German Alphabet

Aa as in the word “ask” and never as in the word “able”

Bb same as in English
Cc usually in “sch” “ch” or “ck” rarely out of these letters.
Dd same as in English
Ee as in “elevated”
Ff same as in English
Gg like in the word "God", never pronounced as in the word “gym”.
Hh same as in English.
Ii as in the word “ink” never as in the word “island”
Jj similar to the letter “y” in “yacht”
Kk same as in English
Ll same as in English
Mm same as in English
Nn same as in English, most of the German letters are just like English.
Oo same as in English “Old” never as in “Hot” which is pronounced somehow like {hat}
Pp same as in English
Qq same as in English but rare.
Rr same as in English but slightly like as in “gh” as in the French “Merci”
Ss sounds like “z”.
Tt same as in English but not as sharp.
Uu sounds like “oo” or “uu”, never as in the word “up” or “university”
Vv sounds like “f”
Ww sounds like “v”
Xx same as in English although rare.
Yy same as in English although rare.
Zz sounds like “ts”

Additional German letters:

Ä /ä, Ö/ ö, Ü / ü. ß (called scharfes s)
Ä /ä sounds more like “e”
Ö/ ö sounds more like “oe”
Ü / ü sounds more like “ue”
ß sounds like “ss”

Compound letters:
Sch: sounds like “sh”
Ch: sounds sometimes like “sh” or like “kh”.
St: sounds like “sht” at the beginning, and like “st” at the end of a word.
German Cardinal Numbers
German Numbers are easy to learn, cardinal numbers are a piece of cake if you
understand the logic behind them, from 0 to 12 you will find unique words, that
you just need to memorize as is. 13 to 19 are composed words meaning (3- 10)
for 13 (dreizehn), (4-10) for 14 (fierzehn).(check the table below). For 16 and 17
(sechzehn instead of sechszehn) and (siebzehn instead of siebenzehen) So now
you can easily count to 20.

The logic that numbers from 21 to 99 is the opposite of English, for example in
English we say: “twenty one” for 21, in German we say “one and twenty”, note
that it’s not only read the opposite way, but also there is an extra “and” which is
in German “und”, and all numbers are connected (einundzwanzig).

From 100 on, “und” is not used between numbers

It’s easy to master this your first day if you look at the table above and read the
notes following it carefully.

German Cardinal Numbers

0 null 21 einundzwanzig 60 sechzig

1 eins 22 zweiundzwanzig 70 siebzig

2 zwei 23 dreiundzwanzig 80 achtzig

3 drei 24 vierundzwanzig 90 neunzig

4 vier 25 fünfundzwanzig 100 einhundert

5 fünf 26 sechsundzwanzig 101 einhunderteins

6 sechs 27 siebenundzwanzig 102 einhundertzwei

7 sieben 28 achtundzwanzig 113 einhundertdreizehn

8 acht 29 neunundzwanzig 200 zweihundert

9 neun 30 dreißig 500 fünfhundert

10 zehn 31 einunddreißig 1000 eintausend

11 elf 32 zweiunddreißig 1.000.000 eine Million

12 zwölf 33 dreiunddreißig 2.000.000 zwei Millionen

13 dreizehn 34 vierunddreißig

14 vierzehn 35 fünfunddreißig

15 fünfzehn 36 sechsunddreißig

16 sechzehn 37 siebenunddreißig 2006 = Zweitausendsechs

17 siebzehn 38 achtunddreißig

18 achtzehn 39 neununddreißig

19 neunzehn 40 vierzig

20 zwanzig 50 fünfzig

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German Ordinal Numbers
Once you have mastered the cardinal numbers, you will have no problem at all
learning the German ordinal numbers, because they simply add -te to the cardinal
numbers. Some small exceptions are in red font in the table below, one thing that
you should know is that ordinal numbers are just like adjectives, so they may take
different endings depending on the case used in each specific situation. Please
check the adjectives section for more information.

German Numbers
German Ordinal Numbers
first erste eighth achte
second zweite ninth neunte
third dritte tenth zehnte
fourth vierte eleventh elfte
fifth fünfte twelfth zwölfte
sixth sechste twentieth zwanzigste
seventh siebte twenty-second zweiundzwanzigste
 he table below contains: German phrases, expressions and words in German,
conversation and idioms, greetings and survival phrases. Most of the sentences
are used for the everyday life conversations, so they might come handy if you
memorize them, if you don’t know how to say something in German then check
the alphabet page, to get some help.

Blue font refers to the polite form that you need to use in German with people
you don't know or respect a lot.

Also you will notice I used the dash / in some places in the German phrases table
when we have more than one possible expression, for example “Good-bye” can
be expressed as Auf Wiedersehen! or Tschüß! So you will find a dash between the
two expressions.

