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Basic German words for beginners: 25 words with examples

🇩🇪 GermanA125 words

These are the words you need in your first days of German: greetings, polite words, time words and a few everyday nouns and adjectives. Every noun comes with its article — der, die or das — because in German the gender is part of the word, and every example is everyday Standard German as spoken in Germany.

Where you will use it: First conversations, shops, cafés and everyday situations in Germany.

Basic German words — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

GermanMeaning and example
hallohello“Hallo, ich heiße Anna.”Hello, my name is Anna.
tschüssbye (informal)“Tschüss, bis morgen!”Bye, see you tomorrow!
guten Morgengood morning“Guten Morgen, wie geht's?”Good morning, how are you?
dankethank you“Danke für den Kaffee.”Thank you for the coffee.
bitteplease; you're welcome“Ein Wasser, bitte.”A water, please.
jayes“Ja, das ist richtig.”Yes, that's right.
neinno“Nein, ich habe heute keine Zeit.”No, I don't have time today.
Entschuldigungexcuse me; sorry“Entschuldigung, wo ist der Bahnhof?”Excuse me, where is the station?
die Frauthe woman; Mrs“Die Frau wartet an der Ampel.”The woman is waiting at the traffic light.
der Mannthe man“Der Mann liest die Zeitung.”The man is reading the newspaper.
das Kindthe child“Das Kind spielt im Garten.”The child is playing in the garden.
der Freundthe friend; boyfriend“Mein Freund wohnt in Hamburg.”My friend lives in Hamburg.
heutetoday“Heute ist das Wetter schön.”The weather is nice today.
morgentomorrow“Morgen fahre ich nach Köln.”Tomorrow I'm going to Cologne.
gesternyesterday“Gestern war ich im Kino.”Yesterday I was at the cinema.
jetztnow“Ich habe jetzt Feierabend.”I'm finishing work now.
gutgood; well“Das Essen ist sehr gut.”The food is very good.
schlechtbad“Heute geht es mir schlecht.”I'm not feeling well today.
großbig; tall“Berlin ist eine große Stadt.”Berlin is a big city.
kleinsmall“Wir haben eine kleine Wohnung.”We have a small flat.
das Wasserthe water“Ich trinke viel Wasser.”I drink a lot of water.
das Brotthe bread“Das Brot ist noch warm.”The bread is still warm.
die Stadtthe town; city“Die Stadt hat einen schönen Marktplatz.”The town has a beautiful market square.
das Hausthe house“Das Haus hat einen Garten.”The house has a garden.
viela lot; much“Vielen Dank für die Hilfe!”Thank you very much for the help!

Tips for learning German words

  • Learn der, die or das with every nounThe article is part of the word: der Zug, die Fahrkarte, das Gleis. It decides the case endings and adjectives, so learn it from day one.
  • Type the umlauts and ßWrite ä, ö, ü and ß, not a, o, u or ss: schon means "already" but schön means "beautiful". Getting them right in WordNest trains your spelling.
  • Watch the verb positionIn a German main clause the verb comes second, and separable verbs split: "Ich rufe dich morgen an." Read each example aloud to feel the word order.

Standard German as used in Germany

German is spoken in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and a few everyday words differ between them: a tomato is a Tomate in Germany and a Paradeiser in Austria, a bicycle is a Fahrrad rather than a Velo. These lists follow Standard German (Hochdeutsch) as used in Germany, and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will be understood in every German-speaking country.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

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Questions about this list

Is this German from Germany, Austria or Switzerland?

Standard German (Hochdeutsch) as used in Germany. Where Austria or Switzerland usually use a different word, the list gives the one used in Germany, but every word is understood across the German-speaking world.

How do I practise Basic German words?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the German word, with its article, from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

Create a free account, choose German as a study language and add these words to your own deck.

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