Go with the Flow!

200+ of the Most Common German Nouns

fluentu.com/blog/german/most-common-german-nouns/

rebeccahenderson

What is the longest word you can think of?

Imagine a word that is 63 letters long. Yes, 63 individual letters.

Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz.

That may seem longer than all of Germany’s beautiful rivers combined, but its meaning, “law delegating beef label monitoring,” has a decidedly
less romantic vibe.

It was dropped later due to changes in EU regulations, but still, just knowing it ever existed might make the idea of learning German nouns in
general seem scary.

But before you panic, consider a few things.

First, yes, you will see scary German compound nouns, but they follow a certain logic and are specially built to transport extra vocabulary.

When you look at the above word in English, for example, it seems a lot tamer than the German mouthful.

Once you break down that hunk of letters into its individual nouns, the meaning becomes clearer.

Second, common German nouns that you are actually likely to use in everyday speech are often pretty short (and definitely shorter than the
word above).

Third, once you get started with learning the most common German nouns, you will be building up a vessel of knowledge that will accelerate
your learning and transport you towards fluency.

So let’s get things flowing with the most common German people, places and things!

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The Basic Characteristics of a German Noun
Here are a few things to know about German nouns that can help you spot them as you read or listen:

(1) Nouns are a person, location, object or concept. Examples of this include der Freund (friend), die Stadt (city), der Ball (ball) and die
Freiheit (freedom).

(2) Nouns are capitalized, like proper names in English: Freund, Stadt, Ball, Freiheit.

(3) Nouns can be singular or plural, just like in English.

(4) Nouns have an article, which denotes their gender: der, die or das.

Nouns are used a lot in German, second only to verbs. Keep these characteristics in mind as you read, and you will start spotting nouns in no
time!

A Very Quick, Non-scary Look at German Compound Nouns

Chances are, you probably won’t encounter a 63-letter-long word in your daily German reading, but you might come across smaller compound
German nouns. It can be a bit like finding the tail of a snake and the head of another, but practice a few and you will get the hang of it!

You can combine nouns to form one single long word like the example below. Sometimes it forms what looks like a Kuddelmuddel (confusion,
muddle) and can look and sound a bit funny.

The word die Groβschachanlage means “giant chess board.”

It is formed from the following words:

groβ means “large” or “giant”

(das) Schach means “chess”
(die) Anlage means “board”

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All together, you have “giant-chess-board,” or Groβ-schach-anlage.

Some German compound nouns can be comprised of many, many nouns. The next time you are reading, see what compound nouns you can
find.

Get on Board with 200+ of the Most Common German Nouns

Memorizing the nouns below will give you a good general base of German vocabulary. The German words are divided into themed lists so that
you can cover useful categories at your own pace.

You can expand upon this vocabulary with this frequency list of the 2000 most common German nouns.

Learn common German nouns in more depth with FluentU.

FluentU is one of the best websites and apps for learning German the way native speakers really use it. FluentU takes real-world videos—
like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

Watch authentic media to simultaneously immerse yourself in the German language and build an understanding of the German culture.

By using real-life videos, the content is kept fresh and current. Topics cover a lot of ground as you can see here:

Vocabulary and phrases are learned with the help of interactive subtitles and full transcripts.

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Hovering over or tapping on any word in the subtitles will automatically pause the video and instantly display its meaning. Interesting words
you don’t know yet can be added to a to-learn list for later.

For every lesson, a list of vocabulary is provided for easy reference and bolstered with plenty of examples of how each word is used in a
sentence.

Your existing knowledge is tested with the help of adaptive quizzes in which words are learned in context.

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To keep things fresh, FluentU keeps track of the words you’re learning and recommends further lessons and videos based on what you've
already studied.

This way, you have a truly personalized learning experience.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or practice anytime, anywhere on the mobile app for iOS and Android.

Make custom flashcard sets using these word lists and let FluentU pull video content to help you learn them, or use videos that include groups
of basic words—like “Breakfast Vocabulary” or “The Days Of the Week Song”—to master useful nouns.

