1.

Some Basic Phrases

Guten Morgen Guten Tag Guten Abend
goot-en mor-gen goot-en tahk goot-en ah-bent
Good Morning Hello/Good Day Good Evening

Tag / Hallo / Servus

Gute Nacht tahk / hah-loh / sair- Auf Wiedersehen
goot-eh nakht voohs owf vee-dair-zayn
Good Night Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye Goodbye
(Southern Germany &
Austria)

Grüß dich / Grüß Gott! Tschüs / Tschau Gehen wir!

Hello! / Greetings! tchews / chow geh-en veer
(Southern Germany &
Austria)
Bye! Let's go!

Bis später Bis bald Bis morgen

biss shpay-ter biss bahlt biss mohr-gen
See you later See you soon See you tomorrow

Bitte Danke (schön) Bitte schön

bih-tuh dahn-kuh shurn bih-tuh shurn
Please Thank you You're welcome

Es tut mir leid. Entschuldigen Sie

Verzeihung
ehs toot meer lite ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee
Pardon me
I'm sorry Excuse me

Wie geht's?
Wie geht es Ihnen? (Sehr) Gut / So lala
vee gayts
vee gayt es ee-nen zair goot / zo lahlah
How are you?
How are you? (formal) (Very) Good / OK
(informal)

Schlecht / Nicht Gut Es geht. Ja / Nein

shlekht / nisht goot ess gate yah / nine
Bad / Not good I'm ok. (informal) Yes / No

Wie heißen Sie? Wie heißt du?

Ich heiße...
vee hie-ssen zee vee hiesst doo
ikh hie-ssuh
What's your name? What's your name?
My name is... [I am called...]
(formal) (informal)

Freut mich. Gleichfalls. Herr / Frau / Fräulein

froyt mikh glykh-fals hair / frow / froi-line
Pleased to meet you. Likewise. Mister / Misses / Miss

Woher kommen Sie? Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus...

vo-hair koh-men zee vo-hair kohmst doo ikh koh-muh ows...
Where are you from? Where are you from? I'm from...
(formal) (informal)

Wo wohnen Sie? Wo wohnst du?

Ich wohne in...
vo voh-nen zee vo vohnst doo
ikh voh-nuh in
Where do you live? Where do you live?
I live in...
(formal) (informal)

Wie alt sind Sie? Wie alt bist du?

Ich bin ____ Jahre alt.
vee alt zint zee vee alt bisst doo
ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt
How old are you? How old are you?
I am ____ years old.
(formal) (informal)

Sprechen Sie deutsch? Sprichst du englisch?

Ich spreche (kein)...
shpreck-en zee doytch shprikhst doo eng-lish
ikh shpreck-uh kine
Do you speak German? Do you speak English?
I (don't) speak...
(formal) (informal)

Verstehen Sie? /
Verstehst du?
Ich verstehe (nicht). Ich weiß (nicht).
fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-
ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht ikh vise nikht
shtayst doo
I (don't) understand. I (don't) know.
Do you understand?
(formal / informal)

Kannst du mir
Können Sie mir helfen? helfen?
Natürlich / Gerne
ker-nen zee meer hell-fen kahnst doo meer hell-
nah-tewr-likh / gair-nuh
Can you help me? fen
Of course / Gladly
(formal) Can you help me?
(informal)

Kann ich Ihnen helfen? Kann ich dir helfen?

Wie bitte?
kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen kahn ikh deer hell-fen
vee bih-tuh
May I help you? May I help you?
What? Pardon me?
(formal) (informal)

Wie sagt man ___ auf

deutsch? Wo ist / Wo sind... ?
Es gibt...
vee zahkt mahn ___ owf voh ist / voh zint
ess geept
doytch Where is / Where
There is / are...
How do you say ___ in are... ?
German?

Was ist los? Das macht nichts. Das ist mir egal.
vahs ist lohs dass makht nikhts dass ist meer eh-gahl
What's the matter? It doesn't matter. I don't care.

Keine Angst! Ich habe es vergessen. Jetzt muss ich gehen.

ky-nuh ahngst ikh hah-buh ess fehr- yetz mooss ikh geh-en
Don't worry! geh-sen I must go now.
 I forgot.

Ich habe Hunger /

Ich bin krank / müde.
Durst. Ich habe Langeweile.
ikh bin krahnk moo-
ikh hah-buh hoong-er / ikh hah-buh lahn-guh-vy-luh
duh
dirst I'm bored.
I'm sick / tired.
I'm hungry / thirsty.

