German · 60 words

60 beautiful German words

Cute, cool and untranslatable German words, from Schmetterling to Fernweh, each with its pronunciation, its meaning in English and an example sentence.

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German words with a sound of their own

Some words are worth learning for how they sound or for what they hold. This page gathers sixty German ones in six groups: cute words, cool words, elegant words, words of the sky and of nature, words of love, and words for feelings English has no word for. Each comes with its pronunciation, its meaning, a short note and an example sentence.

German is known for hard sounds, and Donner and Blitz live up to it. But it also has Schmetterling and Pusteblume, and a habit of building one word for a whole feeling: Fernweh is the longing to be far away, Vorfreude the joy of looking forward to something.

Cute German words

der Schmetterling[deːɐ̯ ˈʃmɛtɐlɪŋ]
butterfly
Famous as a word that sounds harsh for something so gentle.
Ein Schmetterling sitzt auf der Blume.A butterfly is sitting on the flower.
das Kuscheltier[das ˈkʊʃl̩ˌtiːɐ̯]
cuddly toy
From kuscheln, to cuddle, and Tier, animal.
Das Kind schläft mit seinem Kuscheltier.The child sleeps with his cuddly toy.
das Eichhörnchen[das ˈaɪ̯çˌhœʁnçən]
squirrel
Hard to say for learners, and loved for it.
Ein Eichhörnchen sammelt Nüsse.A squirrel is collecting nuts.
das Glühwürmchen[das ˈɡlyːˌvʏʁmçən]
firefly, glow-worm
Literally little glowing worm.
Im Garten leuchten Glühwürmchen.Fireflies are glowing in the garden.
die Pusteblume[diː ˈpuːstəˌbluːmə]
dandelion clock
Literally blowing flower: the white ball you blow on to make a wish.
Sie pustet die Pusteblume an.She blows on the dandelion clock.
das Mäuschen[das ˈmɔɪ̯sçən]
little mouse; sweetie
The ending -chen makes a word small and sweet, and always neuter.
Schlaf gut, mein Mäuschen.Sleep well, my little mouse.
kuschelig[ˈkʊʃəlɪç]
cosy, cuddly
For blankets, sweaters and evenings at home.
Die Decke ist schön kuschelig.The blanket is nice and cosy.
das Gänseblümchen[das ˈɡɛnzəˌblyːmçən]
daisy
Literally little goose flower.
Auf der Wiese wachsen Gänseblümchen.Daisies are growing in the meadow.
die Seifenblase[diː ˈzaɪ̯fn̩ˌblaːzə]
soap bubble
Also a dream that bursts.
Die Kinder machen Seifenblasen.The children are blowing soap bubbles.
das Herzchen[das ˈhɛʁtsçən]
little heart
The little hearts people draw, type and send.
Sie malt ein Herzchen auf den Zettel.She draws a little heart on the note.

Cool German words

die Ewigkeit[diː ˈeːvɪçkaɪ̯t]
eternity
eine Ewigkeit, an eternity, is also any long wait.
Das Warten dauerte eine Ewigkeit.The wait lasted an eternity.
das Schicksal[das ˈʃɪkzaːl]
fate, destiny
From schicken, to send: what is sent to you.
Das war Schicksal.That was fate.
der Sturm[deːɐ̯ ʃtʊʁm]
storm
Sturm und Drang, storm and stress, named a whole era of German literature.
Der Sturm hat viele Bäume umgeworfen.The storm knocked down many trees.
die Finsternis[diː ˈfɪnstɐnɪs]
darkness
Deeper than Dunkelheit; Sonnenfinsternis is an eclipse of the sun.
Das Licht verschwand in der Finsternis.The light disappeared into the darkness.
der Blitz[deːɐ̯ blɪts]
lightning, flash
English borrowed it, with a meaning of its own.
Ein Blitz schlug in den Baum ein.Lightning struck the tree.
der Krieger[deːɐ̯ ˈkʁiːɡɐ]
warrior
From Krieg, war.
Er kämpfte wie ein Krieger.He fought like a warrior.
die Unendlichkeit[diː ʊnˈʔɛntlɪçkaɪ̯t]
infinity
Built piece by piece: un, endlich, keit, no end.
Das Meer schien bis in die Unendlichkeit zu reichen.The sea seemed to stretch into infinity.
der Wolf[deːɐ̯ vɔlf]
wolf
Spelled as in English, but said with a v sound.
Nachts heult ein Wolf.At night a wolf howls.
schwarz[ʃvaʁts]
black
Popular in names and titles for its dark, strong sound.
Sie hat schwarze Haare.She has black hair.
der Donner[deːɐ̯ ˈdɔnɐ]
thunder
Donnerstag, Thursday, is named after the god of thunder.
Nach dem Blitz kam der Donner.After the lightning came the thunder.

