52 Ways to Say “Beautiful” and “You’re Beautiful” in German [With Audio]
There are so many things we can describe as beautiful in the world.
So high time you added some German adjectives to your vocabulary to talk about die Schönheit (beauty)!
In this post, we’ll go over 28 different ways to say “beautiful” in German along with 24 ways to say “You’re beautiful.”
With these new words and phrases, you’ll be able to compliment and appreciate beauty like a native speaker!
Contents
- How to Say “Beautiful” in German
- More German Words for “Beautiful”
- How to Say “You’re Beautiful” in German
- How to Practice Saying “Beautiful” in German
- And One More Thing...
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How to Say “Beautiful” in German
Schön
The most basic word for “beautiful” in German is schön:
Der Park ist im Frühling schön. (The park is beautiful in spring.)
This word could also be translated as just “pretty” or “cute,” and we often use the next word to describe true beauty. Schön is definitely a positive word, but it’s not over the top so you can use it in a variety of situations.
Remember that when the adjective comes before the noun it modifies, you must adjust its ending according to the gender, number and case of the noun. For example:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Das ist eine schöne Blume. | That's a beautiful flower. |
| Sie trägt ein schönes Kleid. | She's wearing a beautiful dress. |
| Er hat einen schönen Garten. | He has a beautiful garden. |
| Es war ein schöner Tag. | It was a beautiful day. |
We also use schön to mean “nice,” “well” and “fine,” among other things.
Wunderschön
Wunderschön is a stronger version of the word schön. We could also translate it as “gorgeous” or “wonderfully beautiful.”
Die Aussicht ist wunderschön. (The view is beautiful.)
This word usually carries more emotion than just schön. We use it with romantic partners, to express gratitude for a present we really like and in other situations that call for something stronger than schön.
If you really want to compliment someone, wunderschön is the way to go. It also gains an ending when placed before the noun it describes:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Das sind wunderschöne Ringe. | Those are beautiful rings. |
| Sie hat ein wunderschönes Lächeln. | She has a wonderful smile. |
| Er hat mir wunderschönen Schmuck geschenkt. | He gave me beautiful jewelry. |
| Es war ein wunderschöner Sonnenuntergang. | It was a beautiful sunset. |
Here’s another example (click on the video thumbnail to watch the clip with FluentU’s interactive subtitles):
More German Words for “Beautiful”
If you want to go beyond schön and wunderschön to speak even more descriptively, you can add some additional adjectives to your vocabulary.
I’ve compiled a list of 26 other ways to describe beautiful or pleasing people, places and things:
| German | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| atemberaubend | breathtaking | Die Aussicht von diesem Berggipfel ist atemberaubend. (The view from this mountain peak is breathtaking.) |
| ansehnlich | handsome (for males) / good-looking | Er ist ein sehr ansehnlicher Mann. (He's a very handsome man.) |
| gutaussehend | handsome / good-looking | Mein Freund ist nicht nur klug, sondern auch sehr gutaussehend. (My boyfriend is not only smart but also very good-looking.) |
| attraktiv | attractive | Ihre Ausstrahlung macht sie sehr attraktiv. (Her charisma makes her very attractive.) |
| bezaubernd | bewitching | Ihr Lächeln ist einfach bezaubernd. (Her smile is simply bewitching.) |
| edel | noble | Das Schloss hat eine edle Atmosphäre. (The castle has a noble atmosphere.) |
| elegant | smart / elegant | Sie trägt immer elegante Kleider. (She always wears elegant dresses.) |
| entzückend | delightful | Die kleinen Kätzchen sind entzückend. (The little kittens are delightful.) |
| vorzüglich | exquisite | Das Essen in diesem Restaurant ist vorzüglich. (The food in this restaurant is exquisite.) |
| glamourös | glamorous | Die Filmstars sahen auf dem roten Teppich glamourös aus. (The movie stars looked glamorous on the red carpet.) |
| herrlich | splendid | Das Feuerwerk am Silvesterabend war einfach herrlich. (The fireworks on New Year's Eve were simply splendid.) |
| hübsch | pretty / cute / nice | Das kleine Mädchen in seinem bunten Kleid sieht sehr hübsch aus. (The little girl in her colorful dress looks very pretty.) |
| niedlich | cute | Die Kinder tragen niedliche Kostüme zum Halloween-Fest. (The children wear cute costumes for the Halloween party.) |
| süß | sweet | Das Baby sieht so süß aus, wenn es schläft. (The baby looks so sweet when it's sleeping.) |
| lieblich | sweet / lovely | Die Blumenwiese hat einen lieblichen Duft. (The flower meadow has a sweet, lovely fragrance.) |
| prächtig | magnificent / gorgeous | Der Palast hat eine prächtige Architektur. (The palace has magnificent architecture.) |
