German Language Building Blocks
D | Z | T | Pf | F | S (ß, ss) | Ch | Compound Nouns | Forming Adjectives | -bar | -(e)n/-ern | -haft | -ig | -isch | -lich | -los | -mäßig | -reich | -sam | -voll |Forming Adverbs | -s | -weise | -er | -halb | -wärts | -e | Forming Nouns | -e | -ei | -el | -er | -heit | -keit | -ling | -nis | -schaft | -sel | -tum | -ung | Prefixes Forming Nouns | Ge- | Miß- | Mit- | Rück- | Un- | Ur- | Wohl- | Grund- | Haupt- | Spitzen-
This lesson isn't really grammatical, but more for vocabularly. You will know how to form your own nouns, adjectives, and adverbs from other words. We will also look at how English letters tend to be related to letters in German, which is mainly because English is a Germanic language.
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English th corresponds with German d:
drei - three
der - the
du - thou
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English t corresponds with German z:
zu - too
zehn - ten
zahm - tame
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English d correponds with German t:
tun - to do
Tochter - daughter
Tag - day
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English p corresponds with German pf:
pfennig - penny
Pfeife - pipe
Pfad - path
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English p also corresponds with German f:
offen - open
heifen - to help
scharf - sharp
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English t corresponds with German s (ß, ss):
besser - better
beißen - to bite
aus - out
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English k corresponds with German ch:
Buch - book
machen - to make
brechen - to break
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Forming Compound-nouns:
the roots of any word are monosyllable words (die Hand, gut)
Compound nouns are formed when two or more words combine:
der Fuß + der Ball = der Fußball - football
der Mittag + das Essen = das Mittagessen - lunch, midday meal
As you can see the noun that occupies the final position determines the gender.
An s or (e)n is often inserted between words:
die Straßenecke - street corner
die Lebensversicherung - life assurance
feminine nouns regularly add an s to feminine noun endings with:
-heit, -keit, -schaft, -ung, -ion, and -tät:
der Freiheitskrieg - war of independence
die Meinungsumfrage - opinion poll
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| Forming Adjectives:
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-bar: -able or -ible; verb stems added to the suffix:
erreichbar - attainable (reachable)
wunderbar - wonderful
furchtbar - frightful
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-(e)n or -ern: the substance something is made of:
golden - gold
eisern - iron
gläsern - glass
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-haft: added to verbs, nouns, or other adjectives:
heldenhaft - heroic
sagenhaft - legendary
krankhaft - morbid
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-ig: having characteristics of; corresponds with -y:
blutig - bloody
durstig - thirtsty
saftig - juicy
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-isch: -ish, adjective of nationality, foreign words:
englisch - English
kindisch - childish
akademisch - academic
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-lich: -like, -ly, added to nouns, adjectives, and verbs:
rotlich - reddish
kindlich - child-like
sterblich - mortal
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-los: -less:
arbeitslos - unemployed
haarlos - hairless
geruchlos - odorless
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-mäßig: in accordance with:
planmäßig - according to plan
gewohnheitsmäßig - habitual
vorschriftsmäßig - correct, as prescribed
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-reich: rich in:
glorreich - glorious
kinderreich - with many children
hilfreich - helpful
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-sam: -some:
einsam - lonely, lonesome
langsam - slow
ratsam - advisable
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-voll: -ful:
gedankenvoll - thoughtful
geheimnisvoll - mysterious
wertvoll - valuable
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| Forming Adverbs:
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-s: may be added to adjectives or nouns to form adverbs:
besonders - especially
links - on the left
morgens - in the morning
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-weise: may be added to adjectives or nouns to form adverbs:
komischerweise - funnily enough
beispielsweise - by way of example
normalerweise - in the normal course of events
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| -er is added to adjectives
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-halb: forms adverbs:
außerhalb - outside
innerhalb - inside
oberhalb - above
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-wärts: -ward(s):
abwärts - downward(s)
auswärts - outward(s)
seitwärts - sideway(s)
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-e: archaic adverbial suffix in a few words:
gerne - gladly
nahe - nearby
lange - long
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| Forming Nouns:
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-e: added to adjective stems it denotes the quality of the adjective. Also used with verbs:
die Kälte - cold
die Breite - width
das Ende - end
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-ei:
die Arznei - medicament
die Polizei - police
die Partei - political party
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-el:
der Deckel - lid
das Drittel - third
der Vogel - bird
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-er: indicates occupation or function of a person, also indicates origin from a certain place:
der Ausländer - foreigner
der Maler - painter
der Berliner - Berliner
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-heit: forms a feminine abstact noun from an adjective:
die Gesundheit - health
die Freiheit - freedom
die Gewohnheit - habit
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-keit: used instead of heit with adjectives ending with -bar, -ig, -lich, or -sam:
die Dankbarkeit - gratitude
die Freundlichkeit - kindness, friendliness
die Schwierigkeit - difficulty
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-ling: has something of a diminutive, pitying associations:
der Zwilling - twin
der Frühling - spring
der Lehrling - apprentice
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-nis: added to verb stems:
die Kenntnis - knowledge
das Zeugnis - evidence
das Hindernis - hindrance
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-schaft: -ship, denotes collectives or states:
die Freundschaft - friendship
die Mannschaft - team
die Gesellschaft - society
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-sel:
das Rätsel - puzzle
der Schüssel - dish
das Überbleibsel - remnant
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-tum:
das Christentum - Christianity
der Irrtum - error
der Reichtum - riches
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-ung: forms feminine abstract nouns from verb stems:
die Wohnung - apartment
die Meinung - opinion
die Hoffnung - hope
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| Prefixes Forming Nouns:
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Ge- forms three types of nouns:
collective nouns (umlaut when possible):
das Gepäck - luggage
das Geshirr - crockery
das Geschrei - shouting
formed from verb stems and signifying the product of the verb:
der Gesang - song
der Geschmack - taste
der Gehalt - content, capacity
nouns falling into neither of these categories:
das Gesicht - face
die Geschichte - story, history
der Gesetzt - law
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Miß- gives opposite of the word it is prefixed to:
der Mißbrauch - misuse
der Mißerfolg - failure
die Mißhandlung - illtreatment
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Mit- signifies being together:
der Mitarbeiter - colleague
das Mitleid - sympathy
das Mitglied - member
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Rück- has the basic meaning of back:
der Rücksitz - back seat
die Rückkehr - return
der Rückblick - retrospect
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Un- used to signify an opposite:
das Unglück - misfortune
die Unordnung - disorder
die Unruhe - unrest
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Ur- signifies the origins and beginnings:
die Ursache - cause
die Urkunde - title deed, document
der Ursprung - source, origin
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Wohl- denotes the good or agreeable:
die Wohlfahrt - welfare
das Wohlsein - well-being
das Wohlwollen - goodwill
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Grund- adds a sense of basic:
die Grundschule - elementary school
der Grundsatz - principle
die Grundzahl - cardinal number
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Haupt- adds a sense of head, chief, or main:
der Hauptbahnhof - main station
der Hauptmann - Captain
die Hauptstadt - capital city
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Spitzen- adds a sense of peak or maximum:
die Spitzengeschwindigkeit - maximum speed
das Spitzenwert - peak value
die Spitzenleistung - peak output, best performance
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