The small words, A–Z
505 German words that are not nouns or verbs — the pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and particles that hold a sentence together. These are the words that make German hard to read and that no vocabulary deck teaches, so each one is glossed the way a learner needs it rather than the way a translator would: doch is not a word English has, and der is four different cases wearing one spelling. You can tap any of them inside an exercise too — turn on Word help. For nouns and verbs, with their plurals, cases and conjugations, see the nouns and the verbs.
A
- ab preposition
- from (a time) onwards
- abends adverb
- in the evenings
- aber conjunction
- but
- ach particle
- oh
- acht number
- eight
- achtzehn number
- eighteen
- achtzig number
- eighty
- alle pronoun
- all, everyone
- allein adverb
- alone
- allenfalls adverb
- at best, if anything
- allerdings adverb
- though, admittedly
- als conjunction
- when (one time in the past) — or: than, as
- also adverb
- so, therefore
- alt adjective
- old
- am preposition
- at the, on the (an + dem)
- an preposition
- at, on, to (+ dative or accusative)
- andere pronoun
- other, different ones
- anders adverb
- differently
- angesichts preposition
- in view of, given (+ genitive)
- angewiesen adjective
- dependent on
- ans preposition
- to the (an + das)
- anschließend adverb
- afterwards
- arbeitslos adjective
- unemployed
- auch adverb
- also, too
- auf preposition
- on, onto (+ dative or accusative)
- aufs preposition
- onto the (auf + das)
- aufwendig adjective
- costly, elaborate
- aus preposition
- out of, from (+ dative)
- außer preposition
- except for, besides (+ dative)
- außerdem adverb
- besides, on top of that
- außerhalb preposition
- outside of (+ genitive)
- automatisch adjective
- automatic
B
- bald adverb
- soon
- begeistert adjective
- delighted, enthusiastic
- bei preposition
- at, near, at the home of (+ dative)
- beide pronoun
- both
- beim preposition
- at the, while (bei + dem)
- bekannt adjective
- well known
- bereit adjective
- ready, willing
- bereits adverb
- already
- besetzt adjective
- taken, occupied
- besonders adverb
- especially
- besser adjective
- better
- besten adverb
- best (in 'am besten')
- bestimmt adjective
- certainly — or: particular
- bevor conjunction
- before
- bewölkt adjective
- cloudy
- bewusst adjective
- aware, deliberate
- bezüglich preposition
- regarding (+ genitive)
- billig adjective
- cheap
- bis preposition
- until, by, as far as
- bisher adverb
- so far, up to now
- bisschen adverb
- a little bit
- bitte particle
- please — or: here you are / you're welcome
- blau adjective
- blue
- bloß particle
- only, just — with urgency
- braun adjective
- brown
D
- da adverb
- there, here — or: since
- dabei adverb
- with it, at the same time
- dadurch adverb
- through it, as a result
- dafür adverb
- for it, in return
- dagegen adverb
- by contrast — or: against it
- daher adverb
- hence, that is why
- damals adverb
- back then
- damit conjunction
- so that — or: with it, with that
- danach adverb
- afterwards, after that
- dank preposition
- thanks to (+ dative)
- danke particle
- thank you
- dann adverb
- then, after that
- daran adverb
- on it, of it
- darauf adverb
- on it, after that
- daraus adverb
- out of it, from that
- darin adverb
- in it
- darüber adverb
- about it, above it
- darum adverb
- that is why — or: around it
- das article
- the (neuter)
- dass conjunction
