Basic German words for beginners
Basic German words are the small set of greetings, numbers, nouns, verbs, and adjectives that let a beginner handle everyday situations: saying hello, asking a question, ordering food, or introducing yourself.
by Jakob Straub
Updated by Valentina Rampazzo on August 20, 2026
Most beginners start with 50 to 100 words. That's enough to build simple sentences and follow basic conversations, even before you've studied any grammar in depth.
Vocabulary lists are a solid first step, but they only get you so far. Real progress comes from using these words out loud, with someone who can correct you in the moment. Lingoda's live online German classes pair you with certified teachers from day one, whether you're learning for a move abroad, a new job, or just for yourself.
German greetings
Greetings are the first words most people learn, and German has different ways to say hello and goodbye depending on the situation.
| German | Meaning | When to use it |
| Hallo | Hello | Any time, informal |
| Guten Morgen | Good morning | Before noon |
| Guten Tag | Good day | Daytime |
| Guten Abend | Good evening | Evening |
| Tschüss | Bye | Informal |
| Auf Wiedersehen | Goodbye | Formal or with strangers |
| Wir sehen uns. | See you. | Informal (literally "we see each other") |
| Bis später | See you later. | Informal |
German small talk for beginners
Once you can say hello, these phrases help you keep a conversation going.
| German | Meaning |
| Mein Name ist... | My name is... (formal, full name) |
| Ich heiße... | My name is... (first name, everyday use) |
| Wie geht's? | How are you? |
| Mir geht's gut. | I'm doing well. |
| Ich bin __ Jahre alt. | I am __ years old. |
| Wo ist die Toilette? | Where is the restroom? |
| Ich verstehe nicht. | I don't understand. |
German numbers 1–12
| Number | German |
| 1 | eins |
| 2 | zwei |
| 3 | drei |
| 4 | vier |
| 5 | fünf |
| 6 | sechs |
| 7 | sieben |
| 8 | acht |
| 9 | neun |
| 10 | zehn |
| 11 | elf |
| 12 | zwölf |
Basic German nouns, verbs, and adjectives
German nouns always start with a capital letter and carry one of three genders,masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das), which changes the word for "the."
Nouns
| Gender | German | Meaning |
| der | Mann | man |
| der | Junge | boy |
| der | Sohn | son |
| der | Tisch | table |
| der | Lehrer | teacher (male) |
| der | Student | student (male) |
| der | Bahnhof | train station |
| der | Bus | bus |
| der | Apfel | apple |
| der | Hund | dog |
| die | Frau | woman |
| die | Tochter | daughter |
| die | Mutter | mother |
| die | Lehrerin | teacher (female) |
| die | Studentin | student (female) |
| die | Schule | school |
| die | Straße | street |
| die | Bank | bank |
| die | Nacht | night |
| die | Banane | banana |
| die | Kuh | cow |
| die | Katze | cat |
| das | Mädchen | girl |
| das | Auto | car |
| das | Restaurant | restaurant |
| das | Hotel | hotel |
| das | Wasser | water |
| das | Essen | food |
| das | Getränk | drink |
| das | Frühstück | breakfast |
| das | Mittagessen | lunch |
| das | Abendessen | dinner |
Verbs
| German | Meaning |
| haben | to have |
| kommen | to come |
| geben | to give |
| gehen | to go |
| sagen | to say |
| sehen | to see |
| laufen | to run, walk |
| spielen | to play |
| schreiben | to write |
| wollen | to want |
Adjectives
| German | Meaning |
| groß | big |
| klein | small |
| krank | sick |
| gesund | healthy |
| gut | good |
| schlecht | bad |
| neu | new |
| alt | old |
| richtig | right, correct |
| falsch | wrong |
Which of these words are the most common German words?
A few of the words above—gut, neu, groß, haben, gehen—aren't just common in everyday conversation. Corpus research on the German language has found they're also among the words used most often overall. Here are 25 more that show up constantly once you start reading or listening to German.
Frequently used verbs
| German | Meaning |
| sein | to be |
| können | can, to be able to |
| müssen | must, to have to |
| wissen | to know |
| stehen | to stand |
| finden | to find |
Frequently used nouns
| Gender | German | Meaning |
| das | Jahr | year |
| die | Zeit | time |
| der | Tag | day |
| die | Stadt | city |
| die | Arbeit | work, job |
| das | Land | country |
Frequently used adjectives
| German | Meaning |
| wichtig | important |
| einfach | simple, easy |
| schön | beautiful, nice |
| kurz | short |
| jung | young |
| stark | strong |
Frequently used adverbs
| German | Meaning |
| sehr | very |
| jetzt | now |
| heute | today |
| immer | always |
| hier | here |
| vielleicht | maybe |
| natürlich | of course |
You probably recognized more of those than you expected. That's the thing about high-frequency words: once you know them, they show up everywhere.
FAQs
Estimates vary depending on what you count. The Dudenredaktion, the leading authority on the German language, puts the everyday vocabulary at roughly 300,000 to 500,000 words, though most native speakers actively use only about 12,000 to 16,000 of them. Corpus research has gone further, counting as many as 5.3 million distinct word forms once every compound and technical term is included—a number that balloons largely because German can combine words almost without limit.
Why are German words so long?
German allows compound words—combining several words into one to describe a single concept, like Handschuh (hand + shoe = glove). This makes some words long, but it also makes German vocabulary easier to expand once you know the building blocks.
How do you pronounce German words?
German pronunciation is largely phonetic: most letters are pronounced the same way every time. The main things to learn are the umlauts (ä, ö, ü), the ch sound, and the r, which is pronounced further back in the throat than in English.
Basic German words: your starting point
You now have the core vocabulary to greet people, make small talk, count, and describe the world around you in German—plus a look at which of those words you'll see and hear the most. A list gets you started; a real conversation is what makes it stick. Whether you're learning German for a move, a new job, or just for yourself, Lingoda's live classes give you that conversation from your very first lesson.
Jakob Straub
Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his website or on Goodreads.