Elegant German words

die Sternschnuppe[diː ˈʃtɛʁnˌʃnʊpə]
shooting star
Literally star snuff, the burnt end of a candle wick that falls away.
Wir haben eine Sternschnuppe gesehen.We saw a shooting star.
die Dämmerung[diː ˈdɛməʁʊŋ]
dusk, twilight
Wagner’s opera Götterdämmerung is the twilight of the gods.
In der Dämmerung gingen wir nach Hause.We walked home at dusk.
der Augenblick[deːɐ̯ ˈaʊ̯ɡn̩ˌblɪk]
moment
Literally a look of the eye: the time it takes to glance.
Warte einen Augenblick.Wait a moment.
die Zuversicht[diː ˈtsuːfɛɐ̯ˌzɪçt]
confident hope
More than hope: a calm trust that things will turn out well.
Sie blickt mit Zuversicht in die Zukunft.She looks to the future with confidence.
zauberhaft[ˈtsaʊ̯bɐhaft]
enchanting, magical
From Zauber, magic.
Der Abend war zauberhaft.The evening was magical.
das Morgenrot[das ˈmɔʁɡn̩ˌʁoːt]
the red sky of dawn
Literally morning red.
Das Morgenrot färbte den Himmel.The red of dawn coloured the sky.
die Anmut[diː ˈanmuːt]
grace
A word for the way someone moves, not for how they look.
Sie tanzt mit großer Anmut.She dances with great grace.
die Stille[diː ˈʃtɪlə]
silence, stillness
Stille Nacht is the German title of Silent Night.
Ich genieße die Stille am Morgen.I enjoy the silence in the morning.
die Leichtigkeit[diː ˈlaɪ̯çtɪçkaɪ̯t]
lightness, ease
To do something mit Leichtigkeit is to make it look easy.
Er spielt mit großer Leichtigkeit.He plays with great ease.
der Lichtblick[deːɐ̯ ˈlɪçtˌblɪk]
ray of hope, bright spot
Literally a glimpse of light.
Das gute Wetter war ein Lichtblick.The good weather was a bright spot.

German words for the sky and nature

der Regenbogen[deːɐ̯ ˈʁeːɡn̩ˌboːɡn̩]
rainbow
Built just like the English word: rain and bow.
Nach dem Regen sahen wir einen Regenbogen.After the rain we saw a rainbow.
die Sonnenblume[diː ˈzɔnənˌbluːmə]
sunflower
Built just like the English word: sun and flower.
Die Sonnenblume dreht sich zur Sonne.The sunflower turns towards the sun.
das Nordlicht[das ˈnɔʁtˌlɪçt]
northern lights
Literally north light.
In Norwegen haben wir das Nordlicht gesehen.In Norway we saw the northern lights.
der Vollmond[deːɐ̯ ˈfɔlˌmoːnt]
full moon
voll is full, Mond is moon.
Heute Nacht ist Vollmond.Tonight there is a full moon.
die Wolke[diː ˈvɔlkə]
cloud
auf Wolke sieben, on cloud seven, is how Germans say on cloud nine.
Eine weiße Wolke zieht vorbei.A white cloud drifts by.
der Morgentau[deːɐ̯ ˈmɔʁɡn̩ˌtaʊ̯]
morning dew
A word of poems, and of tea and perfume names.
Das Gras ist nass vom Morgentau.The grass is wet with morning dew.
die Kirschblüte[diː ˈkɪʁʃˌblyːtə]
cherry blossom
Kirsche is cherry, Blüte is blossom.
Im April beginnt die Kirschblüte.The cherry blossom begins in April.
die Lichtung[diː ˈlɪçtʊŋ]
clearing in a forest
From Licht, light: the place where light reaches the ground.
Im Wald fanden wir eine kleine Lichtung.In the forest we found a small clearing.
der Sternenhimmel[deːɐ̯ ˈʃtɛʁnənˌhɪml̩]
starry sky
Sterne are stars; Himmel is both sky and heaven.
Auf dem Land ist der Sternenhimmel wunderschön.In the countryside the starry sky is wonderful.
die Meeresbrise[diː ˈmeːʁəsˌbʁiːzə]
sea breeze
Meer is sea; Brise came from French.
Eine frische Meeresbrise wehte.A fresh sea breeze was blowing.

