133 Adjectives in German to Add a Splash of Color to Your Studies
Adjectives have the power to change a sentence from bland and unimaginative to colorful and engaging.
Learn everything you need to know about how adjectives work in German, along with over 130 useful German adjectives.
Explore German adjectives to help you express everything from colors to emotions.
Add a splash of color to your language studies with these vibrant adjectives in German!
Contents
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What Are Adjectives?
Adjectives are words used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They provide more information about the noun by indicating its size, color, shape, age or other qualities.
Adjectives can be comparative (showing a comparison between two things—”bigger”) or superlative (indicating the highest degree—”the biggest”). They help in providing a clearer, more detailed picture of the noun they modify.
Adjective Endings
In English, adjectives generally remain the same regardless of the gender or case of the noun. But when an adjective comes before a noun in German, you need to add an ending to it!
There are several possible endings, the most common of which are -e or -en.
Which ending you use depends on whether the noun you are describing is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural, which case (nominative, accusative, dative or genitive) the noun is in and what kind of article (words like “the” or “a”) is used before it. This rather convoluted process is known as adjective declension in German.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t fret! Adjective endings are one of the most complicated parts of learning German, but luckily getting them wrong won’t mean you’ll be misunderstood!
What’s more, we’ve even got a blog post full about how to get them right every time:
2 Simple Steps to Always Get German Adjective Endings Right
Do German adjectives confuse you? Follow this simple guide to always use the right German adjective endings!
Adjective Placement in German
Just like in English, adjectives can come before or after nouns. We call this either attributive or predicative.
- Attributive Adjectives: These come before a noun and therefore need one of those aforementioned tricksy endings:
Der große Baum (The big tree)
Eine kleine schwarze Katze. (A little black cat)
Sie sang ein schönes, altes Lied. (She sang a beautiful, old song.)
- Predicative Adjectives: These come after the noun and so don’t need any sort of ending, so you can just use them straight out of the box! They are generally introduced via verbs like “sein” (to be), “werden” (to become, to get), “bleiben” (to stay), amongst others
Der Baum ist groß. (The tree is big.)
Sie wird wütend. (She gets angry.)
Er bleibt gesund. (He stays healthy.)
You can get a better handle on using German adjectives by watching them in use, like in the videos you’ll find on the FluentU program.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
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With that out of the way, you’re ready to learn some essential German adjectives!
Colors
| German | English |
|---|---|
| rot | red |
| blau | blue |
| grün | green |
| gelb | yellow |
| schwarz | black |
| weiß | white |
| braun | brown |
| orange | orange (This one never gains endings, even before a noun) |
| grau | gray |
| pink | pink (This one never gains endings, even before a noun) |
| lila | lilac/purple (This one never gains endings, even before a noun) |
| türkis | turquoise |
| silbern | silver |
| marineblau | navy blue |
| himmelblau | sky blue |
Size and Shape
| German | English |
|---|---|
| groß | big/large |
| klein | small |
| riesig | huge |
| winzig | tiny |
| lang | long |
| kurz | short |
| breit | wide |
| schmal | narrow |
| hoch | tall/high |
| niedrig | low |
| dick | thick |
| dünn | thin |
| eckig | angular |
| tief | deep |
| flach | flat |
| voluminös | voluminous |
| schlank | slender |
| zierlich | dainty |
| unförmig | misshapen |
| gleichmäßig | uniform |
| rund | round |
| viereckig | square |
| rechteckig | rectangular |
| oval | oval |
| kugelförmig | spherical |
| zylindrisch | cylindrical |
| symmetrisch | symmetrical |
| asymmetrisch | asymmetrical |
Time
| German | English |
|---|---|
| früh | early |
| spät | late |
| rechtzeitig | timely |
| unmittelbar | immediate |
| baldig | imminent |
| pünktlich | punctual |
| langwierig | lengthy |
| kurzfristig | short-term |
| langfristig | long-term |
| eilig | hurried |
| ständig | constant |
| augenblicklich | instantaneous |
| alltäglich | everyday |
| täglich | daily |
| wöchentlich | weekly |
| monatlich | monthly |
| jährlich | yearly |
| stündlich | hourly |
| plötzlich | sudden |
Quality
| German | English |
|---|---|
| gut | good |
| schlecht | bad |
| ausgezeichnet | excellent |
| hervorragend | outstanding |
| perfekt | perfect |
| fehlerhaft | faulty |
| makellos | flawless |
| mangelhaft | deficient |
| hochwertig | high-quality |
| minderwertig | low-quality |
| erstklassig | first-class |
| zweitklassig | second-rate |
| einwandfrei | impeccable |
| akzeptabel | acceptable |
| bemerkenswert | remarkable |
| unzureichend | inadequate |
| fabelhaft | fabulous |
| vorzüglich | superb |
| durchschnittlich | average |
| überragend | superior |
Emotions
| German | English |
|---|---|
| glücklich | happy |
| traurig | sad |
| aufgeregt | excited |
| gelassen | calm |
| verärgert | angry |
| wütend | furious |
| verliebt | in love |
| gestresst | stressed |
| müde | tired |
| erstaunt | amazed |
| verwirrt | confused |
| ängstlich | anxious |
| dankbar | grateful |
| enttäuscht | disappointed |
| begeistert | enthusiastic |
| zufrieden | content |
| frustriert | frustrated |
| hoffnungsvoll | hopeful |
| verzweifelt | desperate |
| eifersüchtig | jealous |
| einsam | lonely |
| euphorisch | euphoric |
Personality Traits
| German | English |
|---|---|
| freundlich | friendly |
| schüchtern | shy |
| extrovertiert | extroverted |
| introvertiert | introverted |
| aufgeschlossen | open-minded |
| ehrgeizig | ambitious |
| faul | lazy |
| fleißig | hardworking |
| geduldig | patient |
| ungeduldig | impatient |
| selbstbewusst | self-confident |
| unsicher | insecure |
| gesellig | sociable |
| zurückhaltend | reserved |
| mutig | courageous |
| ängstlich | fearful |
| humorvoll | humorous |
| ernsthaft | serious |
| optimistisch | optimistic |
| pessimistisch | pessimistic |
| einfühlsam | empathetic |
| egoistisch | selfish |
| großzügig | generous |
| geizig | stingy |
| entschlossen | determined |
| nachdenklich | thoughtful |
| impulsiv | impulsive |
| verantwortungsvoll | responsible |
| rücksichtslos | inconsiderate/reckless |
Turn your sentences into works of art—so paint your German sentences with these colorful German adjectives!
And One More Thing...
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