How to Reach B1 Level in English
To learn English is easy. But, to master everything about it and to learn how to use it in a particular context, is harder.
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German is both a useful and beautiful language to learn.
German is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the European Union and is spoken by around 100 million people globally, so it’s a good language to learn whether you are traveling for business or pleasure.
It’s also a very beautiful language with words that are unique to German culture.
Ever heard of “Feierabend”? It’s the German term for the relieved and festive mood that comes over you at the end of a workday. There’s also “ruhe” which is a simple and beautiful German word for “calm.”
Yes, German is a useful and beautiful language that is definitely fun – but a little challenging to learn.
There an estimated 300,000 words that make up the German language, and while that might sound intimidating, you only need to learn about 5% of these words to be able to hold a conversation in German.
To gain fluency in German, you need to focus on learning German common words first. To help get you started, check out our list of common German words below. We’ve also included a downloadable PDF file to help make things easier for you.
Get your copy of 135 common German words
1. Hallo – Hello
Basic greetings are always some of the best places to start when learning any language. So, start with learning the German word for “hello”.
2. Ja – Yes
It’s always a good idea to know how to say “yes” in another language. In German, it’s “ja”.
3. Nien – No
This is how you say “no”.
4. Bitte – Please
If you are making a request, it’s only polite to add “Bitte”
5. Danke – Thank you
This is how you express gratitude.
6. Tschüss– Goodbye
This is the most basic way to say “goodbye” or “farewell" in German.
7. Können – Can
This is the German word for the verb “can”
8. Machen – Do
This means “do” in German.
9. Benutzen – Use
How German speakers say the verb “use”.
10. Gehen – Go
When you mean “go”, you say “gehen’.
11. Kommen – Come
Another German common word is this, the equivalent to the English verb “come.”
12. Glück – Happiness
Happy about how your language learning journey is going? Well, in for German speakers, that is the feeling of “Glück”.
13. Lächeln – Smile
Express your happiness without words by giving a “lächeln”.
14. Lachen – Laugh
If “lächeln” isn’t enough to express your joy, why not give a “lachen”.
15. Liebe – Love
This simple German word conveys one of the most beautiful feelings in any language, love.
16. Katze – Cat
Like cats? This is how you answer the question, what is your favorite animal, in German.
17. Hund – Dog
If you are more of a dog person, your favorite pet is a “hund”
18. Gut – Good
This is an adjective that means “good”. A well trained “hund” will wag it’s tail in happiness if you call it “gut”.
19. Schelecht – Bad
The opposite of “gut”.
20. Heute – Today
This is how you say “today” in German.
21. Morgen – Tomorrow
This is how you tell someone “tomorrow”.
22. Gestern – Yesterday
This is referred to as the day before “heute”.
23. Woche – Week
When Germans refer to the period of seven days we call a “week” in English, this is what they use.
24. Jahr – Year
This is the German word for “year.”
25. Kalender – Calendar
Say this when you are referring to a “calendar.”
26. Machen – Make
This is the German equivalent to the verb “make”.
27. Sehen – See
This refers to what you do with your eyes.
28. Schon - Beautiful
If what you “sehen” is pleasing to you, it could be because you found it “beautiful” or “schön”.
29. Hässlich – Ugly
The opposite of “schön”.
30. Weit – Far
This German common word is meant to express the idea of the distance between you and an object.
31. Nahe – Near
If the distance between you and an object or place isn’t “weit”, it is “nahe”.
32. Wie –As
This is the German word for “as”.
33. War – Was
This means “was”.
34. Ich – I
If you want to refer to yourself in German, say “ich”.
35. Er – He
This is a pronoun that refers to a male.
36. Ihr – Her
This is the pronoun for a female.
37. Seine – His
This is the male possessive pronoun.
38. Dass – that
This is the German equivalent of the English word “that”.
39. Für – For
This is the word for “for”.
40. Klein – Small
This common German adjective refers to something of diminutive size.
41. Groß – Large
This is the adjective for an object that is big.
42. Akt –Act
This is the German verb for “act”.
43. Fragen –ask
This is the verb for “ask”.
44. Lande – Land
This is a noun that means “land”.
45. Schwierig – Difficult
You might find learning German “schwierig” at first, but trust us, it’s worth it.
46. Einfach – Easy
The opposite of “schewierig”.
47. Sie – They
This is the German equivalent of the English collective pronoun “they”.
48. Auf – On
This is the word used for “on” in German-speaking countries.
49. Sind – Are
This is the word for “are.”
50. Mit – With
This is the word German speakers say when they mean “with”.
51. Bei – At
This is the equivalent of the English word “at”.
52. Dies – This
This is the word for “this”.
53. Was – What
If you want to ask “what” in German, you use “was”.
54. Sekund – Second
This is a noun that is a German common word used to refer to the unit of time we call a “second” in English.
55. Minute – Minute
60 seconds is the same thing in English and German, a “minute”.
56. Stunde – Hour
This refers to the unit of time known as an “hour” in English.
57. Uhr - Clock
The instrument that keeps track of time.
58. Ist – Is
This is the German equivalent to the English word “is”.
59. Es – It
This is a pronoun used to refer to an object.
60. Sie – You
This is the German word to use when referring to someone other than yourself.
