Deutsch
German
Germanic
Also known as: German, Deutsch
German (Deutsch) is a West Germanic language with ~95M L1 speakers and the most-widely-spoken native language in the European Union. It is official in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and the Italian region of South Tyrol, plus regional/minority status in Belgium (East Cantons), Namibia, and many historical diaspora communities. Sister language to Dutch, English, and the Scandinavian languages within Germanic. Written in the Latin alphabet (Fraktur typeface dominated until 1941 when the Nazi regime mandated Antiqua); the Eszett ß and umlauted vowels ä/ö/ü are distinctive. The 1996 spelling reform (Rechtschreibreform), revised 2004/2006, standardized punctuation, ß/ss usage, and capitalization across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Grammatically conservative: 4 cases (nominative-accusative-dative-genitive), 3 grammatical genders (masculine/feminine/neuter), strong/weak verb classes, and verb-second word order in main clauses with verb-final order in subordinate clauses. Hundreds of years of literary tradition from the Nibelungenlied (~1200) through Goethe, Schiller, Kafka, Mann, and Grass (Nobel 1999); a foundational language of philosophy (Kant, Hegel, Heidegger), music (Bach, Beethoven), and 19th-20th c. natural sciences.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in German
Water
Wasser
/vasɐ/
Fire
Feuer
/fɔɪ̯ɐ/
Sun
Sonne
/zɔnə/
Moon
Mond
/moːnt/
Star
Stern
/ʃtɛʁn/
Mother
Mutter
/mʊtɐ/
Father
Vater
/faːtɐ/
I
ich
/ɪç/
You
du
/duː/
Name
Name
/ˈnaːmə/
Eye
Auge
/aʊ̯ɡə/
Hand
Hand
/hant/
Heart
Herz
/hɛʁts/
Love
Liebe
/liːbə/
Tree
Baum
/baʊ̯m/
House
Haus
/haʊ̯s/
Dog
Hund
/hʊnt/
Cat
Katze
/katsə/
Eat
essen
/ɛsn̩/
Drink
trinken
/tʁɪŋkn̩/
One
eins
/aɪ̯ns/
Two
zwei
/tsvaɪ/
Hello
Hallo
/haloː/
Thank you
danke
/daŋkə/
Good
gut
/ɡuːt/
Cuckoo
Kuckuck
/ˈkʊkʊk/
Woof
wau wau
/vaʊ vaʊ/
Computer
Computer
/kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/
Sushi
Sushi
/ˈzuːʃi/
Dopamine
Dopamin
/dopaˈmiːn/
At sign (@)
Klammeraffe
/ˈklamɐʔˌafə/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | German | German (Luxembourgish) | German (Austrian) | German (Swiss) | Early New High German (Luther-era) | Kölsch | Pennsylvania German |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /ˈvasər/ | Wasser /ˈvasːər/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasər/ |
| Fire | Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪɐ/ | Feuer /ˈfɔɪ̯ər/ | Fewr /foɪ̯r/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | Feier /faɪər/ |
| Sun | Sonne /zɔnə/ | Sonne /zɔnə/ | Sonne /sɔnə/ | Sonne /ˈsɔnə/ | Sonne /ˈzɔnə/ | Sonn /zɔn/ | Sunn /sʊn/ |
| Moon | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Muun /muːn/ |
| Star | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | Stään /ʃtɛːn/ | Schteern /ʃteːrn/ |
| Mother | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | Mudder /mʊdər/ |
| Father | Vater /faːtɐ/ | Vater /faːtɐ/ | Vater /fɑːtɐ/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | Vatter /fatɐ/ | Daadi /daːdi/ |
| I | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪx/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪɕ/ | ich /ɪç/ |
| You | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | do /doː/ | du /du/ |
| Name | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Naame /ˈnaːmə/ |
| Eye | Auge /aʊ̯ɡə/ | Auge /aʊ̯ɡə/ | Auge /aːɡə/ | Auge /ˈaʊɡə/ | Aug /aʊk/ | Auch /aʊx/ | Aag /aːk/ |
| Hand | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hɑnt/ | Hand /hant/ | Handt /hant/ | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hant/ |
| Heart | Herz /hɛʁts/ | Herz /hɛʁts/ | Herz /hɛɐts/ | Herz /hɛrts/ | Hertz /hɛrts/ | Hätz /hɛts/ | Hatz /hats/ |
| Love | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | Leev /leːf/ | liewe /liːvə/ |
| Tree | Baum /baʊ̯m/ | Baum /baʊ̯m/ | Baum /baːm/ | Baum /baʊm/ | Bawm /baʊm/ | Boum /baʊm/ | Baam /baːm/ |
| House | Haus /haʊ̯s/ | Haus /haʊ̯s/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Hauß /haʊs/ | Huus /huːs/ | Haus /haʊs/ |
| Dog | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hongk /hoŋk/ | Hund /hʊnt/ |
| Cat | Katze /katsə/ | Katze /katsə/ | Katze /kɑtsə/ | Katze /ˈkɑtːsə/ | Katze /ˈkatsə/ | Katz /kats/ | Katz /kats/ |
| Eat | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ˈɛsn̩/ | essen /ˈɛsːən/ | esse /ɛsə/ | esse /ɛsə/ |
| Drink | trinken /tʁɪŋkn̩/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkn̩/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkŋ/ | trinken /ˈtrɪŋkn̩/ | trincken /ˈtrɪŋkən/ | drinke /dʁɪŋkə/ | drinke /dɾɪŋkə/ |
| One | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | oans /ɑːns/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | eyn /aɪ̯n/ | ein /aɪn/ | eens /eːns/ |
| Two | zwei /tsvaɪ/ | zwei /tsvaɪ/ | zwei /tsvai/ | zwei /tsvai/ | zwey /tsvaɪ/ | zwei /tsvai/ | zwee /tsveː/ |
| Hello | Hallo /haloː/ | Hallo /haloː/ | Servus /zɛɐvʊs/ | Hallo /haˈloː/ | Gott zum Gruß /ɡɔt tsʊm ɡruːs/ | Tach /tax/ | Hallo /haloː/ |
| Thank you | danke /daŋkə/ | danke /daŋkə/ | Danke /daŋkə/ | danke /ˈdaŋkə/ | Danck /daŋk/ | Dankeschön /daŋkəʃøːn/ | Denki /dɛŋki/ |
| Good | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | joot /joːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ |
| Cuckoo | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | gukuk /ˈɡukuk/ | — | — |
| Woof | wau wau /vaʊ vaʊ/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Computer | Computer /kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/ | — | Computer /kɔmˈpjuːtɐ/ | Computer /komˈpjuːtər/ | Rechenmeister /ˈrɛçənˌmaɪstər/ | Computer /komˈpjuːtɐ/ | Computer /ˈkɔmpjuːtɐ/ |
| Sushi | Sushi /ˈzuːʃi/ | — | Sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | Sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | Stockfisch /ˈʃtɔkfɪʃ/ | Sushi /ˈzuʃi/ | — |
| Dopamine | Dopamin /dopaˈmiːn/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| At sign (@) | Klammeraffe /ˈklamɐʔˌafə/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Word order compared
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