German Basics

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Section 1

Greetings & Common Phrases (Allgemeine Phrasen)

When it comes to learning German, there are simply some words and phrases you have to know. If you want to visit our German Hub page, click here.

Hallo

Hello / Hi

Wie geht’s?

How are you?

Guten Morgen

Good morning

Guten Abend

Good evening

Gute Nacht

Good night

Bis bald

See you soon

Ich heiße…

My name is…

Ja, bitte

Yes, please

Nein, danke

No, thank you

Manchmal

Sometimes

Nie / Niemals

Never

Immer

Always

🔢

Section 2

Numbers (Zahlen)

Learn how to count in German from 1 to 20:

1

Eins

One

2

Zwei

Two

3

Drei

Three

4

Vier

Four

5

Fünf

Five

6

Sechs

Six

7

Sieben

Seven

8

Acht

Eight

9

Neun

Nine

10

Zehn

Ten

11

Elf

Eleven

12

Zwölf

Twelve

13

Dreizehn

Thirteen

14

Vierzehn

Fourteen

15

Fünfzehn

Fifteen

16

Sechzehn

Sixteen

17

Siebzehn

Seventeen

18

Achtzehn

Eighteen

19

Neunzehn

Nineteen

20

Zwanzig

Twenty

Ordinal Numbers — In Order (Ordinalzahlen)

1stErste(r/s)

2ndZweite(r/s)

3rdDritte(r/s)

4thVierte(r/s)

5thFünfte(r/s)

6thSechste(r/s)

7thSiebte(r/s)

8thAchte(r/s)

9thNeunte(r/s)

10thZehnte(r/s)

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Section 3

Common Verbs (Wichtige Verben)

Verbs are the engine of every sentence. Here are 12 essential German verbs to get you started:

💬

Sprechen

to speak

🍽

Essen

to eat

🥤

Trinken

to drink

🔨

Machen

to do / to make

🚶

Gehen

to go / to walk

👀

Sehen

to see / to watch

✨

Sein

to be

✏

Schreiben

to write

🤚

Haben

to have

🛍

Kaufen

to buy

😴

Schlafen

to sleep

💼

Arbeiten

to work

🤔 German Verb Tip — The Verb Goes Where?
All German infinitives end in -en (e.g., sprechen, kaufen, schlafen). In a standard sentence the verb sits in second position — but in subordinate clauses it jumps to the very end: “Ich weiß, dass er Deutsch spricht.” (I know that he speaks German.)
Mastering this verb-last rule is one of the biggest milestones for English speakers learning German!

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Section 4

Colors (Farben)

Rot

Red

Orange

Gelb

Yellow

Grün

Green

Blau

Blue

Lila / Violett

Purple

Schwarz

Black

Weiß

White

Grau

Gray

Braun

Brown

Hell–

Light

Dunkel–

Dark

🧠 Grammar Note — Adjective Endings:
German color adjectives change their ending depending on grammatical gender (der/die/das), case, and whether an article precedes them. Used after the verb “sein” they stay unchanged: “Das Auto ist rot.”
Hell- and Dunkel- work as prefixes: hellblau (light blue), dunkelgrün (dark green).

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Section 5

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

📆 Days of the Week

Montag

Monday

Dienstag

Tuesday

Mittwoch

Wednesday

Donnerstag

Thursday

Freitag

Friday

Samstag

Saturday

Sonntag

Sunday

⏰ Time Words

Tag

Day

Woche

Week

Monat

Month

Jahr

Year

Jahrzehnt

Decade

📅 Months of the Year

Januar

January

Februar

February

März

March

April

Mai

May

Juni

June

Juli

July

August

September

Oktober

October

November

Dezember

December

💡 Spot the Pattern — -tag Means Day: Every German weekday from Monday to Friday ends in -tag (day): Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch (midweek — the odd one out!), Donnerstag, Freitag. German months also closely mirror English ones, making them easy to learn quickly.

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