Beginner German: Grammar, Vocabulary, and Expressions

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering basic German grammar rules, conversational phrases, prepositions of origin, verb conjugations, numbers, and classroom terminology.

aus (country names)

German preposition meaning 'from', used directly before country names that do not take a grammatical article (e.g., aus Deutschland, aus Brasilien, aus China, aus England, aus Österreich).

aus der / aus dem

Prepositional phrases meaning 'from the', used for countries that require a definite article in German: 'aus der' for feminine countries (der Schweiz, der Türkei, der Ukraine) and 'aus dem' for masculine countries (dem Iran, dem Irak, dem Sudan).

Himmelsrichtungen (im Norden, im Osten, im Süden, im Westen)

German cardinal directions meaning 'in the north', 'in the east', 'in the south', and 'in the west' (e.g., 'Berlin liegt im Osten von Deutschland', 'Köln liegt im Westen von Deutschland').

Wie sage ich … auf Deutsch?

German phrase used to ask for a translation: 'How do I say … in German?'

Was bedeutet … auf Italienisch?

German question meaning 'What does … mean in Italian?'

Verb-second rule (V2 word order)

The German word order rule stating that in standard affirmative main clauses, the conjugated verb must always take the second position, while the subject can either precede it in the first position or follow it in the third position.

spielen

German verb meaning to play games or sports (e.g., 'Tennis spielen', 'Volleyball spielen'), to play an instrument ('Gitarre spielen'), or to act/recite.

Rad fahren

German verbal phrase meaning to ride a bicycle ('andare in bicicletta').

der Morgen vs. morgen

A distinction between 'der Morgen' (capitalized noun meaning 'the morning') and 'morgen' (lowercase adverb meaning 'tomorrow').

die Quelle

German feminine noun meaning 'the spring' or 'the source' (associated with letter Q in the alphabet list).

die Übung

German feminine noun meaning 'the exercise' or 'the practice' (associated with the umlaut letter Ü).

die Straße

German feminine noun meaning 'the street' (associated with the eszett letter ß).

Jahreszeiten

German noun for 'seasons': Winter (winter), Frühling (spring), Sommer (summer), and Herbst (autumn).

im (with months)

The contraction of 'in dem' placed directly before months in German when specifying when something takes place (e.g., 'im Januar', 'im Dezember').

Wann hast du Geburtstag?

German question asking 'When is your birthday?' ('Quando è il tuo compleanno?').

sein (conjugation)

Irregular German verb meaning 'to be': ich bin, du bist, er/es/sie ist, wir sind, ihr seid, Sie sind.

sprechen (conjugation)

Stem-changing German verb meaning 'to speak': ich spreche, du sprichst, er/es/sie spricht, wir sprechen, ihr sprecht, Sie sprechen.

Guten Morgen

German greeting meaning 'Good morning', typically used in the morning until 10:30.

Servus

A regional greeting used informally in Austria (and southern Germany).

W-Fragen (Wer, Wo, Wie)

German question words starting with 'W': 'Wer' means 'who', 'Wo' means 'where', and 'Wie' means 'how'.

Wie bitte?

Polite German phrase meaning 'Pardon?' or 'Excuse me? / What did you say?'.

AB / KB

Standard textbook abbreviations in German courses: AB stands for 'Arbeitsbuch' (workbook) and KB stands for 'Kursbuch' (course book / textbook).

der Lehrer / die Lehrerin

German nouns for male teacher ('der Lehrer') and female teacher ('die Lehrerin').

der Schüler / die Schülerin

German nouns for male student/pupil ('der Schüler') and female student/pupil ('die Schülerin').

Wie geht's? (responses)

Common German query meaning 'How's it going?' with potential responses ranging from negative to positive: miserabel (miserable), schlecht (bad), okay, gut (good), super gut (super good), fantastisch (fantastic).

Tens formation (-zig vs. -ßig)

The suffix rule for naming tens in German: '-zig' is standard (vierzig, fünfzig, sechzig, siebzig, achtzig, neunzig), except for 30 which uses the '-ßig' suffix ('dreißig').

dreiundzwanzig

The German number 23, following the compound rule of placing the unit first, joined by 'und', followed by the tens unit ('drei' + 'und' + 'zwanzig').

Wie heißt du? / Wie ist dein Name?

German questions asking 'What is your name?', answered with 'Ich heiße…' or 'Mein Name ist…'.

und du?

German conversational phrase meaning 'and you?', used to direct a question back to the interlocutor.