“One word says more then 1.000 grammars”
(Buddah)
Uh…. I’m not 100% sure about this quote but what I am sure about is that words are THE key.
And here you get lots of them. Like … a LOT!!!
There are like 300+ articles here, and an article is usually not about just one word, but a whole family. Like… verbs, noun, adjectives.
We look at where they come from, why they mean what they mean and of course how to use them. All that with lots of (audio) examples and fun.
If you read all articles here, I think you’ll be familiar with like 1.500 words or so, and the most important ones, too. So jump right in :).
As I said,there’s quite a big archive so I offer different ways to go about it.
The categories gives you an impression of what to expect in terms of style and level.
Looking at it by word type is probably the fastest way to find a particular word. And since some people have said they’d like to read it in sequence, I also have them ordered by date. Have fun :)
click to expand
(note that many posts fit into more than one category)
A-Level
This category gathers all the articles that should be easily understandable at a beginner’s level once you’ve learned the absolute essentials.
You might find that a certain article is too advanced for you. Don’t feel bad or stupid then… I just put it in the wrong category then. It’s not always easy to tell. If you think one really doesn’t belong here… just leave me a comment.
B-Level
All the posts in this category are best if you’re already at an intermediate level. They’re not all super advanced but they usually contain at least some stuff that’ll sound intimidating if you’re really just a fledgling. Still, you can give a go of course :).Also, all the stuff in here (words and grammar) is stuff you should know well at the end of a B level course.
Quick Reads
Audio Examples
Must Have Words
Spoken German
Particles
Prefix Verbs
Differences
This category collects them all.
Broad Vocab
This category gathers all the articles that are about generally useful words or words with interesting families and back stories but that aren’t really essential. If you want to be all efficient and get the stuff that really matters, then this is not the category to pick from. But it’s a rainy day and you need a fun read that broadens your vocabulary – then these articles are perfect. And hey… you can have the essentials down all you want. Having a broad, divers Wortschatz really makes all the difference./b/ Random
Now headlines 14% more random – guaranteed ;)
But … I think it’s worth a look ;).
click to expand
Verbs
- abgehen
- abheben
- abhängen
- absehen
- angeben
- angehen
- ankommen
- anhalten
- anlegen
- anmachen
- annehmen
- ansehen
- anstellen
- auffallen
- aufgehen
- aufhalten
- aufhören
- aufkommen
- auflegen
- aufmachen
- aufnehmen
- aufwachen/aufwecken
- ausfallen
- ausgeben
- ausgehen
- aushalten
- auskommen
- auslegen
- ausmachen
- ausschlafen (and other schlafens)
- aussehen
- ausstellen
- bringen (and its prefixes)
- dauern
- decken (prefixed… die Decke)
- deuten (prefixed)
- dürfen
- einfallen
- eingehen
- einlegen
- einstellen
- fehlen
- folgen 1
- folgen 2 (prefixes)
- fordern/fördern
- freuen
- gehen um /umgehen
- gelten
- (sich) gewöhnen
- haben (all prefixes)
- hauen
- kacken
- kippeln / menscheln
- klappen
- kriegen (prefixed)
- lassen (part 1)
- lassen (part 2)
- lenken
- liegen
- merken
- nachdenken
- nerven
- passen
- pflegen
- raten
- regen
- reichen (with prefixes)
- schaffen
- sein
- schätzen
- schenken
- schieben
- sorgen (prefixed)
- steigen (prefixed)
- stützen
- suchen – prefixed
- treffen/sich treffen
- treiben
- übergehen
- überlegen
- untergehen (feat. Donald T.)