- that — sends the verb to the end
- davon adverb
- of it, from it
- dazu adverb
- to it, in addition
- dein pronoun
- your (one person, informal)
- dem article
- the (masculine and neuter dative)
- den article
- the (masculine accusative; plural dative)
- denen pronoun
- to whom, to which (dative plural)
- denn conjunction
- because, for — keeps normal word order
- dennoch adverb
- nevertheless
- der article
- the (masculine; also feminine dative and genitive)
- deren pronoun
- whose, of which (feminine and plural)
- derselbe pronoun
- the same one
- des article
- the (masculine and neuter genitive)
- deshalb adverb
- that is why, therefore
- dessen pronoun
- whose, of which (masculine and neuter)
- desto conjunction
- the ... (second half of 'je ... desto')
- deutlich adjective
- clearly, markedly
- dich pronoun
- you (accusative, informal)
- die article
- the (feminine, and all plurals)
- dieser pronoun
- this, this one
- digital adjective
- digital
- dir pronoun
- you, to you (dative, informal)
- direkt adjective
- direct, directly
- doch particle
- yes it is (contradicting a negative) — or a softener: 'do come in, won't you'
- dort adverb
- there
- dorthin adverb
- to there
- draußen adverb
- outside
- drei number
- three
- dreißig number
- thirty
- dreizehn number
- thirteen
- drinnen adverb
- inside
- dritte number
- third
- du pronoun
- you (one person, informal)
- dunkel adjective
- dark
- durch preposition
- through, by (+ accusative)
- durchaus adverb
- absolutely, quite
E
- eben particle
- exactly, just — or: just now
- ehe conjunction
- before (literary)
- eher adverb
- rather, more likely
- eigen adjective
- own
- eigentlich adjective
- actually, strictly speaking
- ein article
- a, an
- eindeutig adjective
- unambiguous, clear-cut
- einen pronoun
- one, you (accusative of 'man')
- einer pronoun
- one of them, somebody
- einfach adjective
- simple, easy — or: just
- einig adjective
- in agreement (in 'sich einig sein')
- einige pronoun
- a few, some
- einmal adverb
- once
- eins number
- one
- einverstanden adjective
- in agreement, OK with it
- einzig adjective
- only, single
- elf number
- eleven
- endlich adverb
- at last
- entlang preposition
- along
- entscheidend adjective
- decisive
- er pronoun
- he, it
- erheblich adjective
- considerable
- ernst adjective
- serious
- erreichbar adjective
- reachable, available
- erschöpft adjective
- exhausted
- erst adverb
- only, not until — or: first
- erste number
- first
- es pronoun
- it
- etwa particle
- about, roughly — or: surely not?
- etwas pronoun
- something, anything — or: a little
- euch pronoun
- you, to you (plural informal) — or yourselves
- euer pronoun
- your (several people, informal)
F
- falls conjunction
- in case, if
- falsch adjective
- wrong
- fast adverb
- almost
- fertig adjective
- finished, ready
- fit adjective
- fit
- Folgendes pronoun
- the following
- folglich adverb
- consequently
- frei adjective
- free, available
- freundlich adjective
- friendly
- frisch adjective
- fresh
- früh adjective
- early
- früher adverb
- in the past, formerly
- fünf number
- five
- fünfte number
- fifth
- fünfzehn number
- fifteen
- fünfzig number
- fifty
- für preposition
- for (+ accusative)
G
- ganz adjective
- quite, completely
- gar adverb
- at all (in 'gar nicht')
- geehrte adjective
- dear (in a formal letter)
- gegen preposition
- against, around (a time) (+ accusative)
- gegenüber preposition
- opposite, towards (+ dative)
