1.

Some Basic Phrases [ Multiple Choice Exercise ]

Guten Morgen Guten Tag Guten Abend

goot-en mor-gen goot-en tahk goot-en ah-bent
Good Morning Hello/Good Day Good Evening

Gute Nacht Tag / Hallo / Servus Auf Wiedersehen

goot-eh nakht tahk / hah-loh / sair-voohs owf vee-dair-zayn
Good Night Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye Goodbye
(Southern Germany & Austria)

Grüß dich / Grüß Gott! Tschüs / Tschau Gehen wir!

Hello! / Greetings! (Southern tchews / chow geh-en veer
Germany & Austria) Bye! Let's go!

Bis später Bis bald Bis morgen

biss shpay-ter biss bahlt biss mohr-gen
See you later See you soon See you tomorrow

Bitte Danke (schön) Bitte schön

bih-tuh dahn-kuh shurn bih-tuh shurn
Please Thank you You're welcome

Es tut mir leid. Entschuldigen Sie

Verzeihung
ehs toot meer lite ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee
Pardon me
I'm sorry Excuse me

Wie geht es Ihnen? Wie geht's? (Sehr) Gut / So lala

vee gayt es ee-nen vee gayts zair goot / zo lahlah
How are you? (formal) How are you? (informal) (Very) Good / OK

Schlecht / Nicht Gut Es geht. Ja / Nein

shlekht / nisht goot ess gate yah / nine
Bad / Not good I'm ok. (informal) Yes / No

Wie heißen Sie? Wie heißt du? Ich heiße...

vee hie-ssen zee vee hiesst doo ikh hie-ssuh
What's your name? What's your name? My name is... [I am
(formal) (informal) called...]

Freut mich. Gleichfalls. Herr / Frau / Fräulein

froyt mikh glykh-fals hair / frow / froi-line
Pleased to meet you. Likewise. Mister / Misses / Miss

Woher kommen Sie? Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus...

vo-hair koh-men zee vo-hair kohmst doo ikh koh-muh ows...
Where are you from? Where are you from? I'm from...
(formal) (informal)

Wo wohnen Sie? Wo wohnst du?

Ich wohne in...
vo voh-nen zee vo vohnst doo
ikh voh-nuh in
Where do you live? Where do you live?
I live in...
(formal) (informal)

Wie alt bist du?

Wie alt sind Sie? Ich bin ____ Jahre alt.
vee alt bisst doo
vee alt zint zee ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt
How old are you?
How old are you? (formal) I am ____ years old.
(informal)

Sprechen Sie deutsch? Sprichst du englisch?

Ich spreche (kein)...
shpreck-en zee doytch shprikhst doo eng-lish
ikh shpreck-uh kine
Do you speak German? Do you speak English?
I (don't) speak...
(formal) (informal)

Verstehen Sie? /
Verstehst du?
Ich verstehe (nicht). Ich weiß (nicht).
fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-
ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht ikh vise nikht
shtayst doo
I (don't) understand. I (don't) know.
Do you understand?
(formal / informal)

Kannst du mir helfen?

Natürlich / Gerne
Können Sie mir helfen? kahnst doo meer hell-fen
nah-tewr-likh / gair-nuh
ker-nen zee meer hell-fen Can you help me?
Of course / Gladly
Can you help me? (formal) (informal)

Kann ich dir helfen?

Kann ich Ihnen helfen? Wie bitte?
kahn ikh deer hell-fen
kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen vee bih-tuh
May I help you?
May I help you? (formal) What? Pardon me?
(informal)

Wie sagt man ___ auf

deutsch?
Wo ist / Wo sind... ? Es gibt...
vee zahkt mahn ___ owf
voh ist / voh zint ess geept
doytch
Where is / Where are... ? There is / are...
How do you say ___ in
German?

Was ist los? Das macht nichts. Das ist mir egal.
vahs ist lohs dass makht nikhts dass ist meer eh-gahl
What's the matter? It doesn't matter. I don't care.