- unterstellen
- versprechen
- vorgehen
- vorkommen
- vorschlagen
- vorstellen
- warten (all prefixes)
- wehren
- wenden
- werben
- werden part 1
- werden part 2
- winken
- wirken
- ziehen (and prefixes)
- zufallen
- zunehmen
- zwingen
Style-Specials:
The pesky ones
- alle
- allerdings
- als
- ausser
- bar
- denn
- doch
- da
- damit,davon,davor… all the da-words
- dabei (closer look)
- eben (and gerade) – 1
- eben (and gerade) – 2
- erst
- eh, ehe, eher
- eigentlich
- einfach
- es
- etwa
- falls
- ganz
- gar (sogar, gar nicht)
- gleich
- halt
- her
- irgend-
- los
- lauter
- mal part 1
- mal part 2
- –mäßig(mässig)
- nach (also the prefix)
- nämlich
- noch
- ob
- paar
- schon
- so
- sondern
- sonst
- trotzdem
- übrigens
- überhaupt
- vielleicht
- vor
- vorbei
- wann (vs wenn)
- wenn
- wohl
- zwar
- zwischen
Prefixes:
Nouns
- der Abwasch
- der Ärger
- der Bock
- die Ausrede
- die Ausnahme
- die Brille
- die Decke (also: decken prefixed)
- das Einkommen
- die Enttäuschung
- die Erfahrung
- der Faulpelz
- der Feierabend
- der Fluss
- die Frühjahrsmüdigkeit
- der Grund
- der Hammer
- der Hosenstall (prank material)
- der Kater
- die Klammer
- das Kostehäppchen
- der Kummer
- der/die Kunde
- die Langeweile
- die Laune
- die Lautmalerei
- der Liebling
- der Lohn
- die Lücke
- das Mittel
- die Mühe
- der Mut
- die Not
- der Ohrwurm
- der Raum
- der Reiz
- der Rücken
- der Schein
- der Schnupfen
- die Schranke
- die Schuld
- die Spannung
- der Spaß
- der Staub
- die Steuer
- die Stimme
- die Taste
- das/der Teil
- der Tisch
- der Vogel
- die Wahl
- das Wesen
- der Zettel
- das Zeug
- der Zug (ziehen)
- die Zukunft
- der Zweck
- der Zweifel
This is really Informative….Thanks a Lot
“Lösen” scheint interessant zu sein. Tickets lösen, Probleme lösen, Schrauben lösen, Bremsen lösen, etwas in eine Flüssigkeit lösen…
Good idea!! I’ll do it!
Not to mention prefix versions. Which I assume there are, considering… well… German…
Ablösen, auflösen, einlösen, nachlösen, erlösen… not so many :)
Viel Spaß! Ich freue mich darauf
I believe that German uses so many different verbs for English “to get” so a word of the day ” bekommen” maybe helpful.
“gelingen” also means to manage. Yes , not sure if it “gelingen” has a wide range of possible translations. But certainly is a tricky verb.
That’s kind of trap, right there. It is used to express the same idea as to manage, but you can’t just plug in one for the other. “to manage” is what you do. “gelingen” is what your project does.
Not sure if its only me but one word that has always given me a mental block is the word “gelingen”. Is “gelingen” a difficult word ?
The most helpful thing I saw on gelingen was on the list of irregular verbs produced by the University of Michigen (in every respect a great online resource for learners of German).
https://www.lsa.umich.edu/german/hmr/Grammatik/Verb_Summaries/irreg_verbs_DNutting.pdf
I guess it is a “difficult” verb, or at least slightly tricky, because it is both a strong verb and, as the above list explains in a note, it is used impersonally, in a similar way to how with gefallen, “es gefällt mir” means “I like it”, “es gelang mir” means “I succeeded”.
MichigAn
Yeah, great resource indeed, with the worst name imaginable :). I can’t remember it , even after 6 years.
Great comparison to “gefallen”.
Well, if it’s difficult for you, then it is a difficult word :).
The best translation is probably “turn out a success”.
What exactly are you struggling with?
Is “immer” on your to-do list anytime soon?
Uh… no. Are you having problems with it? I thought it was pretty straight forward but maybe I am missing something, so let me know what you’re interested in .)
According to my dictionary it can mean “always”, “every time”, “still”, “just”. For example:
immer noch – still
auf immer – for ever
immer schwerieriger – harder and harder
wann immer – any time
fangen wir immer an – let us begin
immer langsam – take it slowly
I guess I’m not seeing the connection between all these uses, or getting the essence of the word.
Hmm… the core idea is that there is just no end or break to something.
