Updated July 2026 · Everyday German · 10-minute read · 🔊 every word spoken WITH its article
In short: the 100 German words that run daily life — each with its gender article (der/die/das) built into the audio, because learning nouns without articles is the #1 beginner mistake in German. Tap any word to hear it. 👇
People & home
Word
English
Listen
der Mensch
person
die Frau
woman
der Mann
man
das Kind
child
die Familie
family
der Freund
friend
der Herr
gentleman / Mr.
der Name
name
die Leute
people
das Haus
house
Food & drink
Word
English
Listen
das Wasser
water
das Brot
bread
der Kaffee
coffee
der Tee
tea
die Milch
milk
das Bier
beer
das Essen
food
das Frühstück
breakfast
die Suppe
soup
der Apfel
apple
Time
Word
English
Listen
die Zeit
time
der Tag
day
die Nacht
night
der Morgen
morning
der Abend
evening
heute
today
morgen
tomorrow (yes — same word, no article!)
gestern
yesterday
die Woche
week
das Jahr
year
Places
Word
English
Listen
die Stadt
city
die Straße
street
das Geschäft
shop
die Arbeit
work
die Schule
school
die Kirche
church
der Markt
market
der Bahnhof
train station
der Flughafen
airport
das Krankenhaus
hospital (lit. “sick-house”)
Verbs you can’t live without
Word
English
Listen
sein
to be
haben
to have
gehen
to go
fahren
to drive / travel
essen
to eat
trinken
to drink
schlafen
to sleep
sprechen
to speak
verstehen
to understand
lieben
to love
Everyday adjectives
Word
English
Listen
gut
good
schlecht
bad
groß
big
klein
small
neu
new
alt
old
schön
beautiful
lecker
tasty
teuer
expensive
billig
cheap
Little words that run sentences
Word
English
Listen
ich
I
du
you
wir
we
er
he
sie
she / they
das
this / that
hier
here
dort
there
jetzt
now
immer
always
Question words
Word
English
Listen
was
what
wer
who
wo
where
wann
when
warum
why
wie
how
wie viel
how much
welcher
which
ob
whether
weil
because
Connectors & tiny helpers
Word
English
Listen
und
and
aber
but
oder
or
wenn
if / when
mit
with
in
in
auf
on
zu
to
von
from / of
für
for
Heart & life
Word
English
Listen
das Herz
heart
die Hand
hand
der Kopf
head
das Auge
eye
das Geld
money
die Liebe
love
die Gesundheit
health
das Glück
luck / happiness
die Hilfe
help
der Weg
way / path
💡 The article trick: never learn a German noun naked. It’s not “Hund”, it’s DER Hund. Our audio says the article every time so your ear learns the gender before your brain has to memorize it — the way German children do it.
🇩🇪 Free vocabulary bonus: German builds words like LEGO — know krank (sick) + das Haus (house) and you get das Krankenhaus (hospital) for free. These 100 words are the bricks for thousands more — see the longest German words for the fun extreme.
📬 Take this lesson with you
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Why do the German words have der, die and das in front?
Every German noun has a gender — der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter) — and the article is part of the word. Learn them TOGETHER from day one (die Zeit, not just Zeit) and you’ll save yourself years of guessing. That’s why our audio includes the article.
How many German words do I need for basic conversation?
The 100 most frequent words cover roughly half of all everyday German speech. Master this list plus our phrase lessons and simple conversations open up quickly.
What’s the fastest way to memorize German vocabulary?
Sound + article + meaning in one bite: play the audio, repeat aloud with the article, picture the meaning. Ten a day, replay yesterday’s group first. German’s compound-word logic means these 100 unlock hundreds more.