Ich möchte / Ich hätte

gern... Das gefällt mir. Prima / Toll / Super!
ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh- dahs geh-fehlt meer pree-mah / tohl / zoo-pair
tuh gairn I like it. Great / Fantastic!
I'd like...

Herzlichen
Gesundheit! Glückwunsch! Sei ruhig!
geh-soont-hyt herts-likh-en glewk- zy roo-hikh
Bless you! voonsh Be quiet! (informal)
Congratulations!

Schauen Sie mal! / Schau

Willkommen! Viel Glück!
mal!
vil-koh-men feel glewk
show-en zee mal / show mal
Welcome! Good luck!
Look! (formal / informal)

Bitte schön? Was darf's sein?

Sonst noch etwas?
Yes? / What would you What can I get you? /
Anything else?
like to order? How can I help you?

Bitte schön.
Zahlen bitte! Stimmt so.
Here you go. (handing
The check, please! Keep the change.
something to someone)

Ich bin satt. Mir ist schlecht. Es tut mir weh.

I'm full. I feel sick. It hurts.

Ich liebe dich.

Du fehlst mich. Alles ist in Ordnung.
ikh leeb-uh dikh
I miss you. (informal) Everything is fine.
I love you. (informal)

Wie wäre es mit ... ? Was für ein...? Nicht wahr?

How about...? What kind of (a)...? [general tag question]

Note: Ich is not actually pronounced ikh, unless you are speaking a northern dialect
of German. If you are speaking a southern dialect, then it is more like ish. There is no
equivalent sound in English. In standard German, It is somewhere between ish and
ikh and somewhat like a soft hiss of a cat. Technically it is a voiceless palatal fricative
and its voiced counterpart is the y sound in yes.

2. Pronunciation
 German English
Vowels Pronunciation
[i] viel meet, eat
ee rounded / long
[y] kühl
vowel
[ɪ] Tisch mitt, it
hübsc ih rounded / short
[ʏ]
h vowel
[e] Tee mate, wait
ay rounded / long
[ø] schön
vowel
[ɛ] Bett met, wet
eh rounded /
[œ] zwölf
short vowel
[a] Mann mop, not
ah / longer vowel
[ɑ] kam
than [a]
[u] gut boot, suit
[ʊ] muss put, soot
[o] Sohn coat, goat
[ɔ] Stock caught, bought
[ə] bitte cut, what
Wette uhr / also short
[ɐ]
r vowel like [ə]
Vowels highlighted in blue do not exist in English.
Notice that words spelled with ö and ü can be pronounced with a long or short vowel,
so determining the pronunciation based on the spelling is not possible. The other
umlauted letter, ä, is generally pronounced as [e], though it can be pronounced as [ɛ]
in some dialects. A general rule for pronunciation, however, states that the short
vowels / ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ ɔ / must be followed by a consonant, whereas the long vowels / i y u e
ø o / can occur at the end of the syllable or word.
German English
Diphthongs Pronunciation
[aɪ] ein, mein eye, buy, why
auf, cow, now,
[aʊ]
kaufen how
neu,
[ɔɪ] toy, boy, foil
Gebäude
German Consonants
There are a few German consonants that do not exist in English, and some consonant
combinations that are not common in English. Notice that the pronunciation of the
German r changes according to the location in the countries that speak German, i.e.
[R] in northern Germany and [r] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
 Sample
Spelling IPA How to pronounce:
words
ch (with vowels e Chemie, Make yuh sound voiceless (no
[ç]
and i) mich, nicht vibration of vocal cords)
Buch,
ch (with vowels a, Make kuh sound a fricative
[x] lachen,
o, u) (continuous airflow)
kochen
Apfel, Pferd,
pf [pf] Pronounce together as one sound
Pfanne
Zeit, Zug,
z [ts] Pronounce together as one sound
Tanz
ja, Januar,
j [j] yuh
Junge
Quote, Quiz,
qu [kv] kv
Quitte
st / sp (at
[ʃt] / Stadt,
beginning of sht / shp
[ʃp] sprechen
syllable)
schenken,
sch [ʃ] sh
schlafen
Theater,
th [t] t
Thron
Vater,
v [f] f
verboten
Wasser,
w [v] v
warm
ß [s] Straße, groß s
Salz, seit,
s (before vowel) [z] z
Sitz
In addition, the sounds [b], [d], and [g] lose their voicing at the end of a syllable, so
they are pronounced as their voiceless counterparts [p], [t], and [k], respectively.
However, the spelling does not reflect the pronunciation.
Stress
Stress generally falls on the first syllable of the word, except in words borrowed from
other languages, where the stress falls on the last syllable (especially with French
words.)

