| Sie |
| 1. pron. you (polite; singular and plural) | |
| Was möchten Sie, Frau Wagner? - What would you like to have, Mrs. Wagner? | |
| 2. pron. she | |
| Ist sie noch krank? - Is she still sick? | |
| Das ist meine Katze. Sie heißt Lili. - This is my cat. Her name is Lili. | |
| Ich suche Vanessa. Hast du sie gesehen? - I'm looking for Vanessa. Have you seen her? | |
| 3. pron. it (when the object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine die) | |
| Scheint die Sonne noch? Nein, sie ist schon untergegangen. - Is the Sun still shining? No, it has already gone down. | |
| Ich suche meine Brieftasche. Hast du sie gesehen? - I'm looking for my wallet. Have you seen it? | |
| 4. pron. he (when the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to and designating a male person, is feminine die) | |
| Die Geisel Richard Meier versuchte, sich zu befreien, aber sie schaffte es nicht. - The hostage Richard Meier tried to break free, but he didn’t succeed. | |
| Die Wache Michael Müller beschädigte ihr Gewehr, wofür ihr Vorgesetzter sie bestrafte. - The guardsman Michael Müller damaged his rifle, and his supervisor punished him for that. | |
| 5. pron. they; them | |
| es |
| 1. pron. Nominative and accusative neuter third-person singular personal pronoun | |
| Wo ist das Buch? Es liegt auf dem Tisch. - Where's the book? It’s on the table. | |
| Wo ist das Kind? Ich habe es. - Where is the child? I have it. | |
| Welche Farbe hat das Pferd? Es ist weiß. - What color is the horse? It is white. | |
| Ich bemerkte ein merkwürdiges bärtiges Individuum und beschloss, es im Auge zu behalten. - I remarked a strange bearded individual and decided to keep an eye on him. | |
| Das Mädchen wusste nicht, dass es beobachtet wurde. - The girl didn’t know that she was being observed. | |
| Jedes Vorstandsmitglied kann das Wort ergreifen, wenn es dies wünscht. - Any board member may take the floor if they so wish. | |
| 2. pron. (Impersonal pronoun used to refer to statements, activities, the environment etc., or as a placeholder/dummy pronoun) — it | |
| Das kann es nicht geben. - This is nothing that could possibly exist. | |
| Sie begann zu laufen, und ich tat es auch. - She began to run, and I did it also. | |
| Es war einmal eine schöne Prinzessin. - There was once a beautiful princess. | |
| Es ist gut zu leben! - It's good to be alive! | |
| Es regnet. - It’s raining. | |
| Es ist sicher, dass morgen die Sonne scheinen wird. - It's certain that the sun will shine tomorrow. | |
| Wie geht es dir? - How are you doing? | |
| Ich bin es, Michael. - It's me, Michael. | |
| Es spielt das Fernsehorchester. - The television orchestra is playing. | |
| Sie wird es noch weit bringen. - She is going to go far. | |
| 3. art. (regional, colloquial) alt form-lite, das | |
| Soll ich es Fenster zumachen? - Should I close the window? | |
| sollte |
| 1. v. first-person singular preterite of sollen | |
| 2. v. third-person singular preterite of sollen | |
| 3. v. first-person singular subjunctive of sollen | |
| 4. v. third-person singular subjunctive of sollen | |
| sollen |
| 1. v. (auxiliary) should; to be obligated (to do something); ought; shall | |
| Ich soll das machen. - I should do that. | |
| Ich sollte das nicht tun. - I should not do it. | |
| 2. v. (auxiliary) to be recommended (to do something); to be asked (to do something) | |
| 3. v. (auxiliary) to be intended (to do something); to be meant (to be something) | |
| 4. v. (auxiliary) to be said (to do something); reportedly; they say that; I hear that; so they say; rumor has it; supposedly. | |
| Es soll da viele Leute geben. - They say that there are many people there. | |
| 5. v. (auxiliary) would; indicates that the subordinate clause indicates something that would happen in the past but after the time frame of the main clause | |
| 6. v. (auxiliary) should; indicates that the subordinate clause indicates a hypothetical and unlikely condition for the main clause | |
| besser |
| 1. adj. comparative of gut; better | |
| 2. v. first-person singular present of bessern | |
| 3. v. singular imperative of bessern | |
| bessern |
| 1. v. to improve, to better | |
| auf |
| 1. prep. (with dative) on, upon (positioned at the top of) | |
| Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. - The book is lying on the table. | |
| 2. prep. (with accusative) on, onto, up (moving to the top of) | |
| Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. - I’m putting the book on the table. | |