- gelb adjective
- yellow
- gemütlich adjective
- cosy
- genau adjective
- exactly
- genug adverb
- enough
- gerade adverb
- right now, just — or: straight
- geradeaus adverb
- straight ahead
- gern adverb
- gladly — 'ich esse gern' means 'I like eating'
- geschlossen adjective
- closed
- gespannt adjective
- curious, eager to see
- gesperrt adjective
- blocked, closed off
- gestern adverb
- yesterday
- gesund adjective
- healthy
- gleich adverb
- in a moment — or: the same
- gleichwohl adverb
- nonetheless (formal)
- glücklich adjective
- happy
- grau adjective
- grey
- groß adjective
- big, tall
- grün adjective
- green
- gründlich adjective
- thorough
- grundsätzlich adjective
- in principle, fundamentally
- günstig adjective
- good value, favourable
- gut adjective
- good, well
- Guten adjective
- good (in 'Guten Tag', 'Guten Morgen')
H
- halb adjective
- half
- Hallo particle
- hello
- halt particle
- just, simply (spoken softener)
- heiß adjective
- hot
- hell adjective
- bright, light
- her adverb
- here, towards the speaker
- herzlich adjective
- warm, cordial
- heute adverb
- today
- hier adverb
- here
- hin adverb
- there, away from the speaker
- hingegen adverb
- on the other hand
- hinter preposition
- behind (+ dative or accusative)
- hoch adjective
- high, tall
- höchstens adverb
- at most
- hundert number
- a hundred
I
- ich pronoun
- I
- ihm pronoun
- him, to him (dative)
- ihn pronoun
- him, it (accusative)
- ihnen pronoun
- them, to them (dative)
- Ihnen pronoun
- you, to you (formal, dative)
- ihr pronoun
- you (several people, informal) — or her / their
- ihre pronoun
- her, their — or your (formal)
- im preposition
- in the (in + dem)
- immer adverb
- always
- immerhin adverb
- at least, after all
- in preposition
- in, into (+ dative or accusative)
- indem conjunction
- by doing something
- infolge preposition
- as a result of (+ genitive)
- innerhalb preposition
- within, inside (+ genitive)
- ins preposition
- into the (in + das)
- insgesamt adverb
- altogether, in total
- interessant adjective
- interesting
- international adjective
- international
- inzwischen adverb
- meanwhile, by now
J
- ja particle
- yes
- jährlich adjective
- yearly
- je conjunction
- the ... (paired with 'desto' or 'umso')
- jedenfalls adverb
- in any case
- jeder pronoun
- every, each
- jederzeit adverb
- at any time
- jedoch adverb
- however
- jemand pronoun
- somebody, anybody
- jener pronoun
- that, that one
- jetzt adverb
- now
- jung adjective
- young
K
- kalt adjective
- cold
- kaum adverb
- hardly
- kein article
- no, not a, not any
- keiner pronoun
- nobody, none of them
- klar adjective
- clear — also: 'sure!'
- klein adjective
- small
- knapp adjective
- barely, just under
- kommend adjective
- coming, next
- kostenlos adjective
- free of charge
- krank adjective
- ill, sick
- kühl adjective
- cool
- künftig adjective
- in future
- kurz adjective
- briefly, short
L
- lange adverb
- for a long time
- langsam adjective
- slow, slowly
- längst adverb
- long since
- langweilig adjective
- boring
- laut preposition
- according to (+ dative) — or: loud
- lediglich adverb
- merely
- leer adjective
- empty
- leicht adjective
- easy, light
- leider adverb
- unfortunately
- leise adjective
- quiet, softly
- letzte number
- last
- lieber adverb
- preferably, rather
- liebsten adverb
- most of all (in 'am liebsten')
- links adverb
- on the left
- los adjective
- going on, loose — 'was ist los?' is 'what's up?'