3. Alphabet
a ah j yoht s ess
b bay k kah t tay
c tsay l el u oo
d day m em v fow
 e ay n en w vay
f eff o oh x eeks
g gay p pay y irp-se-lon
h hah q koo z tset
i ee r ehr
There is another letter in written German, ß (es-zet ), pronounced like [s]. However,
this letter is only used after long vowels or diphthongs, and it is not used at all in
Switzerland.

4. Nouns & Cases

All nouns have a gender in German, either masculine, feminine or neuter. There
really isn't a lot of logic to which nouns are which gender, so you must memorize the
gender of each noun.
1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are
nouns ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us.
2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -
a, -anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur.
3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet,
hotels, restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are
nouns that end in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um. Nouns
referring to things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as
most words with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.
All nouns in German are capitalized in writing.
All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what
function they serve in the sentence. These may seem strange, but remember that
English uses cases also; however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or
indirect object instead of dative. Although these cases may make learning new words
difficult, they actually help with word order because the position of words in a
sentence is not as fixed in German as it is in English. And the reason for that is
because words can occur in these four cases:
Nominativ
subject of the sentence The girl is reading.
e
We see the mountain.
Accusative direct objects
I bought a gift.
We talk to the guide.
Dative indirect objects
I gave my mom a gift.
The book of the girl.
Genitive indicates possession or relationship
The dog's tail.
Note: The nouns you look up in a dictionary will be in the nominative case.

5. Articles & Demonstratives

 Definite Articles (The)
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der (dare) die (dee) das (dahs) die
Accusative den (dane) die das die
Dative dem (dame) der dem den
Genitive des (dess) der des der
Indefinite Articles (A, An)
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. ein (ine) eine (ine-uh) ein
Acc. einen (ine-en) eine ein
Dat. einem (ine-em) einer(ine-er) einem
Gen. eines (ine-es) einer eines
Demonstratives (This, That, These, Those)
This / These That / Those
Neu
Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl. Masc. Fem. Pl.
.
Nom. dieser diese dieses diese der die das die
Acc. diesen diese dieses diese den die das die
Dat. diesem dieser diesem diesen dem der dem den
Gen. dieses dieser dieses dieser des der des der
Jener is an older word found in written German that was used to mean that or those,
but today in spoken German the definite articles are used. Dort or da may
accompany the definite articles for emphasis. Das is also a universal demonstrative
and therefore shows no agreement. Notice the last letter of each of the words above.
They correspond to the last letters of the words for the definite articles. Words that
are formed this same way are called der-words because they follow the pattern of the
der-die-das declension. Other der-words are: jeder-every, and welcher-which.
Mancher (many) and solcher (such) are also der-words, but they are used almost
always in the plural.

6. Subject (Nominative) Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

vee
ich ikh I wir we
r

du doo you (familiar) ihr eer you (all)

er, sie, es, man air, zee, ess, mahn he, she, it, one sie, Sie zee they, you (formal)

Note: Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When
referring to nouns as it, you use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es
for neuter nouns. However, the definite articles der, die and das can be substituted
for er, sie and es to show more emphasis.
7. To Be, to Have, and to Become
Present tense of sein - to be (zine)
I am ich bin ikh bin we are wir sind veer zint
You are (fam.) du bist doo bihst you are ihr seid eer zide
er/sie/es
He/she/it is air/zee/ess isst they (you) are sie sind zee zint
ist
Note: You must use the subject pronouns (ich, du, er...); however, I will leave them
out of future conjugations.
Present tense of haben - to Present tense of werden - to
have (hah-ben) become (vair-den)
hab
hah-buh haben hah-ben werde vair-duh werden vair-den
e
hast hahst habt hahbt wirst veerst werdet vair-det
hat haht haben hah-ben wird veert werden vair-den
Past Tense
sein haben werden
ware vah- hah- hatte hah- voor- wurde voor-
war var hatte wurde
n ren tuh n ten duh n den
wars vars hatte hah- hatte hah- wurde voor- wurde voor-
wart vart
t t st test t tet st dest t det
ware vah- hah- hatte hah- voor- wurde voor-
war var hatte wurde
n ren tuh n ten duh n den
Haben is frequently used in expressions that would normally take to be in English.
Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry.
Ich hatte Durst. = I was thirsty.
Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored.
Ich hatte Heimweh. = I was homesick.
Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid.