By itself, it means “always” and “all the time”. “immer” can NEVER mean “still” by itself (without “noch”). For more about that you can check out my article on “noch”.
As for “immer schwieriger”… the idea is that something becames harder all the time/every time.
The last two are really weird and sound wrong to me. Which dictionary are you using?
Also, try not to get hung up on “words” as a translation. Think of it as a blurry notion of “all the time, incessantly, always”.
Does that help?
Yes thank you!
I’m using a German – Norwegian dictionary. The last two are listed as imperative expressions, so i should probably have added an exclamation mark. Another example of the latter is: Nur immer zu!
I’d actually recommend to use a very small dictionary. Are ignore all these expressions. Half of them are not idiomatic. I have never heard “nur immer zu” outside of some sort of fantasy movie.
For these expressions it’s better to just use the ones you come across in books or from conversations :).
Could you please have “während” as word of the day?
Yes!!! Will do!
I will like to know how to unsubscribe in future if I need to do so . Thanks for making German learning very interesting for now . Appreciated. (K)
What do you mean by unsubscribe? Do you mean the email notifications or the membership?
This site has been in existence for around 7 years. 7 X 365 = 2555 days X word of the day = 300+ articles. That seems about right. Click on this link for more info: https://yourdailygerman.com/2012/01/21/meaning-faulpelz/
#roastme
Touché!
I’ll volley that right back at you though… it is your word of the day, not mine. With 300+ articles you can read one everyday for about a year. Have you??? ;)
I’m going at about that clip. Well, if you don’t count the two weeks I was hospitalized from your “humour” making me facepalm so hard I gave myself a concussion. Been a member for 15 days.
Hahahaha… consider yourself one of the winners! My team of unpaid peon… I mean interns will reach out.
Woot! Now that I can be nice again (and perhaps take myself out of contention for a prize) this is the best site ever. My favorite part is the prefix verb series. It is like a curated dictionary. Love it.
Oops I’ve found it with the Da words undone. Sorry!
Hi Emanuel, really enjoying the blog and the comments that people make too. I know you are super busy right now but when you get time perhaps you could explain the usage of “Drauf” which Google translate seems to translate as “it”, but it seems to be used in dozens of phrases in many different ways and I can’t get my head around it. All the best.
Hi!
Thanks for the great resourse, one of the best thing I have ever seen and read ;)
You do not have something like Andriod app for that, correct?
Thanks for the great feedback :). An app would be great but I’m not quite there yet. Who knows… maybe in the future…
If you ever need a topic to write about, I would love to get some clarity about the different meanings of Vorstellung and Ausstellung – and when to use them correctly. Thanks
“Ausstellung” is an “exhibition”, a “Vorstellung” is a showing/presentation/imagination. They have a common idea but they’re not synonyms.
Have you read my articles on “ausstellen” and “vorstellen”?
https://yourdailygerman.com/2016/05/24/ausstellen-ausstellung/
https://yourdailygerman.com/2012/01/24/meaning-vorstellen/
Those might clear it up further.
Let me know in the comments there, if you have follow up questions :).
Hi there! Thank you for your lovely site, I learned so much from you by now! I love all these little quirks of the german language, and discovering the different meanings.
Do you have a section already on the difference prepositions “ge” and “be” bring to the verb (bezahlt/gezahlt, bewährt/gewährt, berrechnet/gerrechnet and so on). Maybe adding “ver” and/or “er” too. I’m always in a lot of confusion when I see berrechnet, gerrechnet, errechnet, verrechnet … :O
Thanks for the great feedback :).
I do have an article for “be-” and “ver-” (you can find them using the search, there’s no direct link).
Generally, the “ge-” marks spoken past. So “gerechnet” is a completed form of the action of calculating. I don’t have anything on “er-” yet, but it’ll come :)
Hallo Emanuel, that actually does help : ) and I think that is what my colleagues have been trying to explain to me. Thank you very, very much for that context.
It’s one thing to learn the words… but it’s quite another to learn how to use them appropriately. I feel very strongly that, if I am going to spend hours (…days, weeks, months…) learning the language, then I should learn it well. Your insight improves my chances of accomplishing that and I appreciate you very much!