M
- mal particle
- a softener in requests — or: times, once
- man pronoun
- one, you, people in general
- mancher pronoun
- some, many a
- manchmal adverb
- sometimes
- mehr adverb
- more
- mehrere pronoun
- several
- mein pronoun
- my
- meisten pronoun
- most (of them)
- messbar adjective
- measurable
- mich pronoun
- me (accusative)
- mindestens adverb
- at least (a number)
- mir pronoun
- me, to me (dative)
- mit preposition
- with (+ dative)
- mithin adverb
- consequently (formal)
- mittags adverb
- at midday
- mittels preposition
- by means of (+ genitive)
- mitten adverb
- in the middle of
- möglich adjective
- possible
- monatlich adjective
- monthly
- montags adverb
- on Mondays
- morgen adverb
- tomorrow
- morgens adverb
- in the mornings
- müde adjective
- tired
N
- na particle
- well, so
- nach preposition
- after, to, according to (+ dative)
- nachdem conjunction
- after
- nachhaltig adjective
- sustainable
- nachher adverb
- later on
- nächste number
- next
- nachts adverb
- at night
- nah adjective
- near, close
- nass adjective
- wet
- natürlich adjective
- of course, naturally
- neben preposition
- next to, beside (+ dative or accusative)
- nebenan adverb
- next door
- nein particle
- no
- nervös adjective
- nervous
- nett adjective
- nice, kind
- neu adjective
- new
- neun number
- nine
- neunzehn number
- nineteen
- neunzig number
- ninety
- nicht adverb
- not
- nichts pronoun
- nothing
- nie adverb
- never
- niemand pronoun
- nobody, no one
- nirgends adverb
- nowhere
- noch adverb
- still, yet — or: another
- nötig adjective
- necessary
- null number
- zero
- nun adverb
- now, well then
- nur adverb
- only
O
- ob conjunction
- whether, if
- oben adverb
- up there, above
- obwohl conjunction
- although
- oder conjunction
- or
- offen adjective
- open
- offenbar adjective
- apparently
- oft adverb
- often
- ohne preposition
- without (+ accusative)
- online adjective
- online
- ordentlich adjective
- tidy, proper
P
- paar adverb
- a few (in 'ein paar')
- per preposition
- by, via
- persönlich adjective
- personal, in person
- plötzlich adjective
- suddenly
- privat adjective
- private
- pro preposition
- per
- pünktlich adjective
- on time, punctual
R
- rechts adverb
- on the right
- rechtzeitig adjective
- in good time
- regelmäßig adjective
- regularly
- reich adjective
- rich
- rein adverb
- in, inside (spoken 'herein')
- richtig adjective
- right, correct
- rot adjective
- red
- ruhig adjective
- quiet, calm
- rund adjective
- around, roughly — or: round
S
- sämtliche pronoun
- all, every single one
- sauber adjective
- clean
- schade adjective
- a shame, a pity
- schlecht adjective
- bad, badly
- schlicht adjective
- simply, plainly
- schließlich adverb
- finally, after all
- schmutzig adjective
- dirty
- schnell adjective
- fast, quickly
- schon particle
- already — or a softener: 'it'll be fine'
- schön adjective
- beautiful, lovely
- schwach adjective
- weak
- schwarz adjective
- black
- schwer adjective
- heavy, difficult
- schwierig adjective
- difficult
- sechs number
- six
- sechzehn number
- sixteen
- sechzig number
- sixty
- sehr adverb
- very
- sein pronoun
- his, its
- seit preposition
- since, for (a length of time) (+ dative)
- seitdem conjunction
- since, ever since
- selben pronoun
- same (in 'am selben Tag')
- selbst adverb
- myself, yourself, itself — in person; also: even
- selten adverb
- rarely
- sich pronoun
- himself, herself, itself, themselves — the reflexive that belongs to a verb
- sicher adjective
- surely, safely — or: sure
- sie pronoun
- she, her — or they, them
- sieben number
- seven
- siebzehn number
- seventeen
- siebzig number
- seventy
- so adverb
- so, like this
- sobald conjunction
- as soon as
- sodass conjunction
- so that, with the result that
- sofern conjunction
- provided that
- sofort adverb
- immediately
- sogar adverb
- even
- solange conjunction
- as long as
- solcher pronoun
- such, that kind of
- somit adverb
- thus
- sondern conjunction
- but rather — after a negative
- sonst adverb
- otherwise, else
- soweit conjunction
- as far as
- sozial adjective
- social
- spät adjective
- late
- später adverb
- later