Keine Angst! Ich habe es vergessen. Jetzt muss ich gehen.

ky-nuh ahngst ikh hah-buh ess fehr-geh- yetz mooss ikh geh-en
 sen
Don't worry! I must go now.
I forgot.

Ich habe Hunger / Durst. Ich habe Langeweile.

Ich bin krank / müde.
ikh hah-buh hoong-er / ikh hah-buh lahn-guh-vy-
ikh bin krahnk moo-duh
dirst luh
I'm sick / tired.
I'm hungry / thirsty. I'm bored.

Ich möchte / Ich hätte

gern... Das gefällt mir. Prima / Toll / Super!
ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh-tuh dahs geh-fehlt meer pree-mah / tohl / zoo-pair
gairn I like it. Great / Fantastic!
I'd like...

Herzlichen
Gesundheit! Glückwunsch! Sei ruhig!
geh-soont-hyt herts-likh-en glewk- zy roo-hikh
Bless you! voonsh Be quiet! (informal)
Congratulations!

Schauen Sie mal! / Schau

Willkommen! Viel Glück! mal!
vil-koh-men feel glewk show-en zee mal / show
Welcome! Good luck! mal
Look! (formal / informal)

Bitte schön? Was darf's sein?

Sonst noch etwas?
Yes? / What would you What can I get you? / How
Anything else?
like to order? can I help you?

Bitte schön.
Zahlen bitte! Stimmt so.
Here you go. (handing
The check, please! Keep the change.
something to someone)

Ich bin satt. Mir ist schlecht. Es tut mir weh.

I'm full. I feel sick. It hurts.

Ich liebe dich.

Du fehlst mich. Alles ist in Ordnung.
ikh leeb-uh dikh
I miss you. (informal) Everything is fine.
I love you. (informal)

Wie wäre es mit ... ? Was für ein...? Nicht wahr?

How about...? What kind of (a)...? [general tag question]

Note:  Ich is not actually pronounced ikh, unless you are speaking a northern dialect of
German. If you are speaking a southern dialect, then it is more like ish. There is no
equivalent sound in English.  In standard German, It is somewhere between ish and ikh
and somewhat like a soft hiss of a cat. Technically it is a voiceless palatal fricative and its
voiced counterpart is the y sound in yes.

2. Pronunciation

German English
Vowels Pronunciation
[i] viel meet, eat
ee rounded / long
[y] kühl
vowel
[ɪ] Tisch mitt, it
ih rounded / short
[ʏ] hübsch
vowel
[e] Tee mate, wait
ay rounded / long
[ø] schön
vowel
[ɛ] Bett met, wet
eh rounded / short
[œ] zwölf
vowel
[a] Mann mop, not
ah / longer vowel
[ɑ] kam
than [a]
[u] gut boot, suit
[ʊ] muss put, soot
[o] Sohn coat, goat
[ɔ] Stock caught, bought
[ə] bitte cut, what
uhr / also short
[ɐ] Wetter
vowel like [ə]

Vowels highlighted in blue do not exist in English.

Notice that words spelled with ö and ü can be pronounced with a long or short vowel, so
determining the pronunciation based on the spelling is not possible. The other umlauted
letter, ä, is generally pronounced as [e], though it can be pronounced as [ɛ] in some
dialects. A general rule for pronunciation, however, states that the short vowels / ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ
ɔ / must be followed by a consonant, whereas the long vowels / i y u e ø o / can occur at
the end of the syllable or word.
 German English
Diphthongs Pronunciation
[aɪ] ein, mein eye, buy, why
auf,
[aʊ] cow, now, how
kaufen
neu,
[ɔɪ] toy, boy, foil
Gebäude