| 3. prep. (with accusative) on (indicating responsibility) | |
| Das erste Getränk geht aufs Haus. - The first drink is on the house. | |
| Das fällt nicht auf dich zurück, sondern auf mich. Ich hab's vermasselt. - That's not on you but on me. I messed up. | |
| 4. prep. (with dative) in, at; used with certain nouns instead of bei or in | |
| Niemand auf der Welt hätte das voraussehen können. - No one in the world could have predicted that. | |
| auf dem Stadtplatz - in the town square | |
| Das Schiff ist auf See - The ship is at sea. | |
| auf der Kirmes - at the fun fair | |
| auf der Post - at the post office (also: bei der Post) | |
| 5. prep. (with accusative) to; used with certain nouns instead of zu or in | |
| auf die Kirmes - to the fun fair | |
| auf die Post - to the post office (also: zur Post) | |
| 6. prep. (with a language name) in (see usage note below) | |
| Was heißt das auf Deutsch? - What’s this in German? | |
| 7. prep. (linguistics) in (of a word: ending with some sound or syllable) | |
| Wörter auf -heit sind weiblich. - Words in -heit are feminine. | |
| Du kannst doch auf (’n) Sonntag nich’ den Rasen mähen! - You can’t mow the lawn on a Sunday! | |
| 8. prep. (with accusative) for (during the continuation of) | |
| auf Jahre hinaus - for years to come | |
| 9. prep. (with accusative) to, for (indicating purpose, goal or wish) | |
| Lasst uns auf deine Gesundheit drinken! - Let's drink to your health! | |
| Sie spielen auf Zeit. - They are playing for time. | |
| 10. prep. (with accusative) by (used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something) | |
| X auf Y Meter groß | |
| 11. adv. (somewhat, informal) open | |
| Die Tür ist auf. - The door is open. | |
| 12. adv. (colloquial) finished; gone (food) | |
| Hast du deine Suppe auf? - Have you finished your soup? | |
| Die Milch is’ auf. - The milk is gone. (consumed) | |
| 13. adv. (colloquial) up; awake; out of bed | |
| Ich war um sechs Uhr auf. - I was up at six o'clock. | |
| 14. interj. carry on (continue or proceed as before) | |
| 15. interj. have a go | |
| besser auf |
| 1. v. first-person singular present of aufbessern | |
| 2. v. singular imperative of aufbessern | |
| Ihre |
| 1. pron. (possessive) feminine singular of Ihr | |
| 2. pron. (possessive) plural of Ihr | |
| Ist das Ihre Katze, Frau Schulz? - Is that your cat, Mrs. Schulz? | |
| Sind diese Bücher Ihre, Herr Meyer? - Are these books yours, Mr. Meyer? | |
| 3. det. feminine singular of ihr | |
| 4. det. plural of ihr | |
| 5. det. her, its, their (i, referring to a feminine or plural noun in the nominative or accusative) | |
| Sachen |
| 1. n. plural of Sache | |
| Sache |
| 1. n-f. matter, affair, case, question, issue | |
| beschlossene Sache - done deal | |
| Die Polizei untersuchte die Sache ohne Ergebnis. - The police investigated the matter with no result. | |
| 2. n-f. thing, object | |
| Da ist noch eine Sache. - There's one more thing (for me to say). | |
| 3. n-f. (law) thing: corporeal object | |
| 4. n-f. cause, action | |
| 5. n-f. subject, matter, business | |
| Das ist Privatsache. - That's a private matter. | |
| 6. n-f. (chiefly in colloquial) kilometers per hour | |
| Er raste mit hundert Sachen um die Ecke. - He raced around the corner at 100 per. | |
| achtgeben |
| 1. v. to pay attention, watch out | |
| 2. v. to be careful | |
| denn |
| 1. conj. for; because; since | |
| Ich möchte diese Hose kaufen, denn sie gefällt mir sehr. - I'd like to buy these pants since I like them a lot. | |
| 2. conj. (after a comparative, archaic, or dialectal) than | |
| 3. adv. (in a question, modal particle) then, ever, but, now (used for emphasis or to express interest, surprise or doubt, or in rhetorical questions) | |
| Wo ist er denn? - Where is he, then?/Where ever can he be? | |
| Wieso denn? - How so, then? | |
| Was denn? - But what? | |
| 4. adv. (rather rare) thus, so; (expresses a consequence; see usage notes) | |
| 5. adv. (colloquial regional northern Germany) then, after that, in that case | |
| allzu |
| 1. adv. all too | |
| viel |
| 1. pron. much, a lot | |
| Es ist viel passiert. - Much has happened. | |
| 2. det. much, many | |
| Er hat viel Geld verloren. - He lost a lot of money. | |
| 3. det. In the singular, the adjective is usually left unchanged when it is not preceded by an article or determiner (see example sentence above). Otherwise it is declined like a normal adjective: das viele | |