| reizend | charming | Seine Erzählungen über die Reisen waren immer reizend. (His stories about travels were always charming.) |
| schick | stylish | Sie war immer schick gekleidet. (She was always stylishly dressed.) |
| strahlend | radiant | Die Sonne schien, und ihr Lächeln war strahlend. (The sun was shining, and her smile was radiant.) |
| zauberhaft | enchanting | Der Märchenwald hat eine zauberhafte Atmosphäre. (The fairy-tale forest has an enchanting atmosphere.) |
| zierlich | graceful | Ihre Bewegungen auf der Bühne waren zierlich und elegant. (Her movements on stage were graceful and elegant.) |
| bildschön | strikingly beautiful / picture-perfect | Sie sah bei ihrer Hochzeit bildschön aus. (She looked radiantly beautiful on her wedding day.) |
| unglaublich | incredible | Sie hat eine unglaubliche Geschichte erzählt. (She told an incredible story.) |
| blendend | stunning / dazzling | Sie sah in ihrem Abendkleid blendend aus. (She looked stunning in her evening gown.) |
| hinreißend | ravishing / gorgeous / adorable | Das Model sah bei der Modenschau einfach hinreißend aus. (The model looked simply ravishing at the fashion show.) |
| kostbar | precious | Die antiken Juwelen in diesem Museum sind äußerst kostbar. (The ancient jewels in this museum are extremely precious.) |
How to Say “You’re Beautiful” in German
If you have a special someone who speaks German or you just want to compliment a German speaker on their appearance, there are many ways to do it.
The most straightforward way is to say “You’re beautiful” or “You look beautiful” using one of the two adjectives we learned at the beginning of this post:
Du bist schön. (You’re beautiful.)
Du siehst schön aus. (You look beautiful.)
In both of these sentences, you can replace schön with wunderschön to add more emphasis to your compliment. Note that these are in the informal singular form using du.
Here are some more ways you can make someone feel good about their appearance:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Du bist sehr hübsch. | You're really pretty. |
| Du siehst zauberhaft aus. | You look enchanting. |
| Du bist bezaubernd. | You're charming. |
| Du strahlst Schönheit aus. | You radiate beauty. |
| Du bist hinreißend. | You're stunning. |
| Du bist entzückend. | You're delightful. |
| Du bist umwerfend. | You're breathtaking. |
| Deine Schönheit ist atemberaubend. | Your beauty is breathtaking. |
| Du bist eine schöne Frau. | You're a beautiful woman. |
| Du bist ein schöner Mann. | You're a handsome man. |
| Du bist eine wunderschöne Person. | You're a beautiful person. |
| Du bist schön wie ein Engel. | You're beautiful like an angel. |
| Du bist eine Augenweide. | You're a sight for sore eyes. |
| Du siehst bezaubernd aus. | You look enchanting. |
| Du bist bildschön. | You're stunningly beautiful. |
| Du strahlst Eleganz aus. | You radiate elegance. |
| Du bist entzückend. | You're charming. |
| Du bist herrlich anzusehen. | You're wonderfully attractive. |
| Du siehst blendend aus. | You look dazzling. |
| Du bist eine Schönheit. | You're a beauty. |
| Du bist begehrenswert. | You're desirable. |
| Du bist eine wahre Perle. | You're a true pearl. |
While German isn’t exactly known as being a romantic language, I find that my German friends never mind a nice compliment!
How to Practice Saying “Beautiful” in German
With all the different endings for adjectives, it can be a challenge to learn how to say words like “beautiful” in German. To get more practice, you can consume authentic German content like movies and TV shows.
I also find that using flashcards is a simple, effective way to memorize new vocabulary, and having a good flashcard app on your phone makes it easy to practice during those gaps of free time during your day, like when you’re on the bus or waiting for a doctor’s appointment.
For more learner support, you can use a language program like FluentU which utilizes interactive subtitles.
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.
P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
With all the German words and phrases we’ve just gone over, you can easily add some beauty to your conversations.
For even more vocabulary on the theme of beauty, check out these 100+ beautiful German words next!
And One More Thing...
Want to know the key to learning German effectively?
It's using the right content and tools, like FluentU has to offer! Browse hundreds of videos, take endless quizzes and master the German language faster than you've ever imagine!
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And FluentU isn't just for watching videos. It's a complete platform for learning. It's designed to effectively teach you all the vocabulary from any video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you're on.
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