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German A1: essential words and phrases
Beginner German flashcards: greetings, family, numbers, telling time, food, sein, haben, articles, word order and directions, with gender and usage notes.
43 cards6 topicsAbout 15 minutes a roundTypical first-semester introductory German (German 1, beginner A1 level)
About this deck
This deck is for complete beginners and students starting a first German course. It aims at the A1 level of the CEFR, where you can greet people, introduce yourself, count, tell time, order food and find your way. The cards cover greetings and politeness, family and people, numbers and time (including the tricky halb drei), food and shopping, core verbs and grammar basics such as articles, verb-second word order and negation, and places and directions.
No German is needed to start. Every noun appears with der, die or das, because gender in German has to be learned word by word and affects articles, adjectives and pronouns later. All German nouns are capitalized. Where Austria or Switzerland use a different everyday word, the card mentions it.
Study by saying each term aloud, including the article, as one unit: der Bahnhof, not just Bahnhof. Some learners use colours for gender (for example blue for der, red for die, green for das) in their own notes, which can help. Once a group feels easy, shuffle and produce the German from the English.
Common mistakes: reading halb drei as half past three when it means 2:30; putting the verb in the wrong place, as in 'Heute ich gehe' instead of Heute gehe ich; and using nicht before a noun with an indefinite article where kein is needed (ich habe kein Auto). Another is using du with a stranger in a formal context, where Sie is expected.
Before you start: None. Familiarity with English grammar terms such as noun, verb and article is helpful.
All 43 cards
Cover the definitions with a sheet of paper and test yourself, or use the study modes above.
Greetings and politeness
- Guten Tag
- Hello or good day. A neutral, polite greeting for most of the day; in speech often shortened to Tag.Example: Guten Tag, Frau Schmidt! (Hello, Ms Schmidt!)
- Guten Morgen / Guten Abend
- Good morning / good evening. Gute Nacht is said only when going to bed.Example: Guten Morgen! Gut geschlafen? (Good morning! Did you sleep well?)
- Grüß Gott / Grüezi
- Common greetings in southern Germany and Austria (the first) and in German-speaking Switzerland (the second), used like hello.Example: Grüß Gott, was darf es sein? (Hello, what can I get you?)
- Hallo / Tschüss
- Hi / bye. Informal and friendly; Tschüss is also widely used in shops.Example: Hallo, Tom! Tschüss, bis morgen! (Hi, Tom! Bye, see you tomorrow!)
- Auf Wiedersehen
- Goodbye, polite and neutral. On the phone people say Auf Wiederhören.Example: Danke und auf Wiedersehen! (Thanks and goodbye!)
- bitte
- Please; also you're welcome and here you go. After Wie in a question, it means pardon? or sorry, what did you say?Example: Ein Wasser, bitte. (A water, please.)
- danke / danke schön
- Thanks / thank you very much. A typical reply is bitte or bitte schön.Example: Danke schön! Bitte schön! (Thank you very much! You're welcome!)
- Entschuldigung
- Excuse me or sorry. Used to get attention or to apologize; Entschuldigen Sie is more formal.Example: Entschuldigung, wo ist die Toilette? (Excuse me, where is the washroom?)
- Wie geht es Ihnen? / Wie geht's?
- How are you? The first is formal, the second informal. Answer with gut, danke or es geht (so-so).Example: Wie geht's? Gut, danke! Und dir? (How are you? Good, thanks! And you?)
- Ich heiße...
- My name is... From heißen (to be called). To ask formally: Wie heißen Sie? Informally: Wie heißt du?Example: Ich heiße Jonas. (My name is Jonas.)
- du / Sie
- Informal you / formal you. The formal word is always capitalized and uses the same verb form as sie (they).Example: Kommen Sie aus Kanada? Kommst du mit? (Do you come from Canada? Are you coming along?)
- Freut mich.
- Pleased to meet you, short for Es freut mich, Sie kennenzulernen.Example: Ich bin Mia. Freut mich! (I'm Mia. Pleased to meet you!)
People and family
- die Mutter / der Vater
- Mother / father. Die Eltern means parents (plural only).Example: Meine Mutter ist Lehrerin. (My mother is a teacher.)
- der Bruder / die Schwester
- Brother / sister. Die Geschwister means siblings.Example: Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester. (I have a brother and a sister.)
- das Kind, die Kinder
- Child, children. A neuter noun, even though a child is a boy or a girl.Example: Das Kind spielt im Garten. (The child is playing in the garden.)
- der Freund / die Freundin
- Friend, or boyfriend / girlfriend, depending on context. To be clear about a friend, say ein Freund von mir.Example: Das ist meine Freundin Lena. (This is my girlfriend, or my friend, Lena.)
- der Mann / die Frau
- Man or husband / woman or wife. Frau is also the title for Ms or Mrs.Example: Ihr Mann kommt aus Polen. (Her husband comes from Poland.)