German Phrases
Greetings in German

Hi! Hallo!

Good Morning! Guten Morgen!

Good Evening! Guten Abend!

Welcome! (to greet someone) Willkommen!

How Are You? Wie geht's dir/ Ihnen?

I'm Fine, Thanks! Danke, mir geht's gut!

And You? Und dir/ Ihnen?

Good/ So-So. Gut/ So la-la

Thank You (Very Much)! Danke (vielmals)!/ Vielen Dank!

You're Welcome! (answering "thank you") Gern gescheh'n!/ Keine Ursache!/ Kein Problem!

Hey! Friend! Hey! Kumpel! (only for male people)

I Missed You So Much! Du hast/ Sie haben mir so gefehlt!

What's New? Was gibt's Neues?

Nothing Much Nicht viel.

Good Night! Gute Nacht!

See You Later! Bis später!

Good Bye! Auf Wiedersehen!/ Tschüß!

Help & Directions in German

I'm Lost Ich habe mich verlaufen!

Can I Help You? Kann ich dir/ Ihnen helfen?

Can You Help Me? Kannst du/ Können Sie mir helfen?

Where is the (bathroom/ pharmacy)? Wo ist (das Badezimmer/ die Apotheke?)

Go Straight! Then Turn Left/ Right! Gehen Sie geradeaus! Dann links / rechts abbiegen!

I'm Looking For John. Ich suche John.

One Moment Please! Einen Augenblick, bitte!

Hold On Please! (phone) Bleiben Sie dran, bitte!

How Much Is This? Was kostet das?/ Wie teuer ist das?

Excuse Me ...! ( to ask for something) Entschuldigen Sie bitte...!

Excuse Me! ( to pass by) Darf ich mal vorbei?

Come With Me! Kommen Sie mit!

Personal Info in German

Do You Speak (English/ German)? Sprechen Sie (Englisch/ Deutsch)?

Just a Little. Nur ein bißchen.

What's Your Name? Wie heißen Sie?

My Name Is …. Ich heiße... / Mein Name ist...

Mr.../ Mrs.…/ Miss… Herr/ Frau/ Fräulein (not used anymore)

Nice To Meet You! Schön, Sie kennenzulernen!

You're Very Kind! Du bist/ Sie sind sehr freundlich!

Where Are You From? Woher kommst du/ kommen Sie?

I'm From (the U.S/ Germany) Ich komme (aus den U.S.A./ aus Amerika / aus Deutschland)

I’m (American) Ich bin (Amerikaner)

Where Do You Live? Wo wohnst du/ wohnen Sie?

I live in (the U.S/ Germany) Ich wohne (in den U.S.A./ in Amerika/ in Deutschland)

Did You Like It Here? Gefällt es dir/ Ihnen hier?

Germany Is a Wonderful Country Deutschland ist wunderschön.

What Do You Do For A Living? Was ist dein/ Ihr Beruf?

I Work As A (Translator/ Businessman) Ich bin (Übersetzer/Dolmetscher) / Geschäftsmann

I Like German Ich mag Deutsch

I've Been Learning German For 1 Month Ich lerne seit einem Monat Deutsch

Oh! That's Good! Oh! Das ist toll!

How Old Are You? Wie alt bist du/ sind Sie?

I'm (twenty, thirty…) Years Old. Ich bin (zwanzig, dreißig,...) Jahre (alt).

I Have To Go Ich muß gehen/ los!

I Will Be Right Back! Ich bin sofort wieder da!

Wishes in German

Good Luck! Viel Glück!

Happy Birthday! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

Happy New Year! Ein frohes neues Jahr!

Merry Christmas! Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Congratulations! (Herzlichen) Glückwunsch!

Enjoy! (For meals…) Guten Appetit!

I'd Like To Visit Germany One Day Ich möchte eines Tages (mal) nach Deutschland reisen

Say Hi To John For me. Grüß/ Grüßen Sie John von mir!

Bless you (when sneezing) Gesundheit!

Good Night & Sweet Dreams! Gute Nacht und träum was schönes!
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Misunderstanding in German

I'm Sorry! (if you don't hear something) Entschuldigung, ich habe Sie nicht verstanden!

Sorry (for a mistake) Entschuldigung!/ Es tut mir leid!

No Problem! Kein Problem!/ Keine Ursache!

Can You Say It Again? Kannst du/ Können Sie das nochmal wiederholen?

Can You Speak Slowly? Kannst du/ Können Sie (etwas) langsamer sprechen?

Write It Down Please! Schreib/ Schreiben Sie es bitte auf!

