusative den (dane) die das die
Dative dem (dame) der dem den
Genitive des (dess) der des der
Indefinite Articles (A, An)
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. ein (ine) eine (ine-uh) ein
Acc. einen (ine-en) eine ein
Dat. einem (ine-em) einer(ine-er) einem
Gen. eines (ine-es) einer eines
Demonstratives (This, That, These, Those)
This / These That / Those
Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl. Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl.
Nom. dieser diese dieses diese der die das die
Acc. diesen diese dieses diese den die das die
Dat. diesem dieser diesem diesen dem der dem den
Gen. dieses dieser dieses dieser des der des der

Jener is an older word found in written German that was used to mean that or those, but today in
spoken German the definite articles are used. Dort or da may accompany the definite articles
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for emphasis. Das is also a universal demonstrative and therefore shows no agreement. Notice
the last letter of each of the words above. They correspond to the last letters of the words for the
definite articles. Words that are formed this same way are called der-words because they follow
the pattern of the der-die-das declension. Other der-words are: jeder-every, and welcher-
which. Mancher (many) and solcher (such) are also der-words, but they are used almost
always in the plural.

6. SUBJECT (NOMINATIVE) PRONOUNS

Subject Pronouns

ich ikh I wir veer we

du doo you (familiar) ihr eer you (all)

er, sie, es, man air, zee, ess, mahn he, she, it, one sie, Sie zee they, you (formal)

Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When referring to nouns as it,
you use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es for neuter nouns. However, the
definite articles der, die and das can be substituted for er, sie and es to show more emphasis.

7. TO BE, TO HAVE, & TO BECOME

Present tense of sein - to be (zine)

I am ich bin ikh bin we are wir sind veer zint
you are (familiar) du bist doo bihst you (plural) are ihr seid eer zide
air/zee/ess
he/she/it is er/sie/es ist they/you (formal) are sie/Sie sind zee zint
isst

Past tense of sein

veer vah-
I was ich war ikh var we were wir waren
ren
you were
du warst doo varst you (plural) were ihr wart eer vart
(familiar)
er/sie/es they/you (formal) sie/Sie
he/she/it was air/zee/es var zee vah-ren
war were waren

Present tense of haben - to have (hah-ben)

ich habe hah-buh wir haben hah-ben
du hast hahst ihr habt hahbt
er/sie/es hat haht sie/Sie haben hah-ben

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Past tense of haben

ich hatte hah-tuh wir hatten hah-ten
du hattest hah-test ihr hattet hah-tet
er/sie/es hatte hah-tuh sie/Sie hatten hah-ten

Present tense of werden - to become (vair-den)

ich werde vair-duh wir werden vair-den
du wirst veerst ihr werdet vair-det
er/sie/es wird veert sie/Sie werden vair-den

Past tense of werden

ich wurde voor-duh wir wurden voor-den
du wurdest voor-dest ihr wurdet voor-det
er/sie/es wurde voor-duh sie/Sie wurden voor-den
Haben is frequently used in expressions that would normally take to be in English.
Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry.
Ich hatte Durst. = I was thirsty.
Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored.
Ich hatte Heimweh. = I was homesick.
Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid.
In everyday speech, the final -e on the ich conjugations can be dropped: ich hab' or hab' ich

8. USEFUL WORDS
and und oont isn't it? nicht wahr? nikht vahr
but aber ah-ber too bad schade shah-duh
very sehr zair gladly gern gehrn
or oder oh-der immediately sofort zoh-fort
here hier here sure(ly) sicher(lich) zikh-er-likh
also auch owkh but, rather sondern zohn-dehrn
both beide by-duh finally schließlich shleess-likh
some etwas eht-vahss right! stimmt shtimt
only nur noor anyway überhaupt oo-ber-howpt
again wieder vee-der enough genug guh-nook
hopefully hoffentlich hoh-fent-likh exact(ly) genau guh-now
between zwischen zvish-en sometimes manchmal mahnch-mal
therefore deshalb des-halp always immer im-er
a lot, many viel(e) feel(uh) never nie nee
really wirklich veerk-lish often oft ohft
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together zusammen tsoo-zah-men of course klar klahr

all alle ahl-luh perhaps vielleicht fee-likht
now jetzt yetst a little ein bisschen ine biss-khen
so also al-zoh a little ein wenig ine vay-nikh
another noch ein nohkh ine not at all gar nicht gar nikht
already schon shone not a bit kein bisschen kine biss-khen
Es gibt is commonly used to mean there is/are and it is always followed by the accusative
case.