61. Das – The
This is the German version of the English article “the”.
62. Ein – A
Another article.
63. Und - And
The word for “and”.
64. Wir – We
When German speakers say “wir” they mean “we”.
65. Lecker – Delicious
If you tasted a German dish for the first time and loved it, you can describe it as “lecker”.
66. Kaffee – Coffee
German “Kaffee” is “lecker”.
67. Bier – Beer
If you want something stronger than “kaffee”, you can always order a “bier”.
68. Wein – Wine
If “bier” is not your drink, maybe “wein” is.
69. Wasser – Water
Or you can just ask for a plain, refreshing glass of “wasser”.
70. Koch – Cook
Someone who prepares food to be eaten.
71. Rindfleisch –Beef
If you are a vegetarian, avoid any dishes that are “Rindfleisch”.
72. Schweinefleisch – Pork
If you are Muslim, make sure to ask if a dish has “schweinefleisch” and avoid it.
73. Hühnchen – Chicken
You can always just ask for chicken dishes by using this German word.
74. Fisch – Fish
Or “fish”, with this word.
75. Folgen – Follow
This verb is the equivalent of the English verb “follow”.
76. Veränderung – Change
This is the word that German speakers say when they mean “change”.
77. Ging – Went
When you say that someone “went” somewhere, you can use “ging” in German.
78. Körper- Body
This is a common word to refer to your “body”.
79. Bein – Leg
This refers to the body part.
80. Fuß – Foot
The body part found at the end of your “bein”.
81. Arm – Arm
The German word for the body part known as the “arm” in English is also “arm”.
82. Hand – Hand
“Hand” means the same thing for a German speaker as it would for an English speaker.
83. Finger – Finger
Ditto for “finger”.
84. Kopf – Head
The German word for “head”.
85. Magen – Stomach
This is what the “stomach” is called in German.
86. Rücken – Back
Your “back” in German.
87. Brustkorb – Chest
What we call your “chest” in English is your “brustkorb” in German.
88. Arbeit – Work
This verb means “work.”
89. Angestellter – Employee
If you “arbeit” for a German company, then you are an “angestellter” for that company.
90. Leiter – Manager
If you have the title of “manager” with your company, this is the equivalent German word.
100. Polizistin – Policeman
If you get in trouble in a German speaking country, you might have to ask for the “polizistin”
101. Arzt – Doctor
If you need medical care, look for an arzt.
102. Krankenschwester – Nurse
Someone who assists the “arzt”.
103. Lehrerin – Teacher
Someone who works in the field of education
104. Programmierer – Programmer
If you work developing computer programs, this is your job title.
105. Verkäufer – Salesman
This is the job title of someone who works in sales.
106. Ingenieur – Engineer
This is the German job title of what we call an “engineer” in English.
107. Versuchen – Try
When you tell someone to “versuchen” you are asking them to “try”
108. Wo – Where
You can use this word to ask “where” a certain place is.
109. Wann – When
You can use this word if you want to ask “when” an even is taking place.
110. How – Wie
If you want to ask “how”, this is the word to use.
111. Warum – Why
This is the German interrogative word for “why”.
112. Einverstanden – Agreed
This word means that you do not object to something.
113. Uns – Us
When you are referring to a collective group of people and including yourself.
114. Pflanze – Plant
This is what German speakers use to refer to a “plant”.
115. Tier – Animal
This is the German word to refer to a living being that is not a human nor is it a “pflanze”.
116. Luft – Air
This is the German word for “air”.
117. Haus – House
This refers to a dwelling, usually where people live.
118. Zuhause – Home
German-speakers will use this word when they refer to their “home”.
119. Lesen –Read
This verb refers to the act of reading.
120. Bild – Picture
This refers to a still image.
121. Bald – Soon
This is an adverb that means “soon”.
122. Welt – World
This is the equivalent of the English word “World”.
123. Erde – Earth
This word means “earth”.
124. Bauen – Build
This verb means “build”.
125. Mutter – Mother
This refers to the female parent.
126. Vater – Father
This refers to the male parent
127. Selbst – Self
This is the equivalent to the word “self” in English.
128. Jeder – Any
When you are asked to make a choice and you say “any”, the German word you should use is “jeder”
129. Ort – Place
This means a certain spot or area.
130. Fahrt – Trip
If you are heading to a particular “ort” you are going on a “fahrt”.
131. Rat – Advice
If someone asks you for this, they need your opinion on a problem they have.
132. Links – Left
This is the German word for “left”.
133. Rechts – Right
This means “right”.
134. Eingang - Entrance
This is the word for “entrance”.
135. Ausgang - Exit
If you are looking to get out of a building or area, you should look for the “ausgang”.
Conclusion
For any beginner language learner, one of the most important things to do is to build up your vocabulary by learning common words in that language.
Downloading the PDF file of these 135 German common words will give you a good start along your language learning journey.
Get your copy now
Memorizing these words and their meaning will give you a good base to start putting German words together to form proper sentences that will help you communicate with native speakers.
Go through this list of common words of German with an online German language tutor so that they can better explain to you when and where these words are used and how they are used in everyday speech.
They can also help you with your pronunciation and accent in order to better equip you to start having conversations with German speakers ASAP.