German Consonants

There are a few German consonants that do not exist in English, and some consonant
combinations that are not common in English. Notice that the pronunciation of the
German r changes according to the location in the countries that speak German, i.e. [R] in
northern Germany and [r] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Sample
Spelling IPA How to pronounce:
words
ch (with vowels e Chemie, Make yuh sound voiceless (no
[ç]
and i) mich, nicht vibration of vocal cords)
Buch,
ch (with vowels a, o, Make kuh sound a fricative
[x] lachen,
u) (continuous airflow)
kochen
Apfel, Pferd,
pf [pf] Pronounce together as one sound
Pfanne
Zeit, Zug,
z [ts] Pronounce together as one sound
Tanz
ja, Januar,
j [j] yuh
Junge
Quote, Quiz,
qu [kv] kv
Quitte
st / sp (at beginning [ʃt] / Stadt,
sht / shp
of syllable) [ʃp] sprechen
schenken,
sch [ʃ] sh
schlafen
Theater,
th [t] t
Thron
Vater,
v [f] f
verboten
Wasser,
w [v] v
warm
ß [s] Straße, groß s
Salz, seit,
s (before vowel) [z] z
Sitz
 In addition, the sounds [b], [d], and [g] lose their voicing at the end of a syllable, so they
are pronounced as their voiceless counterparts [p], [t], and [k], respectively. However, the
spelling does not reflect the pronunciation.

Stress

Stress generally falls on the first syllable of the word, except in words borrowed from
other languages, where the stress falls on the last syllable (especially with French words.)

3. Alphabet

a ah j yoht s ess
b bay k kah t tay
c tsay l el u oo
d day m em v fow
e ay n en w vay
f eff o oh x eeks
g gay p pay y irp-se-lon
h hah q koo z tset
i ee r ehr

There is another letter in written German, ß (es-zet ), pronounced like [s]. However, this
letter is only used after long vowels or diphthongs, and it is not used at all in Switzerland.

4. Nouns & Cases

All nouns have a gender in German, either masculine, feminine or neuter.  There really
isn't a lot of logic to which nouns are which gender, so you must memorize the gender of
each noun.  

1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are nouns
ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us.  

2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -a,
-anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur.  
3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet, hotels,
restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are nouns that
end in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um.  Nouns referring to
things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words
with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.  

All nouns in German are capitalized in writing.

All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what function
they serve in the sentence.  These may seem strange, but remember that English uses
cases also; however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or indirect object
instead of dative.  Although these cases may make learning new words difficult, they
actually help with word order because the position of words in a sentence is not as fixed
in German as it is in English.  And the reason for that is because words can occur in these
four cases:

Nominative subject of the sentence The girl is reading.

We see the mountain.
Accusative direct objects
I bought a gift.
We talk to the guide.
Dative indirect objects
I gave my mom a gift.
The book of the girl.
Genitive indicates possession or relationship
The dog's tail.

Note:  The nouns you look up in a dictionary will be in the nominative case.

5. Articles & Demonstratives

Definite Articles (The)

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der (dare) die (dee) das (dahs) die
Accusative den (dane) die das die
Dative dem (dame) der dem den
Genitive des (dess) der des der
Indefinite Articles (A, An)
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. ein (ine) eine (ine-uh) ein
Acc. einen (ine-en) eine ein
Dat. einem (ine-em) einer(ine-er) einem
Gen. eines (ine-es) einer eines
Demonstratives (This, That, These, Those)
 This / These That / Those
Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl. Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl.
Nom. dieser diese dieses diese der die das die
Acc. diesen diese dieses diese den die das die
Dat. diesem dieser diesem diesen dem der dem den
Gen. dieses dieser dieses dieser des der des der

Jener is an older word  found in written German that was used to mean that or those, but
today in spoken German the definite articles are used.  Dort or da may accompany the
definite articles for emphasis.  Das is also a universal demonstrative and therefore shows
no agreement.  Notice the last letter of each of the words above.  They correspond to the
last letters of the words for the definite articles.  Words that are formed this same way are
called der-words because they follow the pattern of the der-die-das declension.  Other
der-words are:  jeder-every, and welcher-which.  Mancher (many) and solcher (such)
are also der-words, but they are used almost always in the plural.

