{"id":93073,"date":"2023-04-14T19:55:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T23:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/how-to-learn-german-vocabulary\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T10:49:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T14:49:25","slug":"how-to-learn-german-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/how-to-learn-german-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"189 Common German Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are hundreds of thousands (potentially millions) of German words<\/a> hanging around, just waiting to be learned and used. But as a newcomer to German vocabulary, you’ll need to prioritize certain ones.<\/p>\n

I’ve chosen 189 German words based on frequency and usefulness. Learn these, and you’ll be much better off in your next German conversation.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Common German Nouns<\/h2>\n

German nouns<\/a> are gendered and paired with the appropriate pronoun: d<\/em>er <\/em>is the masculine pronoun, die <\/em>is feminine, das <\/em>is neuter and\u00a0die\u00a0<\/em>is also used for plural nouns.<\/p>\n

Let’s go over some of the critical ones you should know.<\/p>\n

1. der Mann <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 man<\/p>\n

2. die Frau<\/em> \u2014 woman<\/p>\n

3. das Kind<\/em> \u2014 child<\/p>\n

4. der Junge<\/em> \u2014 boy<\/p>\n

5. das M\u00e4dchen<\/em> \u2014 girl<\/p>\n

6. der Freund<\/em> \u2014 friend<\/p>\n

7. die Leute<\/em> \u2014 people (plural)<\/p>\n

8. die Familie<\/em> \u2014 family<\/a><\/p>\n

9. die Arbeit<\/em> \u2014 work<\/p>\n

10. die Stadt<\/em> \u2014 city<\/p>\n

11. das Ding<\/em> \u2014 thing<\/p>\n

12. das Beispiel<\/em> \u2014 example<\/p>\n

13. die Frage<\/em> \u2014 question<\/p>\n

14. das Problem<\/em> \u2014 problem<\/p>\n

15. das Leben<\/em> \u2014 life<\/p>\n

16. das Geld<\/em> \u2014 money<\/p>\n

17. das Essen<\/em> \u2014 food<\/p>\n

18. das Haus<\/em> \u2014 house<\/p>\n

German Prepositions<\/h2>\n

German prepositions<\/a> take different cases<\/a>. Some can take on more than one, with a rule of thumb being that the dative is used for stasis or location and the accusative used for describing movement or a change of state.<\/p>\n

Be aware that using the wrong case can imply a different meaning!<\/p>\n

19. von<\/em> \u2014 by, of, from (dative)<\/p>\n

20. um<\/em> \u2014 about, around, at (accusative)<\/p>\n

21. zu<\/em> \u2014 to, towards (dative)<\/p>\n

22. bis<\/em> \u2014 until, by, up to (accusative)<\/p>\n

23. an <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 to, on (accusative or dative)<\/p>\n

24. auf<\/em> \u2014 on, to, upon (accusative or dative)<\/p>\n

25. aus<\/em> \u2014 from, out of (dative)<\/p>\n

26. bei<\/em> \u2014 by, at, near, in (dative)<\/p>\n

27. seit<\/em> \u2014 since, for (dative)<\/p>\n

28. f\u00fcr<\/em> \u2014 for (accusative)<\/p>\n

29. vor<\/em> \u2014 before, in front of (dative)<\/p>\n

30. nach<\/em> \u2014 after, towards (dative)<\/p>\n

31. in<\/em> \u2014 in (accusative or dative)<\/p>\n

32. durch <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 through (accusative)<\/p>\n

33. mit<\/em> \u2014 with (dative)<\/p>\n

34. neben<\/em> \u2014 beside, near (dative)<\/p>\n

German Pronouns<\/h2>\n

German pronouns<\/a>\u00a0can be a little tricky for learners because they change depending on the case and, at times, gender. We’ll go over the pronouns in their nominative, accusative and dative forms (in that order).<\/p>\n

35. ich <\/em>\/ mich<\/em> \/ mir<\/em> \u2014 I \/ me<\/p>\n

36. du <\/em> \/ dich <\/em> \/ dir <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 you (informal, singular)<\/p>\n

37. er <\/em> \/ ihn <\/em> \/ ihm\u00a0\u2014 he \/ him \/ it (for masculine nouns)<\/p>\n

38. sie <\/em> \/ sie <\/em> \/ ihr<\/em> \u2014 she \/ her \/ it (for feminine nouns)<\/p>\n

39. es <\/em> \/ es <\/em> \/ ihm<\/em> \u2014 it (for neuter nouns)\u00a0<\/p>\n

40. wir <\/em> \/ uns <\/em> \/ uns<\/em> \u2014 we \/ us<\/p>\n

41. ihr <\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\/ euch <\/em> \/ euch<\/em> \u2014 you (informal, plural)<\/p>\n

42. sie <\/em> \/ sie<\/em> \/ ihnen <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 they \/ them<\/p>\n

43. Sie<\/em> \/ Sie<\/em> \/ Ihnen <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 you (formal, singular and plural)<\/p>\n

Common German Phrases<\/h2>\n

Few conversations would feel complete without the bare essentials of phrases. These are the basic German phrases<\/a> and expressions that you’re bound to use in any chat you have, no matter how long or short.<\/p>\n

44. Hallo<\/em> \u2014 Hello<\/p>\n

45. Guten Morgen <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Good morning<\/p>\n

46. Guten Abend <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Good afternoon<\/p>\n

47. Gute Nacht<\/em> \u2014 Good night<\/a><\/p>\n

48. Ich hei\u00dfe…<\/em> \u2014 My name is…<\/p>\n

49. Wie geht’s? <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 How are you? (informal)<\/p>\n

50. Auf Wiedersehen<\/em> \u2014 <\/em>Goodbye \/ See you again<\/p>\n

51. Tsch\u00fcss<\/em> \u2014 Bye<\/p>\n

52. Gesundheit<\/em> \u2014 Bless you<\/p>\n

53. Ja<\/em> \u2014 Yes<\/p>\n

54. Nein<\/em> \u2014 No<\/p>\n

55. Vielleicht <\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Maybe \/ Perhaps<\/p>\n

56. Bitte<\/em> \u2014 Please \/ You’re welcome<\/p>\n

57. Entschuldigung <\/em>\u2014 Excuse me<\/p>\n

58. Danke<\/em> \u00a0<\/em>\u2014 Thanks<\/p>\n

59. Es tut mir leid<\/em> \u2014 I’m sorry<\/p>\n

60. Genau<\/em> \u2014 Exactly \/ That’s right<\/p>\n

61. Ach so<\/em> \u2014 I see<\/p>\n

To get to know more everyday phrases in German, you can watch the videos on FluentU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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