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German Vocabulary Building Syllabus

The Vocabulary Building syllabus for German in full: 2 chapters and 5 topics, every one listed below, plus 54 Vocabulary Building flashcards with answers.

2Chapters
5Topics
54Flashcards

Vocabulary Building syllabus: all 2 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  1. Everyday Vocabulary

     3 topics
    • Numbers and Colors
    • Days of the Week and Time
    • Family and Relationships

  2. Common Verbs and Adjectives

     2 topics
    • High-Frequency Verbs
    • Descriptive Adjectives

German Vocabulary Building flashcards — 54 questions with 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).

Show the other 34 Vocabulary Building flashcards

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

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

  2. 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'.

  3. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for mother, father, and parents?

    die Mutter (mother), der Vater (father), die Eltern (parents, plural).

  4. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for brother, sister, and siblings?

    der Bruder (brother), die Schwester (sister), die Geschwister (siblings).

  5. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for son, daughter, and child?

    der Sohn (son), die Tochter (daughter), das Kind (child).

  6. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for grandmother, grandfather, and grandparents?

    die Großmutter / Oma (grandmother), der Großvater / Opa (grandfather), die Großeltern (grandparents).

  7. Family and Relationships: How do German family terms typically indicate 'grand-' and 'great-grand-' relationships?

    With the prefix 'Groß-' for grand (Großvater) and 'Urgroß-' for great-grand (Urgroßvater = great-grandfather).

  8. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for aunt, uncle, and cousin (male/female)?

    die Tante (aunt), der Onkel (uncle), der Cousin / Vetter (male cousin), die Cousine / Kusine (female cousin).

  9. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for husband, wife, and married?

    der Mann/Ehemann (husband), die Frau/Ehefrau (wife), verheiratet (married).

  10. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for boyfriend/girlfriend versus friend, and the ambiguity involved?

    'mein Freund / meine Freundin' can mean either 'my boyfriend/girlfriend' or 'my (male/female) friend'; possessive + context disambiguates. 'ein Freund von mir' means just 'a friend of mine'.

  11. Family and Relationships: What German prefix marks in-law and step relationships, and give an example of each?

    'Schwieger-' marks in-laws (die Schwiegermutter = mother-in-law) and 'Stief-' marks step-relations (der Stiefvater = stepfather).

  12. Family and Relationships: What are the German words for baby, adult, and family?

    das Baby (baby), der/die Erwachsene (adult), die Familie (family).

  13. High-Frequency Verbs: Conjugate 'sein' (to be) in the present tense for ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie.

    ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind. It is highly irregular.

  14. High-Frequency Verbs: Conjugate 'haben' (to have) in the present tense across all persons.

    ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie/Sie haben.

  15. High-Frequency Verbs: Conjugate the regular verb 'machen' (to make/do) in the present tense.

    ich mache, du machst, er/sie/es macht, wir machen, ihr macht, sie/Sie machen.

  16. High-Frequency Verbs: What is the general present-tense ending pattern for regular (weak) German verbs?

    Stem + endings: -e (ich), -st (du), -t (er/sie/es), -en (wir), -t (ihr), -en (sie/Sie).

  17. High-Frequency Verbs: The verb 'gehen' means what, and how is 'ich gehe / du gehst' formed?

    'gehen' = to go/walk. ich gehe, du gehst, er geht, wir gehen, ihr geht, sie gehen (regular endings on the stem 'geh-').

  18. High-Frequency Verbs: 'sprechen' (to speak) is a stem-changing verb. What vowel change occurs and in which forms?

    e → i in the du and er/sie/es forms: ich spreche, but du sprichst, er/sie/es spricht (wir/ihr/sie keep 'sprech-').

  19. High-Frequency Verbs: 'fahren' (to drive/go) is stem-changing. What change occurs and where?

    a → ä in the du and er/sie/es forms: du fährst, er/sie/es fährt (ich fahre, wir fahren remain unchanged).

  20. High-Frequency Verbs: What do the modal verbs 'können', 'wollen', and 'müssen' mean?

    können = can/to be able to; wollen = to want to; müssen = to have to/must.

  21. High-Frequency Verbs: What are the meanings of 'kommen', 'sehen', and 'essen'?

    kommen = to come; sehen = to see; essen = to eat.

  22. High-Frequency Verbs: How is the German present tense special compared to English regarding continuous action?

    German has no separate continuous form: 'ich lese' means both 'I read' and 'I am reading' — context supplies the distinction.

  23. High-Frequency Verbs: What does the verb 'heißen' mean, and how is it used to state your name?

    'heißen' = to be called/named. 'Ich heiße Anna' = 'My name is Anna' (literally 'I am called Anna').

  24. Descriptive Adjectives: What are the German adjectives for big/tall and small/short?

    groß (big/tall) and klein (small/short).

  25. Descriptive Adjectives: What are the German adjectives for good and bad?

    gut (good) and schlecht (bad).

  26. Descriptive Adjectives: What are the German adjective pairs for new/old and young/old?

    neu (new) / alt (old) for things; jung (young) / alt (old) for people. 'alt' serves as the opposite of both 'neu' and 'jung'.

  27. Descriptive Adjectives: What are the German adjectives for hot and cold, and for warm?

    heiß (hot), kalt (cold), warm (warm).

  28. Descriptive Adjectives: How do you form the comparative of most German adjectives? Give the example for 'klein'.

    Add '-er' (often with an umlaut on a/o/u): klein → kleiner (smaller). Many short adjectives umlaut: alt → älter, jung → jünger.

  29. Descriptive Adjectives: How do you form the superlative of German adjectives, e.g., 'schnell' (fast)?

    Add '-st(e)', typically as 'am ...-sten': schnell → am schnellsten (fastest). Predicative: 'am schnellsten'; attributive: 'der schnellste'.

  30. Descriptive Adjectives: Give the irregular comparative and superlative of 'gut' (good).

    gut → besser (better) → am besten / der beste (best).

  31. Descriptive Adjectives: Give the irregular comparative/superlative forms of 'viel' (much) and 'gern' (gladly).

    viel → mehr → am meisten; gern → lieber → am liebsten.

  32. Descriptive Adjectives: When do German adjectives take endings versus stay uninflected?

    Predicative adjectives (after sein/werden/bleiben) stay uninflected: 'Das Haus ist groß.' Attributive adjectives (before a noun) take endings agreeing in gender, case, and number: 'das große Haus.'

  33. Descriptive Adjectives: What are the German adjectives for beautiful/nice, expensive, and cheap?

    schön (beautiful/nice), teuer (expensive), billig / günstig (cheap).

  34. Descriptive Adjectives: What are the German adjectives for fast and slow, and for easy/light and difficult/heavy?

    schnell (fast) / langsam (slow); leicht (easy or light) / schwer (difficult or heavy).

German Vocabulary Building FAQ

What is in the German Vocabulary Building syllabus?

German Vocabulary Building is split into 2 chapters: Everyday Vocabulary and Common Verbs and Adjectives. Together they contain 5 topics.

How many chapters are in German Vocabulary Building?

2 chapters, containing 5 topics. The largest chapter is Everyday Vocabulary, with 3 topics.

Are there flashcards for German Vocabulary Building?

Yes — a 54-card Vocabulary Building deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.