Deutsch

German

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~130M ScriptLatin CountriesGermany, Austria, Switzerland Official in6 countries + EU Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3deu Glottocodestan1295

Also known as: German, Deutsch

German (Deutsch) is a West Germanic language with ~95M L1 speakers and the most-widely-spoken native language in the European Union. It is official in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and the Italian region of South Tyrol, plus regional/minority status in Belgium (East Cantons), Namibia, and many historical diaspora communities. Sister language to Dutch, English, and the Scandinavian languages within Germanic. Written in the Latin alphabet (Fraktur typeface dominated until 1941 when the Nazi regime mandated Antiqua); the Eszett ß and umlauted vowels ä/ö/ü are distinctive. The 1996 spelling reform (Rechtschreibreform), revised 2004/2006, standardized punctuation, ß/ss usage, and capitalization across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Grammatically conservative: 4 cases (nominative-accusative-dative-genitive), 3 grammatical genders (masculine/feminine/neuter), strong/weak verb classes, and verb-second word order in main clauses with verb-final order in subordinate clauses. Hundreds of years of literary tradition from the Nibelungenlied (~1200) through Goethe, Schiller, Kafka, Mann, and Grass (Nobel 1999); a foundational language of philosophy (Kant, Hegel, Heidegger), music (Bach, Beethoven), and 19th-20th c. natural sciences.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in German

Water

Wasser

vasɐ

Fire

Feuer

fɔɪ̯ɐ

Sun

Sonne

zɔnə

Moon

Mond

moːnt

Star

Stern

ʃtɛʁn

Night

Nacht

naxt

Rain

Regen

ˈʁeːɡn̩

Snow

Schnee

ʃneː

Wind

Wind

vɪnt

Earth

Erde

eːɐdə

Stone

Stein

ʃtaɪn

Mountain

Berg

bɛʁk

Sea

Meer

meːɐ̯

Mother

Mutter

mʊtɐ

Father

Vater

faːtɐ

Daughter

Tochter

ˈtɔxtɐ

I

ich

ɪç

You

du

duː

We

wir

viːɐ̯

Name

Name

ˈnaːmə

Person

Mensch

mɛnʃ

Head

Kopf

kɔpf

Eye

Auge

aʊ̯ɡə

Ear

Ohr

oːɐ̯

Nose

Nase

ˈnaːzə

Mouth

Mund

mʊnt

Tooth

Zahn

tsaːn

Tongue

Zunge

ˈtsʊŋə

Hand

Hand

hant

Foot

Fuß

fuːs

Heart

Herz

hɛʁts

Bone

Knochen

ˈknɔxən

Blood

Blut

bluːt

Poop

Kacke

ˈkakə

Love

Liebe

liːbə

Tree

Baum

baʊ̯m

Dog

Hund

hʊnt

Cat

Katze

katsə

Fish

Fisch

fɪʃ

Bird

Vogel

ˈfoːɡl̩

Butterfly

Schmetterling

ˈʃmɛtɐlɪŋ

Egg

Ei

aɪ

Bear

Bär

bɛːɐ̯

Horse

Pferd

pfeːɐ̯t

House

Haus

haʊ̯s

Milk

Milch

mɪlç

Honey

Honig

ˈhoːnɪç

Salt

Salz

zalts

Wine

Wein

vaɪ̯n

Rice

Reis

ʁaɪs

Chocolate

Schokolade

ʃokoˈlaːdə

Iron

Eisen

ˈaɪ̯zn̩

Wheel

Rad

ʁaːt

Silk

Seide

ˈzaɪdə

Book

Buch

buːx

Eat

essen

ɛsn̩

Drink

trinken

tʁɪŋkn̩

Sleep

schlafen

ˈʃlaːfn̩

One

eins

aɪ̯ns

Two

zwei

tsvaɪ

Three

drei

dʁaɪ̯

Four

vier

fiːɐ̯

Five

fünf

fʏnf

Hundred

hundert

ˈhʊndɐt

Hello

Hallo

haloː

Thank you

danke

daŋkə

Good

gut

ɡuːt

New

neu

nɔɪ̯

Red

rot

ʁoːt

White

weiß

vaɪs

Black

schwarz

ʃvaʁts

Green

grün

ɡʁyːn

Blue

blau

blaʊ̯

Cuckoo

Kuckuck

ˈkʊkʊk

Woof

wau wau

vaʊ vaʊ

Cock-a-doodle-doo

kikeriki

kikəʁiˈkiː

Computer

Computer

kɔmˈpjuːtɐ

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈvaɪfaɪ

Sushi

Sushi

ˈzuːʃi

Tea

Tee

teː

Coffee

Kaffee

ˈkafeː

Sugar

Zucker

ˈtsʊkɐ

Orange

Orange

oˈʁãːʒə

Ninety-nine

neunundneunzig

ˈnɔʏnʊntˌnɔʏntsɪç

Dopamine

Dopamin

dopaˈmiːn

At sign

Klammeraffe

ˈklamɐʔˌafə

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Germanic

Meaning GermanLuxembourgish GermanAustrian GermanSwiss Standard GermanLuther-era GermanEast FranconianKölsch
Water Wasser /vasɐ/ Wasser /vasɐ/ Wasser /vasɐ/ Wasser /ˈvasər/ Wasser /ˈvasːər/ Wasser /vasːə/ Wasser /vasɐ/
Fire Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ Feuer /fɔɪɐ/ Feuer /ˈfɔɪ̯ər/ Fewr /ˈfɔɪ̯ər/ Feier /faɪɐ/ Füer /fyːɐ/
Sun Sonne /zɔnə/ Sonne /zɔnə/ Sonne /sɔnə/ Sonne /ˈsɔnə/ Sonne /ˈzɔnə/ Sunn /sʊn/ Sonn /zɔn/
Moon Mond /moːnt/ Mond /moːnt/ Mond /moːnt/ Mond /moːnt/ Mond /moːnt/ Maa /maː/ Mond /moːnt/
Star Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ Stern /ʃtɛrn/ Stern /ʃtɛrn/ Stern /ʃtɛrn/ Stern /ʃtɛrn/ Stään /ʃtɛːn/
Night Nacht /naxt/ Nacht /naxt/ Nacht /naxt/ Nacht /naxt/ Nacht /naxt/ Nacht /naxt/ Naach /naːx/
Rain Regen /ˈʁeːɡn̩/ Regen /ˈʁeːɡn̩/ Regen /ˈreːɡn̩/ Regen /ˈreːɡən/ Regen /ˈreːɡən/ — Räje /ˈʁɛːjə/
Snow Schnee /ʃneː/ Schnee /ʃneː/ Schnee /ʃneː/ Schnee /ʃneː/ Schnee /ʃneː/ Schnee /ʃneː/ Schnei /ʃnaɪ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
German
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Je voudrais essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg så i en butik overfor hotellet
German
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe

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