Family and Friends

mother: die Mutter

father: der Vater
sister: die Schwester
brother: der Bruder
child: das Kind
aunt: die Tante
uncle: der Onkel
grandmother: die Groβmutter
grandfather: der Groβvater
female cousin: die Cousine
male cousin: der Cousin
boyfriend: der Freund
girlfriend: die Freundin
husband: der Mann

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 wife: die Frau
male colleague: der Kollege
female colleague: die Kollegin
male partner: der Partner
female partner: die Partnerin

If you wanted to say, “Here is my Uncle Tom and Aunt Theresa” in German, you would say, “Hier sind mein Onkel Tom und meine Tante
Theresa.”

Similarly, you would say, “Sie ist meine Schwester” if you wanted to say, “She is my sister.”

Household Objects

house: das Haus

bed: das Bett
table: der Tisch
door: die Tür
pillow/cushion: das Kissen
window: das Fenster
wall: die Wand
floor: der Boden
bedroom: das Schlafzimmer
bathroom: das Badezimmer
kitchen: die Küche
living room: die Wohnung
basement: der Keller
couch: die Couch
chair: der Stuhl
sink: das Waschbecken
toilet: die Toilette
bathtub: die Badewanne
shower: die Dusche
lamp: die Lampe
trash: der Müll
refrigerator: der Kühlschrank
stove: der Herd
microwave: der Mikrowellenherd
dishwasher: die Geschirrspülmaschine
cabinet: das Kabinett

In German, “Ich putze die Dusche” means, “I clean the shower.”

To say, “He sits in the chair,” you would use der Stuhl to say, “Er sitzt auf dem Stuhl.”

Transportation

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 car: das Auto
truck: der Lustkraftwagen (LKW)
bus: der Bus
plane: das Flugzeug
train: der Zug
boat: das Boot
taxi: das Taxi
school bus: der Schulbus
ticket: das Ticket
pass: der Pass
semi truck: der Sattelzug

Do you take the bus to work? Simply say, “Ich fahre mit dem Bus in die Arbeit.” (Literally, “I travel with the bus to work,” or more colloquially,
“I take the bus to work.”)

Pilots would say, “Ich fliege das Flugzeug” to mean they are flying the plane.

Locations

city: die Stadt

country: das Land
mountain: der Berg
plains: die Ebenen
desert: die Wüste
school: die Schule
work: die Arbeit
homeland: das Heimatland

Do you live auf dem Land (in the country) or in der Stadt (in the city)?

Occupations

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As with family and friend nouns, occupations have a masculine and feminine form.

pilot:
der Pilot
die Pilotin

doctor:
der Doktor
die Doktorin

dentist:
der Zahnarzt
die Zahnarztin

librarian:
der Bibliothekar
die Bibliothekarin

hairdresser:
der Friseur
die Friseurin

lawyer:
der Rechtsanwalt
die Rechtsanwältin

salesman/woman:
der Verkäufer
die Verkäuferin

bus driver:
der Busfahrer
die Busfahrerin

teacher:
der Lehrer
die Lehrerin

professor:
der Professor
die Professorin

assistant:
der Assistent
die Assistentin

stock broker:
der Börsenmakler
die Börsenmaklerin

marketer:
der Vermarkter
die Vermarkterin

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 insurance agent:
der Versicherungsagent
die Verischerungsagentin

truck driver:
der LKW-Fahrer
die LKW-Fahrerin

writer:
der Schriftsteller
die Schriftstellerin

editor:
der Redakteur
die Redakteurin

journalist:
der Journalist
die Journalistin

machinist:
der Mechaniker
die Mechanikerin

carpenter:
der Zimmermann
die Zimmerfrau

computer programmer:
der Computerprogrammierer
die Computerprogrammiererin

personal trainer:
der persönliche Trainer
die persönliche Trainerin

supervisor:
der Vorgesetzte
die Vorgesetzterin

boss:
der Chef
die Chefin

caregiver:
der Pfleger
die Pflegerin

clerk:
der Angestellter
die Angestellte

detective:
der Detektiv
die Detektivin

police officer:
der Polizeibeamte
die Polizeibeamtin

firefighter:
der Feuerwehrmann
die Feuerwehrfrau

What do your parents do?

