How many words are there in German?
An estimate suggests that there are at least 300,000 German words in the dictionary, with millions more when you consider compound words formed by combining two words.
Such as:
- Fernseher - television, (far viewer)
- Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung - speed limit, (speed limitation)
- Handschuhe - gloves, (hand shoes)
- Zahnarzt - dentist, (tooth doctor")
There's no secret on how to learn and build your german vocabulary: reading will help you a lot.
If you are under the impression that reading isn't sufficient, mayhaps you ought to try Wunderbla: the first seven days are free!
Learning the most common German words
When you begin to learn German, it's useful to know that many English words have Germanic origins. They both share Germanic roots, which aids in understanding and speaking the language.
Essential German words for daily use
| guten morgen | good morning |
| guten Tag | good day |
| guten abend | good evening |
| gute nacht | good night |
| hallo | hello |
| tschüss | bye |
| danke | thank you |
| deutsch | German |
| englisch | English |
| wie geht es dir | how are you |
| nein | no |
| ja | yes |
| liebe | love |
| katze | cat |
| hund | dog |
Common food words in German
| kaffee | coffee |
| bier | beer |
| tee | tea |
| wein | wine |
| wasser | water |
| brot | bread |
| reis | rice |
| wurst | sausage |
| currywurst | curry sausage |
| fisch | fish |
| hühnchen | chicken |
| rindfleisch | beef |
| schweinefleisch | pork |
Here are five German dishes to practice your German vocabulary and culture.
Counting up to 10 in German
Learn numbers in German with the following table!| null | zero |
| eins | one |
| zwei | two |
| drei | three |
| vier | four |
| fünf | five |
| sechs | six |
| sieben | seven |
| acht | eight |
| neun | nine |
| zehn | ten |
Most Common Verbs in German
| sprechen | speak |
| nehmen | take |
| kaufen | buy |
| wissen | know |
| sehen | see |
| fragen | ask |
| denhen | think |
| wollen | want |
| kommen | come |
If you need help with your conjugation, you can use our conjugator!
Important words for places in German
| supermarkt | supermarket |
| bäckerei | bakery |
| krankenhaus | hospital |
| polizei | police |
| arzt | doctor |
| lehrerin | teacher (female) |
| schule | school |
Time in German
| jahr | year |
| monate | months |
| stunde | hour |
| morgen | tomorrow |
| heute | today |
| gestern | yesterday |
| uhr | clock |
| minute | minute |
| sekunde | second |
| Es ist 8 Uhr 15 | It is 8h15 |
Days in German
| Montag | Monday |
| Dienstag | Tuesday |
| Mittwoch | Wednesday |
| Donnerstag | Thursday |
| Freitag | Friday |
| Samstag | Saturday |
| Sonntag | Sunday |
| Wir sind der 2. Januar 2024 | It is January 2, 2024 |
Months in German
| Januar | January |
| Februar | February |
| März | March |
| April | April |
| Mai | May |
| Juni | June |
| Juli | July |
| August | August |
| September | September |
| Oktober | October |
| November | November |
| Dezember | December |
Common and Useful Adjectives in German
| klein | small |
| gut | good |
| schlecht | bad |
| schön | beautiful |
| einfach | simple |
Describing the body parts in German
| hand | hand |
| arm | arm |
| finger | finger |
| Fuß | foot |
| kopf | head |
How to build vocabulary with Wunderbla
You’ll learn hundreds of words & phrases listed below with our online German course.
Our short, 10-minute lessons are sent on a daily basis so that you can focus on learning instead of planning to learn. No cramming involved: our spaced learning approach helps you retain the words you learn over the long term.
Vocabulary is a serious matter, but you can make it fun with Wunderbla. Our lessons are story-driven - you don't just learn from a vocabulary list, you learn with context. Solidify the vocabulary you’ve built up, and learn more efficiently with our artificial intelligence engine.
Already know a word? No problemo (we have a Spanish course available as well!). Our daily lessons are also personalized based on what you know and what you need to know. You get to tailor your own learning experience easily.
Wunderbla delivers short, personalized and fun lessons. Our goal: your motivation, participation and progress.
Words & phrases you can learn with Wunderbla
Click on any of the letters below to see the full extent of the goodness you can learn with us.
Further reading
Do you need more than words? We've got you covered!
Wunderbla goes beyond words. Grammar, tenses, phrases, business vocabulary, culture... You can learn it all with our online German course.
Try for free today.
If you need further information, check some more of our pages:
- 10 reasons to learn German
- 5 dumb reasons to learn German
- 15 hilarious German insults to swear in style
- 5 German slang words you need to master
- 5 German idioms you’re unlikely to forget
- 5 German expressions that will surprise you
- 5 untranslatable German words
- 5 books to learn German
- 5 podcasts to improve your German skills
- The Word of the Month, in case you need even more words (but in English, this time)
- Learning Spanish vocabulary with Hotel Borbollón
- Building French vocabulary with Frantastique
- Building English vocabulary with Gymglish
- Building Italian vocabulary with Saga Baldoria