| 4. det. In the plural, the adjective is usually declined even without a preceding article or determiner: viele Kinder. However, it may be left unchanged when modified by a preceding adverb, e.g. in the combi | |
| 5. det. The comparative form mehr is invariable and never declined; it cannot be preceded by any article or determiner (note however mehrere, mehreres, and obsolete mehre, mehr | |
| 6. adv. much, a lot | |
| Wir haben viel gelacht. - We laughed a lot. | |
| ist |
| 1. v. third-person singular present of sein | |
| sein |
| 1. v. (copulative, with a predicate adjective or predicate nominative) to be | |
| Das ist schön. - That is beautiful. | |
| Das ist ein Auto. - That is a car. | |
| 2. v. (with a dative object and certain adjectives) to feel, (to experience a condition) | |
| Usage: In this sense sein is always conjugated in the third person singular and takes a Dative noun. The impersonal subject es may be present, but is often taken as implied. For example: "Mir i | |
| Ist dir kalt? - Are you cold? | |
| Mir ist schlecht. - I'm sick. | |
| Dem Mann ist schwindelig. - The man feels dizzy. | |
| Den Kindern ist langweilig. - The children are bored. | |
| 3. v. (with a dative object and nach or danach, sometimes with zumute) to feel like, to be in the mood for | |
| Usage: As in the previous sense sein takes a Dative noun and is always conjugated according to the impersonal subject es, although it is usually omitted. | |
| Uns ist nach einem Film zumute. - We feel like watching a movie. | |
| Mir ist nicht danach. - I don't feel like it. | |
| 4. v. (auxiliary) forms the present perfect and past perfect tenses of certain intransitive verbs | |
| Er ist alt geworden. - He has become old. | |
| 5. v. to exist; there to be; to be alive | |
| Was nicht ist, kann noch werden. (a common proverb) - That which does not exist now, may come into existence. | |
| Wenn ich nicht mehr bin, erbst du das Haus. - When I am no more, you'll inherit the house. | |
| 6. v. to have the next turn (in a game, in a queue, etc.) | |
| Du bist. - It’s your turn. | |
| Du bist nach mir. - Your turn is after mine. | |
| 7. v. to be "it"; to be the tagger in a game of tag | |
| Du bist! - You're it! | |
| Ich bin nicht mehr. - I'm not it anymore. | |
| 8. det. his | |
| Daniel schickt seiner Schwester eine SMS. - Daniel is sending a text to his sister. | |
| Der Kater spielt oft mit seinen Spielsachen. - The cat often plays with his toys. | |
| 9. det. its (agreeing with a masculine or neuter noun) | |
| der Mond und sein Licht - the moon and its light | |
| das Schaf und seine Lämmer - the sheep and its lambs | |
| 10. det. (informal) Used to express an approximate number, often with so. | |
| Der kostet so seine zweihundert Euro. - That one costs around two hundred euros. | |
| 11. det. one's | |
| Man muss seinem Herzen folgen. - One must follow one’s heart. | |
| Ihr |
| 1. det. your (that belongs to you (when formally or politely addressing one or more people)) | |
| Wo ist Ihr Wagen, Frau Wagner? - Where is your car, Mrs. Wagner? | |
| 2. pron. you, ye (plural, familiar) | |
| 3. pron. dative of sie | |
| Hast du ihr das Buch gegeben? - Did you give her the book? | |
| 4. det. her (possessive) | |
| Laura hat mir ihr neues Auto gezeigt. - Laura showed me her new car. | |
| Die Katze spielt oft mit ihren Spielsachen. - The cat often plays with her toys. | |
| 5. det. its (when the owning object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine) | |
| die Sonne und ihre Wärme - the sun and its warmth | |
| 6. det. their | |
| Die Kinder spielen mit ihrem Hund. - The kids are playing with their dog. | |
| die Wolken und ihre Schönheit - the clouds and their beauty | |
| schon |
| 1. adv. already (happening rather early, continuing rather long) | |
| Es ist erst 11 Uhr und schon über 30 Grad im Schatten. - It’s only 11 a.m. and already more than 30 degrees (°C) in the shade. | |
| Er ist schon seit drei Wochen krank. - He’s been sick for three weeks already. | |
| 2. adv. previously, before (at some time in the past; butnot: before a certain event) | |
| Ich erinnere mich, dass wir solche Fälle schon hatten. - I remember that we had such cases before. | |
| 3. adv. expresses that an action has been completed; already (i, but more frequent); yet i, in questions | |
| Wir sind spät dran, aber diesen Stapel haben wir immerhin schon bearbeitet. - We’re running late, but at least we’ve (already) finished this pile. | |
| Hast du dir schon die Zähne geputzt? - Have you brushed your teeth yet? | |