- das Mädchen
- Girl. Neuter because every noun ending in the diminutive -chen is neuter.Example: Das Mädchen liest ein Buch. (The girl is reading a book.)
Numbers and time
- eins bis zehn
- One to ten: eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn. On the phone, zwo is often said for zwei to avoid confusion with drei.Example: Ich habe zwei Katzen. (I have two cats.)
- einundzwanzig
- Twenty-one, said as 'one-and-twenty'. All numbers from 21 to 99 put the unit first: 47 is siebenundvierzig.Example: Ich bin einundzwanzig Jahre alt. (I am twenty-one years old.)
- Wie spät ist es?
- What time is it? Also Wie viel Uhr ist es? Answer with Es ist... Uhr.Example: Es ist acht Uhr. (It is eight o'clock.)
- halb drei
- 2:30, literally half (on the way to) three. Halb always refers to the next hour; Viertel nach drei is 3:15.Example: Der Kurs beginnt um halb drei. (The class starts at 2:30.)
- heute / morgen / gestern
- Today / tomorrow / yesterday. Capitalized der Morgen means the morning; morgen früh is tomorrow morning.Example: Morgen habe ich frei. (Tomorrow I have the day off.)
- die Wochentage
- Days of the week: Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag (Sonnabend in parts of the north and east), Sonntag. All masculine; am Montag means on Monday.Example: Am Freitag gehe ich ins Kino. (On Friday I'm going to the movies.)
- das Wochenende
- Weekend. A neuter compound of die Woche (week) and das Ende (end); use am for on the weekend.Example: Schönes Wochenende! (Have a nice weekend!)
Food and shopping
- das Brot / das Brötchen
- Bread / bread roll. A roll is die Semmel in Bavaria and Austria and die Schrippe in Berlin.Example: Zum Frühstück esse ich ein Brötchen. (For breakfast I eat a roll.)
- das Frühstück / das Mittagessen / das Abendessen
- Breakfast / lunch / dinner. Many families eat a cold evening meal called das Abendbrot.Example: Das Mittagessen ist um zwölf Uhr. (Lunch is at twelve o'clock.)
- Was kostet das?
- How much does it cost? Also Wie viel kostet das?Example: Was kostet das Buch? Zwölf Euro. (How much is the book? Twelve euros.)
- Ich hätte gern...
- I would like... A polite way to order in shops and cafés; it uses the Konjunktiv II of haben.Example: Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee. (I would like a coffee.)
- Die Rechnung, bitte.
- The bill, please. People also say Zahlen, bitte (literally paying, please).Example: Entschuldigung, die Rechnung, bitte! (Excuse me, the bill, please!)
- das Geschäft / der Laden
- Shop or store. Geschäft also means business. Einkaufen gehen means to go shopping.Example: Der Laden schließt um 20 Uhr. (The shop closes at 8 p.m.)
Core verbs and grammar
- sein
- To be: ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind.Example: Wir sind Studenten aus Kanada. (We are students from Canada.)
- haben
- To have: ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir and sie/Sie take the infinitive form, ihr habt. With Hunger it means to be hungry.Example: Ich habe Hunger. (I am hungry.)
- gehen / fahren
- To go on foot / to go by vehicle (drive or ride). Fahren changes a to ä: du fährst, er fährt.Example: Ich gehe zur Uni, aber er fährt mit dem Bus. (I walk to university, but he goes by bus.)
- sprechen
- To speak. Stem change e to i in the du and er forms: du sprichst, er spricht.Example: Sprichst du Deutsch? Ein bisschen. (Do you speak German? A little.)
- es gibt
- There is or there are, followed by the accusative case.Example: Es gibt einen Park in der Nähe. (There is a park nearby.)
- der / die / das
- The three definite articles (masculine, feminine, neuter); the plural of all three is die. Learn each noun with its article.Example: der Tisch, die Lampe, das Buch, die Bücher (the table, the lamp, the book, the books)
- Verb an Position 2
- In a German main clause the conjugated verb is always the second element. If something else starts the sentence, the subject moves after the verb.Example: Ich gehe heute ins Kino. Heute gehe ich ins Kino. (I'm going to the movies today.)
- nicht / kein
- The two words for not or no. Kein negates nouns that would take ein or no article; nicht negates verbs, adjectives and the rest.Example: Ich habe kein Auto. Das ist nicht teuer. (I don't have a car. That isn't expensive.)
Places and directions
- Wo ist...?
- Where is...? Wohin asks where to, and woher asks where from.Example: Wo ist die Bibliothek? (Where is the library?)
- links / rechts / geradeaus
- Left / right / straight ahead. Biegen Sie links ab means turn left.Example: Gehen Sie geradeaus und dann rechts. (Go straight ahead and then right.)
- der Bahnhof
- Train station. Der Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) is the main station; die Haltestelle is a bus or tram stop.Example: Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? (How do I get to the train station?)
- das Auto / der Wagen
- Car. Both are common; Wagen also means a railway coach.Example: Mein Auto ist alt, aber gut. (My car is old but good.)