6. Subject (Nominative) Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

ich I wir we
ikh veer

du you (familiar) ihr you (all)

doo eer

er, sie, es, man he, she, it, one sie, Sie they, you (formal)
air, zee, ess, mahn zee

Note:  Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general.  When referring to
nouns as it, you use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es for neuter
nouns.  However, the definite articles der, die and das can be substituted for er, sie and
es to show more emphasis.

7. To Be, to Have, and to Become [ Conjugation Exercise ]

Present tense of sein - to be (zine)

I am ich bin ikh bin we are wir sind veer zint
You are (fam.) du bist doo bihst you are ihr seid eer zide
He/she/it is er/sie/es ist air/zee/ess isst they (you) are sie sind zee zint
 Note:  You must use the subject pronouns (ich, du, er...); however, I will leave them out
of future conjugations.

Present tense of haben - to have (hah- Present tense of werden - to become (vair-
ben) den)
habe hah-buh haben hah-ben
werde vair-duh werden vair-den
hast hahst habt hahbt
wirst veerst werdet vair-det
hat haht haben hah-ben
wird veert werden vair-den
Past Tense
sein haben werden
vah- hah- hah- voor- voor-
war var waren hatte hatten wurde wurden
ren tuh ten duh den
hah- hah- voor- voor-
warst varst wart vart hattest hattet wurdest wurdet
test tet dest det
vah- hah- hah- voor- voor-
war var waren hatte hatten wurde wurden
ren tuh ten duh den

Haben is frequently used in expressions that would normally take to be in English.

Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry.
Ich hatte Durst. = I was thirsty.
Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored.
Ich hatte Heimweh. = I was homesick.
Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid.

8. Useful Words [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German to English Flash Cards ]

veerk-
and und oont really wirklich right! stimmt shtimt
lish
zusamme tsoo- überhau oo-ber-
but aber ah-ber together anyway
n zah-men pt howpt
guh-
very sehr zair all alle ahl-luh enough genug
nook
guh-
or oder oh-der now jetzt yetst exact(ly) genau
now
sometime manchm mahnch
here hier here so also al-zoh
s al -mal
nohkh
also auch owkh another noch ein always immer im-er
ine
both beide by-duh already schon shone never nie nee
eht- nicht wah nikht  va
some etwas isn't it? often oft ohft
vahss r hr
 shah-
only nur noor too bad schade of course klar klahr
duh
vee-
again wieder gladly gern gehrn perhaps vielleicht fee-likht
der
hoh- ine
hopefull hoffentlic immediatel ein
fent- sofort zoh-fort a little biss-
y h y bisschen
likh khen
zvish- sicher(lic zikh-er- ine vay-
between zwischen sure(ly) a little ein wenig
en h) likh nikh
therefor des- zohn- gar nik
deshalb rather sondern not at all gar nicht
e halp dehrn ht
kine
a lot, feel(uh schließlic shleess- kein
viel(e) finally not a bit biss-
many ) h likh bisschen
khen

Es gibt is commonly used to mean there is/are.

9. Question Words [ Matching Exercise ]

Who Wer vehr Whom (acc.) Wen vain

What Was vahs Whom (dat.) Wem vaim
Why Warum vah-room How come Wieso vee-zo
When Wann vahn Where from Woher vo-hair
Where Wo voh Where to Wohin vo-hin
How Wie vee Which Welch- velsh

10. Numbers / Die Nummern [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German to

English Flash Cards ] [ Translation Exercise ]

