German words

How many words are in the German language?

German words.

Around the 2000s, the German language was estimated to have 300,000 to 400,000 words. However, a recent analysis of the Dudenkorpus, an electronic collection of texts, counted no less than 17.4 million base forms (different words in uninflected form).

Nevertheless, German is known for its very long, compound words. A compound word is formed when two words (or sometimes even more) are used together to create a new meaning.

compound German words

Here are a few compound German words to start learning.

  • • Handschuh: Hand + Schuh (Hand + shoe): Glove
  • • Flugzeug: Flug + Zeug (Flight + Staff): Airplane
  • • Staubsauger: Staub + Sauger (Dust + Vacuum): Vacuum cleaner
  • • Waschmaschine: Wasch + Maschine (Wash + Machine): Washing machine
  • • Trockenzeit: Trocken + Zeit (Dry + Time): Dry season
  • • Orangensaft: Orange + Saft (Orange + Juice): Orange juice
  • • Haustürschlüssel: Haus + Tür + Schlüssel (House + Door + Key): Front door key
  • • Sprachschule: Sprache + Schule: Language school
  • • Zimmerservice: Zimmer + Service: Room service
  • • Hauptbahnhof: Haupt + Bahnof: Main train station
  • • Superwetter: Super + Wetter: Great weather

Top 10 most common German words

1. Hallo = Hello

Let’s naturally start with “Hallo ” which means “Hello” in German. This is one of the most known words in German and a great way to start a conversation with someone from Germany.

2. Liebe = Love

Love is a universal feeling and we definitely had to talk about it here. German people have a lovely way of saying they love someone or something through the word “ Liebe “.

3. Glück = Happiness

When there’s love, there’s definitely happiness. We are all chasing “ Glück ” as German-speaking people would say. Listen closely and you might just get some “Happiness” in your life today:

4. Katze = Cat

Let’s talk pets. There are two types of people in the world: cat people and dog people. We are going to talk about cats first or how people in Austria would say: “ Katze “. Listen to how it sounds like:

5. Hund = Dog

But let’s not forget our lovely and loyal companions, dogs. A dog in German is “ Hund “, a really useful word for dog lovers worldwide. Here is how you would pronounce it:

6. Lächeln = Smile

Now it is time to smile. Or how someone from Germany would say: “ lächeln “. Smiling makes us happy and helps us stay healthy, so that’s why we all need to smile every day. Here’s the German pronunciation:

7. Deutscher = German

Next, let’s see how people in Germany say “German”. The correct answer is “ Deutscher “. Listen to how a German speaker would pronounce it:

8. Ja = Yes

German speakers say “yes” by simply saying “Ja ”. Enhance your understanding by listening to how a person from Austria would pronounce this word:

9. Danke = Thank you

A single “thank you” is all you need to make people smile everywhere you go. Here’s a native speaker thanking you in German: Danke

10. Tschüss = Goodbye

No polite conversation can end without a proper goodbye or “ Tschüss ” – how German people usually say. Here’s how to correctly pronounce it: