German Vocabulary Building Syllabus

Vocabulary Building syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Vocabulary Building in German, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Everyday Vocabulary

   3 topics

   • Numbers and Colors
   • Days of the Week and Time
   • Family and Relationships
2. 2

   Common Verbs and Adjectives

   2 topics

   • High-Frequency Verbs
   • Descriptive Adjectives

Vocabulary Building flashcards for German

22 of 54 cards from the Vocabulary Building deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for the numbers 1, 2, and 3?

   eins (1), zwei (2), drei (3).

2. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for 4, 5, and 6?

   vier (4), fünf (5), sechs (6).

3. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for 7, 8, 9, and 10?

   sieben (7), acht (8), neun (9), zehn (10).

4. Numbers and Colors: How do you say 11 and 12 in German (the irregular 'teens')?

   elf (11) and zwölf (12) — they do not follow the -zehn pattern used from 13 onward.

5. Numbers and Colors: What is the rule for forming German numbers 13–19?

   Take the unit + 'zehn': dreizehn (13), vierzehn (14), fünfzehn (15), sechzehn (16, drops the -s), siebzehn (17, drops -en), achtzehn (18), neunzehn (19).

6. Numbers and Colors: How is a two-digit number like 21 constructed in German, and what does it literally mean?

   Unit + 'und' + tens: einundzwanzig (21), literally 'one-and-twenty'. The ones digit is spoken before the tens digit.

7. Numbers and Colors: Give the German words for the tens: 20, 30, 40, 50.

   zwanzig (20), dreißig (30, spelled with ß), vierzig (40), fünfzig (50).

8. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for 100 and 1000?

   (ein)hundert (100) and (ein)tausend (1000).

9. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for the colors red, blue, green, and yellow?

   rot (red), blau (blue), grün (green), gelb (yellow).

10. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for black, white, and gray?

    schwarz (black), weiß (white), grau (gray).

11. Numbers and Colors: What are the German words for brown, orange, pink, and purple?

    braun (brown), orange (orange), rosa (pink), lila (purple).

12. Numbers and Colors: The adjectives 'rosa' and 'lila' behave unusually in German. How?

    They are invariable (indeclinable) — they never take adjective endings, e.g. 'ein rosa Kleid', 'die lila Blumen'.

13. Days of the Week and Time: List the seven days of the week in German, starting with Monday.

    Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag (or Sonnabend), Sonntag.

14. Days of the Week and Time: What grammatical gender do all German days of the week share, and which preposition means 'on' a day?

    All days are masculine (der Montag). 'On' a day uses 'am' (an + dem): am Montag = on Monday.

15. Days of the Week and Time: What does 'Mittwoch' literally mean, and why is it not named like the others?

    'Mittwoch' means 'mid-week' (Mitte + Woche); the other days derive from celestial bodies/gods, but Wednesday is named for its position in the week.

16. Days of the Week and Time: What are the German words for today, tomorrow, and yesterday?

    heute (today), morgen (tomorrow), gestern (yesterday).

17. Days of the Week and Time: How do you ask 'What time is it?' in German?

    'Wie spät ist es?' or 'Wie viel Uhr ist es?'

18. Days of the Week and Time: In colloquial German, how do you express 'half past' an hour (e.g., 4:30)?

    German counts toward the next hour: 4:30 is 'halb fünf' (literally 'half five', i.e. halfway to five).

19. Days of the Week and Time: How do you say 'quarter past' and 'quarter to' the hour in German?

    Quarter past = 'Viertel nach' (e.g. Viertel nach drei = 3:15); quarter to = 'Viertel vor' (e.g. Viertel vor vier = 3:45).

20. Days of the Week and Time: What are the German words for the times of day: morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and night?

    der Morgen (morning), der Mittag (noon), der Nachmittag (afternoon), der Abend (evening), die Nacht (night).

21. Days of the Week and Time: What is the German word for 'week', and for 'weekend'?

    die Woche (week) and das Wochenende (weekend).

22. Days of the Week and Time: How do you say 'It is one o'clock' vs 'It is eight o'clock' in German?

    'Es ist ein Uhr' (1:00) and 'Es ist acht Uhr' (8:00). Note 'ein Uhr' uses 'ein', not 'eins'.

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