0 null nool    
1 eins ines 1st erste
2 zwei tsvy 2nd zweite
3 drei dry 3rd dritte
4 vier feer 4th vierte
5 fünf fewnf 5th fünfte
6 sechs zecks 6th sechste
7 sieben zee-bun 7th siebte
8 acht ahkht 8th achte
 9 neun noyn 9th neunte
10 zehn tsayn 10th zehnte
11 elf elf 11th elfte
12 zwölf tsvurlf 12th zwölfte
13 dreizehn dry-tsayn 13th dreizehnte
14 vierzehn feer-tsayn 14th vierzehnte
15 fünfzehn fewnf-tsayn 15th fünfzehnte
16 sechzehn zeck-tsayn 16th sechzehnte
17 siebzehn zeep-tsayn 17th siebzehnte
18 achtzehn ahkh-tsayn 18th achtzehnte
19 neunzehn noyn-tsayn 19th neunzehnte
20 zwanzig tsvahn-tsikh 20th zwanzigste
21 einundzwanzig ine-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 21st einundzwanzigste
22 zweiundzwanzig tsvy-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 22nd zweiundzwanzigste
23 dreiundzwanzig dry-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 23rd dreiundzwanzigste
24 vierundzwanzig feer-oont-tsvahn-tsikh 24th vierundzwanzigste
30 dreißig dry-sikh 30th dreißigste
40 vierzig feer-tsikh 40th vierzigste
50 fünfzig fewnf-tsikh 50th fünfzigste
60 sechzig zekh-tsikh 60th sechzigste
70 siebzig zeep-tsikh 70th siebzigste
80 achtzig ahkh-tsikh 80th achtzigste
90 neunzig noyn-tsikh 90th neunzigste
100 (ein)hundert ine-hoon-duhrt    
1,000 (ein)tausend ine-tow-zuhnt    

Note:  Sometimes zwo (tsvoh) is used instead of zwei to avoid confusion with drei.  The
use of commas and periods is switched in German, though a space is commonly used to
separate thousandths, i.e. 1,000 would be 1 000. When saying telephone numbers, you
can either say each number individually or group them in twos. For years, you use the
hundreds: 1972 is neunzehn hundert zweiundsiebzig; or the thousands: 2005 is zwei
tausend fünf.

Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born?

Ich bin in 1982 geboren. I was born in 1982.

11. Days of the Week / Die Tage [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German to
English Flash Cards ]
 Monday Montag mohn-tahk
Tuesday Dienstag deens-tahk
Wednesday Mittwoch mit-vock
Thursday Donnerstag don-ers-tahk
Friday Freitag fry-tahk
Saturday Samstag zahms-tahk
(N & E Germany) Sonnabend zon-nah-bent
Sunday Sonntag zon-tahk
day der Tag (-e) dehr tahk
morning der Morgen (-) mawr-gun
afternoon der Nachmittag (-e) nakh-mih-tahk
evening der Abend (-e) ah-bunt
night die Nacht (ä, -e) nahkt
today heute hoy-tuh
tomorrow morgen mawr-gun
tonight heute Abend hoy-tuh ah-bunt
yesterday gestern geh-stairn
last night gestern Abend geh-stairn ah-bunt
week die Woche (-n) voh-kuh
weekend das Wochenende (-n) voh-ken-en-duh
daily täglich teh-glikh
weekly wöchentlich wer-khent-likh

To say on a certain day or the weekend, use am.  Add an -s to the day to express "on
Mondays, Tuesdays, etc."  All days, months and seasons are masculine so they all use the
same form of these words:  jeden - every, nächsten - next, letzten - last (as in the last of
a series), vorigen - previous.  In der Woche is the expression for "during the week" in
Northern and Eastern Germany, while unter der Woche is used in Southern Germany,
Austria and Switzerland.

12. Months of the Year / Die Monate [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German
to English Flash Cards ] + Seasons & Directions

January Januar yah-noo-ahr

(Austria) Jänner yeh-ner
February Februar fay-broo-ahr
(Austria) Feber fay-ber
 March März mehrts
April April ah-pril
May Mai my
June Juni yoo-nee
July Juli yoo-lee
August August ow-goost
September September zehp-tehm-ber
October Oktober ok-toh-ber
November November no-vehm-ber
December Dezember deh-tsem-ber
month der Monat (-e) moh-naht
year das Jahr (-e) yaar
monthly monatlich moh-naht-likh
yearly jährlich jehr-likh

To say in a certain month, use im.