- spürbar adjective
- noticeably
- ständig adjective
- constantly
- stark adjective
- strong
- statt preposition
- instead of (+ genitive)
- steigend adjective
- rising
- stundenlang adverb
- for hours
T
- täglich adjective
- daily
- tatsächlich adjective
- in fact, actually
- tausend number
- a thousand
- teuer adjective
- expensive
- tief adjective
- deep, low
- tja particle
- well, oh well
- toll adjective
- great
- traurig adjective
- sad
- trocken adjective
- dry
- trotz preposition
- in spite of (+ genitive)
- trotzdem adverb
- all the same, even so
- Tschüss particle
- bye
U
- über preposition
- over, above, about (+ dative or accusative)
- überall adverb
- everywhere
- überhaupt adverb
- at all
- übermorgen adverb
- the day after tomorrow
- überraschend adjective
- surprising
- überrascht adjective
- surprised
- überzeugt adjective
- convinced
- um preposition
- at (a clock time), around (+ accusative)
- umso conjunction
- all the more (second half of 'je ... umso')
- umstritten adjective
- disputed
- unbedingt adjective
- definitely, at all costs
- und conjunction
- and
- ungeachtet preposition
- regardless of (+ genitive)
- uns pronoun
- us, to us — or ourselves
- unser pronoun
- our
- unten adverb
- down there, below
- unter preposition
- under, among (+ dative or accusative)
- unterwegs adverb
- on the way, out and about
V
- verantwortlich adjective
- responsible
- vergangen adjective
- past, last
- vermutlich adjective
- presumably
- viel adverb
- a lot, much
- viele pronoun
- many
- vielleicht adverb
- maybe
- vielmehr adverb
- rather, on the contrary
- vier number
- four
- vierte number
- fourth
- vierzehn number
- fourteen
- vierzig number
- forty
- voll adjective
- full
- völlig adjective
- completely
- vollständig adjective
- complete
- vom preposition
- from the (von + dem)
- von preposition
- from, of, by (+ dative)
- vor preposition
- in front of, before, ago (+ dative or accusative)
- vorbei adverb
- over, past
- vorgestern adverb
- the day before yesterday
- vorher adverb
- beforehand
W
- während preposition
- during (+ genitive) — or: while
- wahrscheinlich adjective
- probably
- wann adverb
- when
- warm adjective
- warm
- warum adverb
- why
- was pronoun
- what
- weg adverb
- away, gone
- wegen preposition
- because of (+ genitive)
- weh adjective
- sore — 'weh tun' is 'to hurt'
- weil conjunction
- because — sends the verb to the end
- weiß adjective
- white
- weit adjective
- far, wide
- weiter adverb
- further, on
- welcher pronoun
- which
- wem pronoun
- to whom (dative)
- wen pronoun
- whom (accusative)
- wenig adverb
- little, not much
- wenige pronoun
- few, not many
- weniger adverb
- less, fewer
- wenn conjunction
- if, whenever
- wer pronoun
- who
- wessen pronoun
- whose
- wichtig adjective
- important
- wie adverb
- how, as, like
- wieder adverb
- again
- willkommen adjective
- welcome
- wir pronoun
- we
- wirklich adjective
- really
- wirksam adjective
- effective
- wo adverb
- where
- wobei conjunction
- whereby, although
- wöchentlich adjective
- weekly
- wofür adverb
- what for
- woher adverb
- where from
- wohin adverb
- where to
- wohl particle
- probably, I suppose
- worauf adverb
- on what, whereupon
- wovon adverb
- about what, of what
Z
- zehn number
- ten
- ziemlich adverb
- fairly, rather
- zu preposition
- to, towards (+ dative) — or: too
- zudem adverb
- moreover
- zuerst adverb
- first, to begin with
- zufolge preposition
- according to (after its noun, + dative)
- zufrieden adjective
- satisfied, content
- zugleich adverb
- at the same time
- zuletzt adverb
- last, in the end
- zum preposition
- to the (zu + dem)
- zumal conjunction
- especially since
- zumindest adverb
- at least
- zunächst adverb
- at first, for now
- zur preposition
- to the (zu + der)
- zurück adverb
- back
- zurzeit adverb
- at the moment
- zusammen adverb
- together
- Zusammenfassend adverb
- in summary
- zusätzlich adjective
- additional
- zuvor adverb
- before that
- zwanzig number
- twenty
- zwar adverb
- admittedly — usually answered by 'aber'
- zwei number
- two
- zweite number
- second
- zwischen preposition
- between (+ dative or accusative)
- zwölf number
- twelve