It’s funny because I have a native German colleague whose role is similar to mine. I feel that our other German colleagues are really rude to him (“do it”) whereas with me, they are almost annoyingly polite. (I am an American, and they write to me mostly in English even though I really wish they would write to me more in German.) Now I can revisit that behavior with a fresh understanding that they are probably unnaturally polite with me… maybe because they are trying to say things the way an American would say them, or maybe because they feel less close to me… like I am an outsider who is doing them a favor while he is a true colleague who is just doing his job.
Also, maybe it hits on another thing… that Europeans think Americans tend to be fake friendly… if they think we overuse words like “please” then I guess that feeds into that belief.
I love words, too, Emanuel, because I think language is very human and learning language and linguistic behaviors gets right to the heart of what is truly human. That is one of the reasons why I am having so much fun learning German : ) I love how you find the pathways of how words came to mean what they mean today… I guess that is a mathematician, trying to find the logical formula for something that doesn’t seem logical at all : )
Thank you very much for your thoughtful response!
Hello Emanuel, thank you very, very much for all of your hard work on this project! It is extremely helpful to me! May I ask if you have ever done a WotD for “Bitte”? I tried to find one, but couldn’t. My colleagues tell me that I use “bitte” a lot when it isn’t necessary, so I am trying to find guidance on when it is / isn’t appropriate to use? So far, I understand “Take your seats, please” == appropriate. “Please find the information you requested” == not appropriate. I can’t understand the difference. I understand it so clearly when you explain nuances, which is why I am hoping you will do one on “bitte”? Many, many, many thanks! People said that I would never be able to learn German… but I couldn’t see why not? German is Easy : )
Hi Antoinette, I’m not sure I know how to help you because I’m not that familiar with how “please” is used in English (in formal ways, like in your examples). I’m pretty sure that German uses it less often (as German is generally less polite than English).
It feels appropriate if you really ask for a favor. If you’d like someone to sit down, that would be a situation where it fits. If you want to tell someone where to find something that THEY requested, it’s not really a favor for you. You’re just giving them information. And then a “bitte” sounds overly polite and a bit out of place.
– Please go to the right.
– Bitte gehen Sie nach rechts.
This works if going right serves YOU in some way. If they have to go right to get to the supermarket (where they want to go), using “bitte” would sound weird because you’re not benefiting from it.
Let me know if that helps a bit. If you have other examples where you’re not sure, bring them on :)
Could you please make JA word of the day.
Thanks
Yes, it’ll come :)
Just joined and love your site, man. How about the differences between “reden,” “sagen,” and “erzahlen?” My Germwoman keeps ragging on me about incorrect usage…make it stop!
I can try :)… what’s your native language?
In English it’s roughly like this:
reden – talk
sagen – say
erzählen – tell
Does that help in any way?
or could you tell me an example for when you made the wrong pick? That could help me find what’s confusing you.
Hi Emanuel,
I am feeling frustrated with your site!
Although I have chosen to ‘be remembered’ many times it doesn’t do it.
The when I enter the site, it doesn’t remember the document I was reading so I need start my search and this part it isn’t that easy.
For example, I’m looking for the exercise on ‘adjective endings’ I cannot find it under adjectives, I don’t remember in which month is was published and worst all I don’t remember even the title of the document. All I remember is that it is about adjectives and it has exercises!
So I need ask google to find it for me.
Is there an easy way to do searching?
I’m not complaining I am just feeling frustrated.
Regards
Brightstar
Hi Emanuel. Did you ever run your false-friends-ometer over the English and German versions of the word “extra”? I predict a fairly high reading. Our Au-Pair used the (English) word in two different contexts this weekend, Incorrectly so on both occasions. First time she meant “on purpose/deliberately”, second time she meant “individually/separate”. I did find these errors useful in understanding what this little word means in German however.
I’ve actually thought about talking about “extra” at some point. It’s a sneaky little thing indeed, because Germans actually do use it in a weird way. I wasn’t aware that it’s a false friend but you’re actually right.
Danke dir :)