9. QUESTION WORDS

Whom
Who wer vehr wen vain
(acc.)
Whom
What was vahs wem vaim
(dat.)
vah- How
Why warum wieso vee-zo
room come
Where
When wann vahn woher vo-hair
from
Where wo voh Where to wohin vo-hin
welche/- velsh-
How wie vee Which
r/-s uh/er/es

10. NUMBERS / DIE NUMMERN

0 null nool
1 eins ines 1st erste
2 zwei tsvy 2nd zweite
3 drei dry 3rd dritte
4 vier feer 4th vierte
5 fünf fewnf 5th fünfte
6 sechs zecks 6th sechste
7 sieben zee-bun 7th siebte
8 acht ahkht 8th achte
9 neun noyn 9th neunte
10 zehn tsayn 10th zehnte
11 elf elf 11th elfte
12 zwölf tsvurlf 12th zwölfte
13 dreizehn dry-tsayn 13th dreizehnte
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14 vierzehn feer-tsayn 14th vierzehnte

15 fünfzehn fewnf-tsayn 15th fünfzehnte
16 sechzehn zeck-tsayn 16th sechzehnte
17 siebzehn zeep-tsayn 17th siebzehnte
18 achtzehn ahkh-tsayn 18th achtzehnte
19 neunzehn noyn-tsayn 19th neunzehnte
20 zwanzig tsvahn-tsikh 20th zwanzigste
21 einundzwanzig ine-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 21st einundzwanzigste
22 zweiundzwanzig tsvy-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 22nd zweiundzwanzigste
23 dreiundzwanzig dry-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 23rd dreiundzwanzigste
24 vierundzwanzig feer-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 24th vierundzwanzigste
30 dreißig dry-sikh 30th dreißigste
40 vierzig feer-tsikh 40th vierzigste
50 fünfzig fewnf-tsikh 50th fünfzigste
60 sechzig zekh-tsikh 60th sechzigste
70 siebzig zeep-tsikh 70th siebzigste
80 achtzig ahkh-tsikh 80th achtzigste
90 neunzig noyn-tsikh 90th neunzigste
100 (ein)hundert ine-hoon-duhrt
1,000 (ein)tausend ine-tow-zuhnt
Sometimes zwo (tsvoh) is used instead of zwei to avoid confusion with drei when talking on the
telephone. The use of commas and periods is switched in German, though a space is
commonly used to separate thousandths, i.e. 1,000 would be 1 000. When saying telephone
numbers, you can either say each number individually or group them in twos. For years, you use
the hundreds: 1972 is neunzehn hundert zweiundsiebzig; or the thousands: 2005 is zwei tausend
fünf.
Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born?
Ich bin in 1982 geboren. I was born in 1982.

11. DAYS OF THE WEEK / DIE TAGE

Monday Montag mohn-tahk
Tuesday Dienstag deens-tahk
Wednesday Mittwoch mit-vock
Thursday Donnerstag don-ers-tahk
Friday Freitag fry-tahk
Saturday Samstag zahms-tahk
(N & E Germany) Sonnabend zon-nah-bent
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Sunday Sonntag zon-tahk

day der Tag (-e) dehr tahk
morning der Morgen (-) mawr-gun
afternoon der Nachmittag (-e) nakh-mih-tahk
evening der Abend (-e) ah-bunt
night die Nacht (ä, -e) nahkt
today heute hoy-tuh
tomorrow morgen mawr-gun
tonight heute Abend hoy-tuh ah-bunt
yesterday gestern geh-stairn
last night gestern Abend geh-stairn ah-bunt
week die Woche (-n) voh-kuh
weekend das Wochenende (-n) voh-ken-en-duh
daily täglich teh-glikh
weekly wöchentlich wer-khent-likh
To say on a certain day or the weekend, use am. Add an -s to the day to express "on Mondays,
Tuesdays, etc." All days, months and seasons are masculine so they all use the same form of
these words: jeden - every, nächsten - next, letzten - last (as in the last of a series), vorigen -
previous. In der Woche is the expression for "during the week" in Northern and Eastern
Germany, while unter der Woche is used in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

12. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / DIE MONATE

January Januar yah-noo-ahr
(Austria) Jänner yeh-ner
February Februar fay-broo-ahr
March März mehrts
April April ah-pril
May Mai my
June Juni yoo-nee
July Juli yoo-lee
August August ow-goost
September September zehp-tehm-ber
October Oktober ok-toh-ber
November November no-vehm-ber
December Dezember deh-tsem-ber

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month der Monat (-e) moh-naht

year das Jahr (-e) yaar

monthly monatlich moh-naht-likh
yearly jährlich jehr-likh
To say in a certain month, use im.
Wann hast du Geburtstag? When is your birthday?
Mein Geburtstag ist im Mai. My birthday is in May.

13. SEASONS / DIE JAHRESZEITEN

Winter der Winter dehr vin-ter
Spring der Frühling dehr frew-ling
Summer der Sommer dehr zom-mer
Autumn der Herbst dehr hehrpst
To say in the + a season, use im.

14. DIRECTIONS / DIE RICHTUNGEN

right rechts
left links
straight geradeaus
North der Norden
South der Süden
East der Osten
West der Westen

im Norden = in the North

nach Osten = to the East
aus Westen = from the West

15. COLORS & SHAPES / DIE FARBEN & DIE FORMEN

orange orange square das Viereck
pink rosa circle der Kreis
purple violett / lila triangle das Dreieck
blue blau rectangle das Rechteck
yellow gelb oval das Oval
red rot octagon das Achteck

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black schwarz cube der Würfel

brown braun sphere die Kugel
gray grau cone der Kegel
white weiß cylinder der Zylinder
green grün
turquoise türkis
beige beige
silver silber
gold gold

Because colors are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they
describe if they are placed before the noun. However, not all adjectives agree, such as colors
ending in -a or -e; nor do they agree when they are used as predicate adjectives. More about
Adjectives in German III. To say that a color is light, put hell- before it, and to say that a color is
dark, put dunkel- before it.
Das Viereck ist braun. The square is brown.
Das Rechteck ist hellblau. The rectange is light blue.

16. TIME / DIE ZEIT

What time is it? Wie spät ist es? vee shpayt isst ess
(It is) 2 AM Es ist zwei Uhr nachts ess ist tsvy oor nahkts
2 PM Es ist zwei Uhr nachmittags tsvy oor nahk-mih-tahks
6:20 Es ist sechs Uhr zwanzig zex oor tsvahn-tsikh
half past 3 Es ist halb vier hahlp feer
quarter past 4 Es ist Viertel nach vier feer-tel nahk feer
quarter to 5 Es ist Viertel vor fünf feer-tel for fewnf
10 past 11 Es ist zehn nach elf tsyan nahk elf
20 to 7 Es ist zwanzig vor sieben tsvahn-tsikh for zee-bun
noon Es ist nachmittag nakh-mih-tahk
midnight Es ist mitternacht mih-ter-nahk
in the morning morgens / früh mawr-guns / frew
in the evening abends aah-bunts
It's exactly... Es ist genau... ess ist guh-now
At 8. Um 8 Uhr. oom akht oor
early(ier) früh(er) frew(er)
late(r) spät(er) shpayt(er)

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Official time, such as for bus and train schedules, always uses the 24 hour clock. Notice that
halb + number means half to, not half past, so you have to use the hour that comes next.

17. WEATHER / DAS WETTER

How's the weather Wie ist das Wetter

vie ist dahs vet-ter hoy-tuh
today? heute?
It's hot Es ist heiß ess isst hise
It's cold Es ist kalt ess isst kahlt
It's beautiful Es ist schön ess isst shern
It's bad Es ist schlecht ess isst shlehkt
It's clear Es ist klar ess isst klahr
It's icy Es ist eisig ess isst ise-ikh
It's warm Es ist warm ess isst varm
It's sunny Es ist sonnig ess isst zohn-ikh
It's windy Es ist windig ess isst vin-dikh
It's cloudy Es ist bewölkt ess isst beh-verlkt
It's hazy Es ist dunstig ess isst doons-tikh
It's muggy Es ist schwül ess isst schvool
It's humid Es ist feucht ess isst foikht
It's foggy Es ist nebelig ess isst neh-beh-likh
It's snowing Es schneit ess schnite
It's raining Es regnet ess rayg-net
It's freezing Es friert ess freert
Es sieht nach Regen
It looks like rain. es seet nahkh ray-gen ows
aus.
Das Wetter klärt sich
The weather is clearing dahs vett-er klairt sikh owf
auf.

