Greetings and Common Phrases (Redewendungen)

When it comes to learning German, there are simply some words and phrases you have to know.

If you want to learn German verb tenses, click here.

Check out this chart to learn some German Basics:

  • Hallo - 'Hello'
  • Wie geht es dir? - 'How are you?'
  • Guten Morgen - 'Good morning'
  • Guten Tag - 'Good afternoon'
  • Gute Nacht - 'Good night'
  • Auf wiedersehen - 'Good bye'
  • Ich heiße... - 'My name is...'
  • Ja, bitte - 'Yes, please'
  • Nein danke - 'No thank you'
  • Manchmal - 'Sometimes'
  • Niemals - 'Never'
  • Stets - 'Always'

Numbers (Zahlen)

Learn how to spell and say German numbers:

  • Ein - 'One'
  • Zwei - 'Two'
  • Drei - 'Three'
  • Vier - 'Four'
  • Fünf - 'Five'
  • Sechs - 'Six'
  • Sieben - 'Seven'
  • Acht - 'Eight'
  • Neun - 'Nine'
  • Zehn - 'Ten'
  • Elf - 'Eleven'
  • Zwölf - 'Twelve'
  • Dreizehn - 'Thirteen'
  • Vierzehn - 'Fourteen'
  • Fünfzehn - 'Fifteen'
  • Sechzehn - 'Sixteen'
  • Siebzehn - 'Seventeen'
  • Achtzehn - 'Eighteen'
  • Neunzehn - 'Nineteen'
  • Zwanzig - 'Twenty'

Listing Numbers in German Numerically (Listennummern auf Deutsch Numerisch):

  1. Erster
  2. Zweiter
  3. Dritter
  4. Vierter
  5. Fünfter
  6. Sechster
  7. Siebter
  8. Achter
  9. Neuner
  10. Zehnter

Common German Verbs (Gemeinsame deutsche Verben)

  • Sprechen - 'to speak'
  • Essen - 'to eat'
  • Trinken - 'to drink'
  • Tun - 'to do/to make'
  • Gehen - 'to walk'
  • Sehen - 'to see/watch'
  • Sein - 'to be'
  • Wollen - 'to want'
  • Haben - 'to have'
  • Sagen - 'to say/tell'
  • Geben - 'to give'
  • Setzen - 'to put'

Fun fact: German has three genders for nouns. These genders are: die (feminine), der (masculine), and das (neutral).

Examples: 'die Gabel (the fork), der Löffel (the spoon), and das Messer (the knife).

Colors (Farben)

  • Rot - 'Red'
  • Orange - 'Orange'
  • Gelb - 'Yellow'
  • Grün - 'Green'
  • Blau - 'Blue'
  • Lila - 'Purple'
  • Schwarz - 'Black'
  • Weiß - 'White'
  • Grau - 'Gray'
  • Braun - 'Brown'
  • Hell - 'Light'
  • Dunkel - 'Dark'

Note that in German you often combine words to make one. For example, 'Light Green' would be 'Hellgrün' and 'Dark Green' would be 'Dunkelgrün'.

Days, Weeks, and Months (Tage, Wochen und Monate)

  • Montag - 'Monday'
  • Dienstag - 'Tuesday'
  • Mittwoch - 'Wednesday'
  • Donnerstag - 'Thursday'
  • Freitag - 'Friday'
  • Samstag - 'Saturday'
  • Sonntag - 'Sunday'
  • Tag - 'Day'
  • Woche - 'Week'
  • Monat - 'Month'
  • Jahr - 'Year'
  • Jahrzehnt - 'Decade'
  • Januar - 'January'
  • Februar - 'February'
  • März - 'March'
  • April - 'April'
  • Mai - 'May'
  • Juni - 'June'
  • Juli - 'July'
  • August - 'August'
  • September - 'September'
  • Oktober - 'October'
  • November - 'November'
  • Dezember - 'December'

Notice how many of the months of the year are very similar to English. This is because both German and English share many of their same Germanic roots.

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