8. Useful Words
and und oont really wirklich veerk-lish right! stimmt shtimt
zusamm tsoo-zah- überha oo-ber-
but aber ah-ber together anyway
en men upt howpt
very sehr zair all alle ahl-luh enough genug guh-nook
exact(ly
or oder oh-der now jetzt yetst genau guh-now
)
someti manch mahnch-
here hier here so also al-zoh
mes mal mal
also auch owkh another noch ein nohkh ine always immer im-er
both beide by-duh already schon shone never nie nee
nicht wa
some etwas eht-vahss isn't it? nikht vahr often oft ohft
hr
 of
only nur noor too bad schade shah-duh klar klahr
course
vielleich
again wieder vee-der gladly gern gehrn perhaps fee-likht
t
ein
hopefu hoffentl hoh-fent- immediat ine biss-
sofort zoh-fort a little bissche
lly ich likh ely khen
n
betwee zwische sicher(li zikh-er- ein ine vay-
zvish-en sure(ly) a little
n n ch) likh wenig nikh
therefo zohn- not at gar
deshalb des-halp rather sondern gar nikht
re dehrn all nicht
kein
a lot, schließli shleess- kine biss-
viel(e) feel(uh) finally not a bit bissche
many ch likh khen
n
Es gibt is commonly used to mean there is/are.

9. Question Words
Whom
Who Wer vehr Wen vain
(acc.)
What Was vahs Whom (dat.) Wem vaim
Why Warum vah-room How come Wieso vee-zo
When Wann vahn Where from Woher vo-hair
Where Wo voh Where to Wohin vo-hin
How Wie vee Which Welch- velsh

10. Numbers / Die Nummern

0 null nool
1 eins ines 1st erste
2 zwei tsvy 2nd zweite
3 drei dry 3rd dritte
4 vier feer 4th vierte
5 fünf fewnf 5th fünfte
6 sechs zecks 6th sechste
7 sieben zee-bun 7th siebte
8 acht ahkht 8th achte
9 neun noyn 9th neunte
10 zehn tsayn 10th zehnte
11 elf elf 11th elfte
12 zwölf tsvurlf 12th zwölfte
 13 dreizehn dry-tsayn 13th dreizehnte
14 vierzehn feer-tsayn 14th vierzehnte
15 fünfzehn fewnf-tsayn 15th fünfzehnte
16 sechzehn zeck-tsayn 16th sechzehnte
17 siebzehn zeep-tsayn 17th siebzehnte
18 achtzehn ahkh-tsayn 18th achtzehnte
19 neunzehn noyn-tsayn 19th neunzehnte
20 zwanzig tsvahn-tsikh 20th zwanzigste
21 einundzwanzig ine-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 21st einundzwanzigste
22 zweiundzwanzig tsvy-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 22nd zweiundzwanzigste
23 dreiundzwanzig dry-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 23rd dreiundzwanzigste
24 vierundzwanzig feer-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 24th vierundzwanzigste
30 dreißig dry-sikh 30th dreißigste
40 vierzig feer-tsikh 40th vierzigste
50 fünfzig fewnf-tsikh 50th fünfzigste
60 sechzig zekh-tsikh 60th sechzigste
70 siebzig zeep-tsikh 70th siebzigste
80 achtzig ahkh-tsikh 80th achtzigste
90 neunzig noyn-tsikh 90th neunzigste
100 (ein)hundert ine-hoon-duhrt
1,000 (ein)tausend ine-tow-zuhnt
Note: Sometimes zwo (tsvoh) is used instead of zwei to avoid confusion with drei.
The use of commas and periods is switched in German, though a space is commonly
used to separate thousandths, i.e. 1,000 would be 1 000. When saying telephone
numbers, you can either say each number individually or group them in twos. For
years, you use the hundreds: 1972 is neunzehn hundert zweiundsiebzig; or the
thousands: 2005 is zwei tausend fünf.
Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born?
Ich bin in 1982 geboren. I was born in 1982.