18. FAMILY / DIE FAMILIE

Parents die Eltern Relative der Verwandte (-n)
Mother die Mutter (ü) Man der Mann (ä, -er)
Father der Vater (ä) Sir / Mister der Herr (-en)
Woman / Ma'am / Mrs. /
Son der Sohn (ö, -e) die Frau (-en)
Ms.
Daughter die Tochter (ö) Husband der Ehemann (ä, -er)
Brother der Bruder (ü) Wife die Ehefrau (-en)
Sister die Schwester (-n) Boy der Junge (-n)
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Grandparents die Großeltern Girl das Mädchen (-)

Grandfather der Großvater (ä) Grandpa der Opa (-s)
Grandmother die Großmutter (ü) Grandma die Oma (-s)
Grandchildren die Enkelkinder Dad der Vati
Grandson der Enkel (-) Mom die Mutti
Granddaughter die Enkelin (-nen) Friend (m) der Freund (-e)
Niece die Nichte (-n) Friend (f) die Freundin (-nen)
Partner / Significant
Nephew der Neffe (-n) der Partner (-)
Other (m)
Partner / Significant
Cousin (m) der Vetter (-n) die Partnerin (-nen)
Other (f)
Cousin (f) die Kusine (-n) Marital Status der Familienstand
Uncle der Onkel (-) Single ledig
Aunt die Tante (-n) Married verheiratet
Siblings die Geschwister Divorced geschieden
Baby das Baby (-s) Male männlich
Godfather der Pate (-n) Female weiblich
Godmother die Patin (-nen) Child das Kind (-er)
Step- der/die Stief- Toddler das Kleinkind (-er)
-in-law der/die Schwieger- Teenager der Teenager (-)
Brother-in-law der Schwager (ä) Adult der Erwachsene (-n)
die Schwägerin (-
Sister-in-law Twin der Zwilling (-e)
nen)

The letters in parentheses indicate the plural form of the noun. Notice that sometimes an umlaut
is placed over the main vowel of the word in the plural. For example, der Mann is singular (the
man) and die Männer is plural (the men). For step- and -in-law relations, just add Stief- or
Schwieger- before the main person, except in the case of brother-in-law and sister-in-law noted
above. The plurals follow the pattern for the main person, i.e. die Schwiegermutter (singular)
and die Schwiegermütter (plural)

19. TO KNOW PEOPLE & FACTS

kennen - to know people wissen - to know facts
ich kenne ken-nuh wir kennen ken-nun ich weiß vise wir wissen vih-sun
du kennst kenst ihr kennt kent du weißt vist ihr wisst vihst
er/sie/es sie/Sie er/sie/es sie/Sie
kennt kent kennen ken-nun weiß vise wissen vih-sun

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Kennen is a regular verb, while wissen is irregular in the present tense. You must use the subject
pronouns (ich, du, er...); however, I will leave them out of future conjugations.

20. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS

Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it's best to memorize the plural form with the
singular. However, here are some rules that can help:
1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en. Nouns that end in -in (such as the female equivalents
of masculine nouns) add -nen.
eine Lampe zwei Lampen
eine Tür zwei Türen
eine Studentin zwei Studentinnen
eine Gabel zwei Gabeln
2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er. Many masculine plural nouns ending in -e
add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don't. Plurals that end in -er add an
umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au.
Masculine Neuter
ein Rock zwei Röcke ein Heft zwei Hefte
ein Mann zwei Männer ein Buch zwei Bücher

3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change nothing at
all. Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut. Masculine and neuter singular
nouns that end in -el also add nothing at all (with three exceptions: Pantoffel, Stachel, Muskel).
Masculine Neuter
ein Bruder zwei Brüder ein Fenster zwei Fenster
ein Kegel zwei Kegel ein Mittel zwei Mittel
4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin add -s.
ein Hobby zwei Hobbys
ein Hotel zwei Hotels

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