Mein Geburtstag ist im Mai. My birthday is in May.

13. Seasons / Die Jahreszeiten [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German to

English Flash Cards ] + Months & Directions

Winter der Winter dehr vin-ter

Spring der Frühling dehr frew-ling
Summer der Sommer dehr zom-mer
Autumn der Herbst dehr hehrpst

To say in the + a season, use im.

14. Directions / Die Richtungen [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German

to English Flash Cards ] + Months & Seasons

right rechts
left links
straight geradeaus
North der Norden
South der Süden
 East der Osten
West der Westen

Im Norden = in the North

Nach Osten = to the East
Aus Westen = from the West

15. Colors & Shapes / Die Farben & Die Formen [ Translation Exercise ]

orange orange square das Viereck

pink rosa circle der Kreis
purple violett / lila triangle das Dreieck
blue blau rectangle das Rechteck
yellow gelb oval das Oval
red rot octagon das Achteck
black schwarz cube der Würfel
brown braun sphere die Kugel
gray grau cone der Kegel
white weiß cylinder der Zylinder
green grün
turquoise türkis  
beige beige  
silver silber  
gold gold  

Because colors are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they
describe if they are placed before the noun. However, not all adjectives agree, such as
colors ending in -a or -e; nor do they agree when they are used as predicate adjectives.
More about Adjectives in German III. To say that a color is light, put hell- before it, and
to say that a color is dark, put dunkel- before it.

Das Viereck ist braun. The square is brown.

Das Rechteck ist hellblau. The rectange is light blue.

16. Time / Die Zeit [ Matching Exercise ]

What time is it? Wie spät ist es? vee shpayt isst ess
 (It is) 2 AM Es ist zwei Uhr nachts ess ist tsvy oor nahkts
2 PM Es ist zwei Uhr nachmittags tsvy oor nahk-mih-tahks
6:20 Es ist sechs Uhr zwanzig zex oor tsvahn-tsikh
half past 3 Es ist halb vier hahlp feer
quarter past 4 Es ist Viertel nach vier feer-tel nahk feer
quarter to 5 Es ist Viertel vor fünf feer-tel for fewnf
10 past 11 Es ist zehn nach elf tsyan nahk elf
20 to 7 Es ist zwanzig vor sieben tsvahn-tsikh for zee-bun
noon Es ist mittags mih-tahks
midnight Es ist mitternachts mih-ter-nahks
in the morning morgens / frühs mawr-guns / frews
in the evening abends aah-bunts
It's exactly... Es ist genau... ess ist guh-now
At 8. Um 8 Uhr. oom akht oor
early(ier) früh(er) frew(er)
late(r) spät(er) shpayt(er)

Note: Official time, such as for bus and train schedules, always uses the 24 hour clock.
Notice that halb + number means half to, not half past, so you have to use the hour that
comes next.

17. Weather / Das Wetter [ Matching Exercise ]

How's the weather
Wie ist das Wetter heute? vie ist dahs vet-ter hoy-tuh
today?
It's hot Es ist heiß ess isst hise
It's cold Es ist kalt ess isst kahlt
It's beautiful Es ist schön ess isst shern
It's bad Es ist schlecht ess isst shlehkt
It's clear Es ist klar ess isst klahr
It's icy Es ist eisig ess isst ise-ikh
It's warm Es ist warm ess isst varm
It's sunny Es ist sonnig ess isst zohn-ikh
It's windy Es ist windig ess isst vin-dikh
It's cloudy Es ist bewölkt ess isst beh-verlkt
It's hazy Es ist dunstig ess isst doons-tikh
It's muggy Es ist schwül ess isst schvool
It's humid Es ist feucht ess isst foikht
It's foggy Es ist nebelig ess isst neh-beh-likh
It's snowing Es schneit ess schnite
It's raining Es regnet ess rayg-net
It's freezing Es friert ess freert
It looks like rain. Es sieht nach Regen aus. es seet nahkh ray-gen ows
The weather is clearing Das Wetter klärt sich auf. dahs vett-er klairt sikh owf