I Don't Understand! Ich verstehe das/ dich/ Sie nicht! (das:that, dich:you, Sie:you polite)

I Don't Know! Ich weiß (es) nicht!

I Have No Idea. Ich habe keine Ahnung.

What's That Called In German? Wie heißt das auf deutsch?

What Does " gato" Mean In English? Was bedeutet "nacht" auf englisch?

How Do You Say "Please" In German? Wie sagt man "please" auf deutsch?

What Is This? Was ist das (hier)?

My German Is Bad. Mein Deutsch ist schlecht.

I need to practice my German Ich muß (mein) Deutsch üben.

Don't Worry! (Nur) Keine Sorge!

Expressions & Words in German

Good/ Bad/ So-So. gut/ schlecht/ so la-la

Big/ Small groß/ klein.

Today/ Now heute/ jetzt

Tomorrow/ Yesterday morgen/ gestern

Yes/ No ja/ nein

Here You Go! (when giving something) Bitte sehr!/ Bitte schön!

Do You Like It? Gefällt's dir/ Ihnen?

I Really Like It! Mir gefällt es sehr gut!

I'm Hungry/ Thirsty. Ich habe Hunger/ Durst.

In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night. am Morgen/ morgens/ am Abend/ abends/ in der Nacht

This/ That. Here/There dies(es/er/e)/ das. hier/ dort.

Me/ You. Him/ Her. Ich/ Du. Er/ sie

Really! Wirklich?!/ Echt?!

Look! Guck (mal)/ Schau (mal)!

Hurry Up! Beeil dich!/ beeilen Sie sich!

What? Where? was?/ wo?

What Time Is It? Wieviel Uhr ist es?/ Wie spät ist es?

It's 10 o'clock. 07:30pm. Es ist zehn Uhr. Sieben Uhr dreißig/ halb acht.

Give Me This! Gib mir das!

I Love You! Ich liebe dich/ Sie!

I Feel Sick. Ich fühle mich nicht wohl.

I Need A Doctor Ich brauche einen Arzt.

One, Two, Three eins, zwei, drei

Four, Five, Six vier, fünf, sechs

Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten sieben, acht, neun, zehn

German Articles
If you don’t know it yet articles in German change depending on the case used in
the sentences. If you’re not familiar with that then please check the German
Cases page before proceeding to this page.

German Definite Articles

The definite articles in German refer to specific persons, objects, ideas…etc. and
they are : der, die, das, die (plural) they all mean the expression “the” in
English, der is used for masculine nouns, dieis used for feminine nouns, das is
used for neuter nouns, and finally die used also for plural nouns.

German Definite Article

Masculine der Mann (the man)

Feminine die Frau (the woman)

Neuter das Brot (the bread)

Plural die Männer (the men), die Frauen (the women), die Brote (the breads)

Well, that’s not all; the form we went through above is only for the nominative
case. Now let’s have a look at all the rest:
 German Definite Articles

masculine feminine neuter plural

Nominative case der die das die the

Accusative case den die das die the

Dative case dem der dem den to the

Genitive cases des der des der of the

Here are some examples:

Nominative: der Mann ist hier (the man is here)

Accusative: Ich grüße den Mann (I greet the man)

Dative: Ich gebe dem Mann ein Buch (I give the book to the man)

Genitive: Ich habe das Buch des Mannes (I have the book of the man)

You may have noticed how the definite article changes each time the case
changes. So try to memorize the table above by heart, I’m sure it’s not that hard.

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Just enter your name and email to create your free login and give it a try!
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German Indefinite Articles

The indefinite articles in German refer to unspecified persons, objects, ideas…etc.
and they are: ein, eine, ein, they all mean the indefinite article “a, an” in
English, ein is used for masculine nouns, eineis used for feminine nouns, ein is
used for neuter nouns, and there is no plural for the indefinite article.

German Indefinite Article

Masculine ein Mann (a man)

Feminine eine Frau (the woman)

Neuter ein Brot (a bread)

Again, that’s not all; the form we went through above is only for the nominative
case. Now let’s have a look at all the rest:

German Indefinite Articles

masculine feminine neuter

Nominative case ein eine ein a, an

Accusative case einen eine ein a, an

Dative case einem einer einem to a, to an

Genitive cases eines einer eines of a, of an

Here are some examples:

Nominative: ein Mann ist hier (a man is here)

Accusative: Ich grüße einen Mann (I greet a man)

Dative: Ich gebe einem Mann ein Buch (I give the book to a man)

Genitive: Ich habe das Buch eines Mannes (I have the book of a man)

So the same thing happens to the indefinite article, it changes each time the case
changes. So try to memorize the table above by heart as well. Good luck!