11. Days of the Week / Die Tage

Monday Montag mohn-tahk
Tuesday Dienstag deens-tahk
Wednesday Mittwoch mit-vock
Thursday Donnerstag don-ers-tahk
Friday Freitag fry-tahk
Saturday Samstag zahms-tahk
(N & E Germany) Sonnabend zon-nah-bent
Sunday Sonntag zon-tahk
day der Tag (-e) dehr tahk
morning der Morgen (-) mawr-gun
 afternoon der Nachmittag (-e) nakh-mih-tahk
evening der Abend (-e) ah-bunt
night die Nacht (ä, -e) nahkt
today heute hoy-tuh
tomorrow morgen mawr-gun
tonight heute Abend hoy-tuh ah-bunt
yesterday gestern geh-stairn
last night gestern Abend geh-stairn ah-bunt
week die Woche (-n) voh-kuh
weekend das Wochenende (-n) voh-ken-en-duh
daily täglich teh-glikh
weekly wöchentlich wer-khent-likh

To say on a certain day or the weekend, use am. Add an -s to the day to express "on
Mondays, Tuesdays, etc." All days, months and seasons are masculine so they all use
the same form of these words: jeden - every, nächsten - next, letzten - last (as in the
last of a series), vorigen - previous. In der Woche is the expression for "during the
week" in Northern and Eastern Germany, while unter der Woche is used in Southern
Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

12. Months of the Year / Die Monate

January Januar yah-noo-ahr
(Austria) Jänner yeh-ner
February Februar fay-broo-ahr
(Austria) Feber fay-ber
March März mehrts
April April ah-pril
May Mai my
June Juni yoo-nee
July Juli yoo-lee
August August ow-goost
September September zehp-tehm-ber
October Oktober ok-toh-ber
November November no-vehm-ber
December Dezember deh-tsem-ber
month der Monat (-e) moh-naht
year das Jahr (-e) yaar
monthly monatlich moh-naht-likh
yearly jährlich jehr-likh
To say in a certain month, use im.
Mein Geburtstag ist im Mai. My birthday is in May.
13. Seasons / Die Jahreszeiten
Winter der Winter dehr vin-ter
der
Spring dehr frew-ling
Frühling
Summer der Sommer dehr zom-mer
Autumn der Herbst dehr hehrpst
To say in the + a season, use im.

14. Directions / Die Richtungen

right rechts
left links
straight geradeaus
North der Norden
South der Süden
East der Osten
West der Westen
Im Norden = in the North
Nach Osten = to the East
Aus Westen = from the West

15. Colors & Shapes / Die Farben & Die Formen

orange orange square das Viereck
pink rosa circle der Kreis
purple violett / lila triangle das Dreieck
blue blau rectangle das Rechteck
yellow gelb oval das Oval
red rot octagon das Achteck
black schwarz cube der Würfel
brown braun sphere die Kugel
gray grau cone der Kegel
white weiß cylinder der Zylinder
green grün
turquoise türkis
beige beige
silver silber
gold gold
 Because colors are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the noun
they describe if they are placed before the noun. However, not all adjectives agree,
such as colors ending in -a or -e; nor do they agree when they are used as predicate
adjectives. To say that a color is light, put hell- before it, and to say that a color is
dark, put dunkel- before it.
Das Viereck ist braun. The square is brown.
Das Rechteck ist hellblau. The rectange is light blue.

16. Time / Die Zeit

What time is it? Wie spät ist es? vee shpayt isst ess
(It is) 2 AM Es ist zwei Uhr nachts ess ist tsvy oor nahkts
2 PM Es ist zwei Uhr nachmittags tsvy oor nahk-mih-tahks
6:20 Es ist sechs Uhr zwanzig zex oor tsvahn-tsikh
half past 3 Es ist halb vier hahlp feer
quarter past 4 Es ist Viertel nach vier feer-tel nahk feer
quarter to 5 Es ist Viertel vor fünf feer-tel for fewnf
10 past 11 Es ist zehn nach elf tsyan nahk elf
20 to 7 Es ist zwanzig vor sieben tsvahn-tsikh for zee-bun
noon Es ist mittags mih-tahks
midnight Es ist mitternachts mih-ter-nahks
in the morning morgens / frühs mawr-guns / frews
in the evening abends aah-bunts
It's exactly... Es ist genau... ess ist guh-now
At 8. Um 8 Uhr. oom akht oor
early(ier) früh(er) frew(er)
late(r) spät(er) shpayt(er)
Note: Official time, such as for bus and train schedules, always uses the 24 hour
clock. Notice that halb + number means half to, not half past, so you have to use the
hour that comes next.