You could say, “My father is a supervisor, and my mother is a clerk,” or “Mein Vater ist Vorgesetzte und meine Mutter ist Angestellte.”

Food

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breakfast: das Frühstuck
lunch: das Mittagessen
dinner: das Abendessen
snack: der Snack
dessert: das Dessert
cake: der Kuchen
bread: das Brot
milk: die Milch
egg: das Ei
flour: das Mehl
sugar: der Zucker
meat: das Fleisch
turkey: der Truthahn
pork: das Schweinefleisch
chicken: das Huhn
tofu: der Tofu
salad: der Salat
pizza: die Pizza
cracker: die Cracker
cereal: das Müsli
oatmeal: das Haferflocken
pancakes: die Pfannkuchen
bacon: der Speck
chocolate: die Schokolade
fruit: das Obst
vegetable: das Gemüse
apple: der Aprfel
carrot: die Karotte
pear: die Birne
banana: die Banane
tomato: die Tomate
potato: die Kartoffel
celery: der Sellerie
broccoli: der Brokkoli
onion: die Zwiebel
cucumber: die Gurke
zucchini: die Zucchini
peach: der Pfirsich
nut: die Nuss
brussel sprouts: der Rosenkohl
lasagna: die Lasagna
spaghetti: die Spaghetti
macaroni: die Makkaroni
peanut butter: die Erdnussbutter
jelly: das Gelee
sandwich: das Sandwich
burger: der Burger
fries: die Pommes
soup: die Suppe
fish: der Fisch

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 rice: der Reis
beans: die Bohnen
burrito: der Burrito
ham: der Schinken
pasta: die Pasta

Was für einen Apfel haben Sie gern? (What kind of apples do you like?)

You might say, “I like red apples,” or “Ich habe rote Äpfel gern.” It’s always good to eat your fruits and veggies!

Pets

dog: der Hund

cat: die Katze
fish: der Fisch
bird: der Vogel
snake: die Schlange
mouse: die Maus
gerbil: die Rennmaus
hamster: der Hamster
ferret: das Frettchen

If you wanted to say, “My bird’s name is Perry,” you would say, “Mein Vogel heiβt Perry.”

To say, “I have a brown dog,” you would need to make sure “brown” has the correct adjective ending: “Ich habe einen braunen Hund.”

Clothing Items

shirt: das Hemd

pants: die Hose
coat: der Mantel
socks: die Socken
shoes: die Schuhe
shorts: die Shorts
underwear: die Unterwäsche
blouse: die Bluse
bra: der Büstenhalter (BH, for short!)
jeans: die Jeans
belt: der Gürtel
hat: der Hut
tie: die Krawatte

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 dress: das Kleid
skirt: der Rock
boots: die Stiefel

Welche Farbe hat dein Hemd? (What color is your shirt?)

Mein Hemd ist blau. (My shirt is blue.)

Haben Sie meine Krawatte gesehen? (Have you seen my tie?)

Sports

baseball: der Baseball

basketball: der Basketball
soccer: der Fuβball
football: der Football
hockey: das Hockey
rugby: das Rugby
tennis: das Tennis
lacrosse: das Lacrosse
cricket: das Cricket
volleyball: der Volleyball
golf: der Golf

Welcher Sport haben Sie besser, das Hockey oder den Golf? (What sport do you like better, hockey or golf?)

Ich habe leider beide nicht gern. Ich finde den Golf langweilig. (Unfortunately, I don’t like either. I think golf is boring.)

Personal Belongings

purse: der Geldbeutel

cellphone: das Handy
keys: die Schlüssel
wallet: das Portemonnaie
money: das Geld
watch: die Uhr
jewelry: der Schmuck
chapstick: der Lippenstift
bag: die Tasche
laptop: der Laptop

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 iPod: der iPod
MP3 player: der MP3-Player
notebook: das Notebook
credit card: die Kreditkarte
driver’s license: der Führerschein

Wo haben Sie deinen Schmuck gekauft? (Where did you buy your jewelry?)

Ich habe deine Tasche gern. (I really like your bag.)

You will end up using a lot of the above German nouns in conversations and writing.

So start here and do your best to memorize as many as you can!

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