Common nouns: the home and food
Thirty-odd everyday objects, each learned with der, die or das — because in German the article is not optional information.
Never learn a German noun alone
There is no reliable way to guess the gender of a German noun. Some patterns help — words ending in -ung, -heit, -keit and -in are feminine, and most ending in -chen are neuter — but the honest answer is that you memorise the article with the word or you learn it twice. Every noun below is shown with its article, and the bold, slanted or bold-slanted style says the same thing a second time.
Around the home
- das Hausthe housemein Hausmy house
- die Küchethe kitchenin der Küchein the kitchen
- das Wohnzimmerthe living room
- das Schlafzimmerthe bedroom
Zimmer means room, and it is always neuter — so every room compound is das.
- die Türthe doorSchließ die Tür.Close the door.
- das Fensterthe window
- der Tischthe table
- der Stuhlthe chair
- die Toilettethe toilet
The word to ask for in a café or a station.
What the colours above mean
8 of 10 colours so farA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Describes a noun.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
Question words join this week. Adverbs and conjunctions are the last two, and they arrive in Week 4.
The room, in one picture
Comenius did this in 1658, in the first picture textbook ever printed: a drawing, numbers on the things in it, the words keyed to the numbers. Tap a number to hear it. Then hide the words and name what you can before you check.
Tap a number, or a word, to hear it.
Food and drink
- das Brotbread
- der Kaffeecoffeeeinen Kaffee, [bitte]a coffee, please
- der Teetea
- das Wasserwater
Ask for stilles Wasser if you do not want it fizzy — sparkling is the default in Germany.
- der Weinwineein Glas Weina glass of wine
- das Bierbeer
- der Käsecheese
- die Speisekartethe menuDie Speisekarte, [bitte].The menu, please.
- die Rechnungthe billDie Rechnung, [bitte].The bill, please.
The -ung ending is always feminine. One of the few rules you can trust.
On the table
The food and drink from the list above, laid out. Tap to hear. When the list feels familiar, hide the words and go round the table naming everything out loud.
Tap a number, or a word, to hear it.
Sentence frames
- 1
Wo ist die Küche / die Toilette?
Where is ___?
- 2
Ich möchte einen Kaffee.
I would like ___.
Möchte is the everyday polite would like. Ich hätte gern is equally polite and arrives next week.
- 3
Die Rechnung, [bitte].
The bill, please.
Daily mini-tasks
Listening this week
Easy German — Super Easy German series
YouTube
Real speech with German and English subtitles, slowed down for beginners. Do not try to understand everything.
What stuck?
Check it before you close the page.
Up to 10 of this week's words and frames. Say each one out loud before you look, and say whether you think you have it. Guessing first and then checking is what makes it stick — reading the answer feels better and does less.