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March 03, 2025 00:59
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German Language Essentials Cheatsheet

A quick reference guide to German grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure for learners of all levels.

Basic Grammar

Nouns and Articles

Definite Articles (The)

der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter), die (plural)

Indefinite Articles (A/An)

ein (masculine/neuter), eine (feminine)

Noun Gender

Determines article and adjective endings; often unpredictable, requires memorization.

Example (Masculine)

Der Mann (The man)

Example (Feminine)

Die Frau (The woman)

Example (Neuter)

Das Kind (The child)

Example (Plural)

Die Kinder (The children)

Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

ich (I), du (you, informal), er (he), sie (she), es (it), wir (we), ihr (you, plural, informal), Sie (you, formal), sie (they)

Pronoun Cases

Nominative (subject), Accusative (direct object), Dative (indirect object), Genitive (possessive)

Example (Nominative)

Ich bin (I am)

Example (Accusative)

Ich sehe dich (I see you)

Example (Dative)

Ich gebe dir das Buch (I give you the book)

Verb Conjugation

Regular verbs conjugate predictably based on their infinitive ending (-en). Irregular verbs have unique conjugations that must be memorized.

Example (Regular Verb - machen - to make/do)*:
ich mache, du machst, er/sie/es macht, wir machen, ihr macht, Sie/sie machen

Sentence Structure

Basic Word Order

Main Clause

Subject - Verb - Object (SVO). Verb usually second element.

Subordinate Clause

Verb at the end of the clause.

Example (Main Clause)

Ich trinke Kaffee (I drink coffee)

Example (Subordinate Clause)

Ich trinke Kaffee, weil ich müde bin (I drink coffee because I am tired)

Questions

Yes/No Questions

Verb comes first. Bist du müde? (Are you tired?)

W-Questions

Question word first (wer, was, wann, wo, warum, wie, etc.). Wie geht es dir? (How are you?)

Prepositions

Prepositions govern the case of the noun that follows them (Accusative or Dative, sometimes Genitive).

Examples:
Accusative: durch (through), für (for), ohne (without), um (around)
Dative: aus (from), bei (at/near), mit (with), nach (after/to), seit (since), von (from), zu (to)
Two-Way (Accusative or Dative depending on context): an (on), auf (on), in (in), über (over), unter (under), vor (in front of), zwischen (between)

Essential Vocabulary

Common Greetings

Hallo

Hello

Guten Tag

Good day

Guten Morgen

Good morning

Guten Abend

Good evening

Gute Nacht

Good night

Wie geht es dir/Ihnen?

How are you? (informal/formal)

Basic Phrases

Bitte

Please/You’re welcome

Danke

Thank you

Entschuldigung

Excuse me/Sorry

Ja

Yes

Nein

No

Ich verstehe nicht

I don’t understand

Numbers

eins (1), zwei (2), drei (3), vier (4), fünf (5), sechs (6), sieben (7), acht (8), neun (9), zehn (10), elf (11), zwölf (12), zwanzig (20), dreißig (30), vierzig (40), fünfzig (50), hundert (100), tausend (1000)

Advanced Topics

The Genitive Case

Used to show possession, though often replaced by the dative case in spoken German. Articles and nouns change form.

Example:
Das Auto des Mannes (The man’s car). Here des Mannes is the Genitive form of der Mann.

The Subjunctive Mood (Konjunktiv)

Used to express hypothetical situations, indirect speech, and polite requests. Two forms: Konjunktiv I (indirect speech) and Konjunktiv II (hypothetical).

Example (Konjunktiv II):
Ich wäre froh, wenn du mir helfen könntest (I would be happy if you could help me).

Compound Words

German frequently uses compound words (combining two or more words into one) to create new meanings. The gender of the last word determines the gender of the compound word.

Examples:
der Tisch (table) + die Lampe (lamp) = die Tischlampe (table lamp)
das Haus (house) + die Tür (door) = die Haustür (front door)