18. Family / Die Familie [ English to German Flash Cards ] [ German to English
Flash Cards ] [ Translation Exercise ] [Singular to Plural Exercise]

der/die Verwandte (-
Parents die Eltern Relative
n)
Mother die Mutter (ü) Man der Mann (ä, -er)
Father der Vater (ä) Sir / Mister der Herr (-en)
Woman / Ma'am / Mrs. /
Son der Sohn (ö, -e) die Frau (-en)
Ms.
Daughter die Tochter (ö) Husband der Ehemann (ä, -er)
Brother der Bruder (ü) Wife die Ehefrau (-en)
Sister die Schwester (-n) Boy der Junge (-n)
Grandparents die Großeltern Girl das Mädchen (-)
Grandfather der Großvater (ä) Grandpa der Opa (-s)
Grandmother die Großmutter (ü) Grandma die Oma (-s)
Grandchildren die Enkelkinder Dad Vati
Grandson der Enkel (-) Mom Mutti
Granddaughter   die Enkelin (-nen) Friend (m) der Freund (-e)
Niece die Nichte (-n) Friend (f) die Freundin (-nen)
Partner / Significant
Nephew der Neffe (-n) der Partner (-)
Other (m)
Partner / Significant
Cousin (m) der Vetter (-n) die Partnerin (-nen)
Other (f)
Cousin (f) die Kusine (-n) Marital Status der Familienstand
Uncle der Onkel (-) Single ledig
Aunt die Tante (-n) Married verheiratet
Siblings die Geschwister Divorced geschieden
Baby das Baby (-s) Male männlich
Godfather der Pate (-n) Female weiblich
Godmother die Patin (-nen) Child das Kind (-er)
Step- der/die Stief- Toddler das Kleinkind (-er)
-in-law der/die Schwieger- Teenager der Teenager (-)
Brother-in-law der Schwager (ä) Adult der Erwachsene (-n)
die Schwägerin (-
Sister-in-law Twin der Zwilling (-e)
nen)

The letters in parentheses indicate the plural form of the noun. Notice that sometimes an
umlaut is placed over the main vowel of the word in the plural. For example, der Mann
is singular (the man) and die Männer is plural (the men). For step- and -in-law relations,
just add Stief- or Schwieger- before the main person, except in the case of brother-in-law
and sister-in-law noted above. The plurals follow the pattern for the main person, i.e. die
Schwiegermutter (singular) and die Schwiegermütter (plural)

19. To Know People and Facts [ Conjugation Exercise ]

kennen - to know people wissen - to know facts

kenne ken-nuh kennen ken-nun weiß vise wissen vih-sun
kennst kenst kennt kent weißt vist wisst vihst
kennt kent kennen ken-nun weiß vise wissen vih-sun

Kennen is a regular verb, while wissen is irregular.

20. Formation of Plural Nouns

Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it's best to memorize the plural form with
the singular.  However, here are some rules that can help:

1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en.  Nouns that end in -in (such as the female
equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen.

eine Lampe zwei Lampen

eine Tür zwei Türen
eine Studentin zwei Studentinnen

2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er.  Many masculine plural nouns
ending in -e add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don't.  Plurals
that end in -er add an umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au.

Masculine Neuter
ein Rock zwei Röcke ein Heft zwei Hefte
 ein Mann zwei Männer ein Buch zwei Bücher

3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change
nothing at all.  Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut.

Masculine Neuter
ein Bruder zwei Brüder ein Fenster zwei Fenster

4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin add
-s.

ein Hobby zwei Hobbys

ein Hotel zwei Hotels