17. Weather / Das Wetter

How's the weather
Wie ist das Wetter heute? vie ist dahs vet-ter hoy-tuh
today?
It's hot Es ist heiß ess isst hise
It's cold Es ist kalt ess isst kahlt
It's beautiful Es ist schön ess isst shern
It's bad Es ist schlecht ess isst shlehkt
It's clear Es ist klar ess isst klahr
It's icy Es ist eisig ess isst ise-ikh
It's warm Es ist warm ess isst varm
It's sunny Es ist sonnig ess isst zohn-ikh
It's windy Es ist windig ess isst vin-dikh
It's cloudy Es ist bewölkt ess isst beh-verlkt
It's hazy Es ist dunstig ess isst doons-tikh
It's muggy Es ist schwül ess isst schvool
It's humid Es ist feucht ess isst foikht
It's foggy Es ist nebelig ess isst neh-beh-likh
It's snowing Es schneit ess schnite
It's raining Es regnet ess rayg-net
It's freezing Es friert ess freert
It looks like rain. Es sieht nach Regen aus. es seet nahkh ray-gen ows
The weather is
Das Wetter klärt sich auf. dahs vett-er klairt sikh owf
clearing

18. Family / Die Familie

der/die Verwandte
Parents die Eltern Relative
(-n)
Mother die Mutter (ü) Man der Mann (ä, -er)
Father der Vater (ä) Sir / Mister der Herr (-en)
Woman / Ma'am / Mrs. /
Son der Sohn (ö, -e) die Frau (-en)
Ms.
der Ehemann (ä, -
Daughter die Tochter (ö) Husband
er)
Brother der Bruder (ü) Wife die Ehefrau (-en)
Sister die Schwester (-n) Boy der Junge (-n)
Grandparents die Großeltern Girl das Mädchen (-)
Grandfather der Großvater (ä) Grandpa der Opa (-s)
Grandmother die Großmutter (ü) Grandma die Oma (-s)
Grandchildren die Enkelkinder Dad Vati
Grandson der Enkel (-) Mom Mutti
Granddaughte
die Enkelin (-nen) Friend (m) der Freund (-e)
r
Niece die Nichte (-n) Friend (f) die Freundin (-nen)
Partner / Significant Other
Nephew der Neffe (-n) der Partner (-)
(m)
Partner / Significant Other
Cousin (m) der Vetter (-n) die Partnerin (-nen)
(f)
Cousin (f) die Kusine (-n) Marital Status der Familienstand
Uncle der Onkel (-) Single ledig
Aunt die Tante (-n) Married verheiratet
Siblings die Geschwister Divorced geschieden
Baby das Baby (-s) Male männlich
Godfather der Pate (-n) Female weiblich
Godmother die Patin (-nen) Child das Kind (-er)
Step- der/die Stief- Toddler das Kleinkind (-er)
-in-law der/die Schwieger- Teenager der Teenager (-)
Brother-in-law der Schwager (ä) Adult der Erwachsene (-n)
die Schwägerin (-
Sister-in-law Twin der Zwilling (-e)
nen)

The letters in parentheses indicate the plural form of the noun. Notice that sometimes
an umlaut is placed over the main vowel of the word in the plural. For example, der
Mann is singular (the man) and die Männer is plural (the men). For step- and -in-law
relations, just add Stief- or Schwieger- before the main person, except in the case of
brother-in-law and sister-in-law noted above. The plurals follow the pattern for the
main person, i.e. die Schwiegermutter (singular) and die Schwiegermütter (plural)

19. To Know People and Facts

kennen - to know people wissen - to know facts
kenne ken-nuh kennen ken-nun weiß vise wissen vih-sun
kennst kenst kennt kent weißt vist wisst vihst
kennt kent kennen ken-nun weiß vise wissen vih-sun
Kennen is a regular verb, while wissen is irregular.

20. Formation of Plural Nouns

Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it's best to memorize the plural form
with the singular. However, here are some rules that can help:
1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en. Nouns that end in -in (such as the female
equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen.
eine Lampe zwei Lampen
eine Tür zwei Türen
eine
zwei Studentinnen
Studentin
2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er. Many masculine plural nouns
ending in -e add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don't. Plurals
that end in -er add an umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au.
Masculine Neuter
ein Rock zwei Röcke ein Heft zwei Hefte
ein Mann zwei Männer ein Buch zwei Bücher
3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change
nothing at all. Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut.
Masculine Neuter
ein Bruder zwei ein Fenster zwei Fenster
 Brüder
4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin
add -s.
ein
zwei Hobbys
Hobby
ein Hotel zwei Hotels