| 4. adv. (modal particle) expresses a weighing of arguments, contrast between two statements, partial agreement, concession; admittedly; sure(ly); definitely; indeed | |
| Man sollte Kinder nicht bestrafen. — Man sollte Kinder schon bestrafen, nur eben sinnvoll. - One shouldn’t punish children. — One should definitely punish children, but wisely. | |
| Niedrige Steuern heben den Konsum. — Das ist schon richtig, aber... - Low taxes increase consumption. — That is admittedly true, but... | |
| Du merkst doch auch, dass ich Recht habe? — Ja, schon. - You do see I’m right, don’t you? — Yeah, I guess. | |
| 5. adv. really (as an intensifier) | |
| Das ist schon etwas merkwürdig. - That's really a little strange. | |
| 6. v. singular imperative of schonen | |
| 7. v. colloquial of | |
| schonen |
| 1. v. to spare (not harm) | |
| 2. v. to rest, to avoid overexertion | |
| abhanden |
| 1. adv. gone, lost | |
| gekommen |
| 1. Participle. past participle of kommen | |
| kommen |
| 1. v. to come; to arrive | |
| Er kam letzte Nacht sehr spät nach Hause. - He came home very late last night. | |
| Als ich nach Wuppertal kam, hatte es gerade geschneit - When I arrived in Wuppertal, it had just snowed. | |
| 2. v. to come to; to come over (go somewhere so as to join someone else) | |
| Bleib sitzen! Ich komme zu dir. - Keep your seat! I’m coming over to you. | |
| Und viele kamen zu ihm und sprachen... - And many resorted unto him and said... (John 10:41) | |
| 3. v. to get; to make it (go somewhere in a way that implies an obstacle or difficulty to be overcome) | |
| Ich komme nicht über die Mauer. - I can’t get over this wall. | |
| Wenn er den Zug verpasst, kommt er heute nicht nach Nürnberg. - If he misses the train, he won’t make it to Nuremberg today. | |
| 4. v. to go to; to be put in (go somewhere in a way that is predetermined or prearranged) | |
| Hartnäckige Sünder kommen in die Hölle. - Persistant sinners will go to hell. | |
| Die Gruppensieger kommen ins Halbfinale. - The group winners will go to the semifinals. | |
| 5. v. to come on (Used to encourage someone to do something.) | |
| Ach komm, das wird so schlimm nicht werden. - Aw, come on, it won’t be so bad. | |
| Kommt, deckt schon mal den Tisch! - Come on, just set the table already. | |
| 6. v. to occur; to happen; to come to be | |
| Dann kam, was alle befürchtet hatten. - Then happened that which everybody had feared. | |
| Wie kommt es, dass...? - Why is it that ...? How come that...? | |
| 7. v. (impersonal) to be played (of a song or film) | |
| Eben kam mein Lieblingslied. - They just played my favourite song. | |
| 8. v. to be due to; to be the result of | |
| Das kommt alles von deiner Faulheit. - All of that is due to your laziness. | |
| 9. v. to come from (to have a social or geographic background) (+preo, aus, dative) | |
| Sie kommt aus der Schweiz. - She comes from Switzerland. | |
| Sie kommt aus einer Diplomatenfamilie. - She comes from a family of diplomats. | |
| 10. v. to orgasm; to cum | |
| Ich komme gleich! - I’m about to cum! | |
| Mir kommt's gleich! - I’m about to cum! | |
| 11. v. to be statistically equivalent to; to be there for (+preo, auf, accusative) | |
| Auf jeden Verkehrstoten kommen zwanzig Verletzte. - For each traffic fatality there are twenty injured people. | |
| 12. v. to obtain (a solution or result) (+preo, auf, accusative) | |
| Die Werte wurden frisiert, um auf das gewünschte Ergebnis zu kommen. - The values were manipulated in order to obtain the desired result. | |
| 13. v. to get an idea; to think of; to remember; to imagine (+preo, auf, accusative) | |
| Ich komme im Moment nicht drauf, aber ich sag’s dir später. - I can’t think of it right now, but I’ll tell you later. | |
| Ich weiß wirklich nicht, wie du immer auf diese Einfälle kommst. - I really don’t know how you always get all those ideas. | |
| 14. v. to lose; to forfeit; not to get (+preo, um) | |
| Er hat Angst, dass er um seinen Anteil kommt. - He fears that he won’t get his share. | |
| 15. v. to touch inadvertently | |
| Pass auf, dass du nicht an die frische Farbe kommst. - Be careful not to touch the wet paint. | |
| 16. v. to manage to reach (something high up etc.) (+preo, an, accusative) | |
| Hilf ihm mal, er kommt nicht an den Griff. - Help him, he can't reach the handle. | |
| 17. v. (colloquial copulative with gut or in Ordnung) to turn out (well) | |
| Am Ende kommt hoffentlich alles gut. - In the end, hopefully all will turn out well. | |