German words of love

die Liebe[diː ˈliːbə]
love
Ich liebe dich means I love you.
Die Liebe ist das Wichtigste.Love is what matters most.
der Schatz[deːɐ̯ ʃats]
treasure; darling
The most common pet name in German.
Guten Morgen, Schatz.Good morning, darling.
die Zärtlichkeit[diː ˈtsɛːɐ̯tlɪçkaɪ̯t]
tenderness
From zart, delicate.
Er sprach mit großer Zärtlichkeit.He spoke with great tenderness.
das Herz[das hɛʁts]
heart
Neuter in German: das Herz.
Mein Herz schlägt schneller.My heart is beating faster.
verliebt[fɛɐ̯ˈliːpt]
in love
verliebt sein is to be in love; sich verlieben, to fall in love.
Sie ist verliebt.She is in love.
die Umarmung[diː ʊmˈʔaʁmʊŋ]
hug, embrace
From Arm: to put your arms around someone.
Zum Abschied gab es eine Umarmung.There was a hug to say goodbye.
der Kuss[deːɐ̯ kʊs]
kiss
Küsschen, a little kiss, is how many friends sign off.
Sie gab ihm einen Kuss.She gave him a kiss.
die Treue[diː ˈtʁɔɪ̯ə]
faithfulness, loyalty
Related to the English word true.
Treue ist ihm sehr wichtig.Loyalty matters a lot to him.
der Liebling[deːɐ̯ ˈliːplɪŋ]
darling; favourite
Also favourite: mein Lieblingsbuch, my favourite book.
Komm her, mein Liebling.Come here, my darling.
das Glück[das ɡlʏk]
happiness; luck
One word for both: viel Glück means good luck.
Du bist mein Glück.You are my happiness.

German words for feelings English has no word for

die Sehnsucht[diː ˈzeːnˌzʊxt]
deep longing
A longing for something far away or out of reach; English has no exact word.
Er hatte große Sehnsucht nach seiner Heimat.He felt a great longing for his homeland.
das Fernweh[das ˈfɛʁnˌveː]
longing to travel far away
The opposite of Heimweh, homesickness: sick for the faraway.
Im Winter bekomme ich Fernweh.In winter I get wanderlust.
die Geborgenheit[diː ɡəˈbɔʁɡn̩haɪ̯t]
the feeling of being safe and cared for
Second in a 2004 vote for the most beautiful German word.
Bei meiner Oma spüre ich Geborgenheit.At my grandmother’s I feel safe and cared for.
die Gemütlichkeit[diː ɡəˈmyːtlɪçkaɪ̯t]
cosiness, a warm and friendly atmosphere
Warm rooms, good company and no hurry, all in one word.
Kerzen schaffen Gemütlichkeit.Candles create a cosy atmosphere.
die Vorfreude[diː ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfʁɔɪ̯də]
the joy of looking forward to something
A German saying calls it the most beautiful joy.
Die Vorfreude auf den Urlaub ist groß.We are really looking forward to the holiday.
die Schadenfreude[diː ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔɪ̯də]
pleasure at someone else’s bad luck
English borrowed it, having no word of its own.
Er lachte voller Schadenfreude.He laughed, full of Schadenfreude.
das Heimweh[das ˈhaɪ̯mˌveː]
homesickness
Heim is home, Weh is pain.
Im Ausland hatte sie oft Heimweh.Abroad she was often homesick.
die Waldeinsamkeit[diː ˈvaltˌʔaɪ̯nzaːmkaɪ̯t]
the peaceful feeling of being alone in the woods
A word of the Romantic poets.
Er liebt die Waldeinsamkeit.He loves being alone in the forest.
der Weltschmerz[deːɐ̯ ˈvɛltˌʃmɛʁts]
sadness about the state of the world
Literally world pain; the writer Jean Paul coined it.
Im Herbst spüre ich manchmal Weltschmerz.In autumn I sometimes feel sad about the world.
die Wanderlust[diː ˈvandɐˌlʊst]
the love of travel and hiking
English took this one from German too.
Die Wanderlust hat mich gepackt.I’ve been bitten by wanderlust.

Meet these words in easy stories

Using a German word for a name or a design

Every German noun is written with a capital letter and has an article, der, die or das. Keep it with the word, as in die Sehnsucht. Keep the umlauts too. If you cannot type ü, write ue, as in Glueck, but never just u: Gluck is not a German word.

Then meet the word in a sentence. A word learnt from a list is easy to forget; a word met in a story stays. Lingard’s German stories for beginners let you tap any word for its meaning in that sentence and keep it for short reviews.

Questions about these words

What is the most beautiful German word?: In 2004 a public vote held by the German Language Council and the Goethe-Institut chose Habseligkeiten, the few things a person owns. Geborgenheit, on this page, came second.
Which German words sound cool?: Short, hard words like Sturm, Blitz, Donner and Wolf. Longer ones with a dark ring, like Finsternis and Unendlichkeit, are popular names in games and stories.
How do I pronounce these words?: German is read much as it is written. ch after i or e is a soft hiss, as in ich; sch sounds like English sh; and w sounds like English v, so Wolf sounds like volf. Each word comes with its pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Other languages: 60 beautiful English words 60 beautiful Spanish words 60 beautiful French words