Lesson 10A1

All about Adjectives

Learn how to use adjectives in German sentences.

Lesson 10 - Adjectives
Beginner
10-15 min
Reading & Examples
Free

In the previous lesson on colors, we began learning some useful adjectives, like grün, blau, and rot.

Der Apfel
Der Apfel ist rot.

The apple is red.

Let's expand our vocabulary with more German adjectives to help us describe subjects or objects in sentences, making them more meaningful.

1. The Five Senses

First, let's focus on adjectives related to the senses.

SenseDescriptions
tastelecker (tasty), süß (sweet), salzig (salty)
touchkalt (cold), heiß (hot), warm (warm)
soundlaut (loud), leise (quiet)
sightschön (beautiful), hässlich (ugly), hell (bright), dunkel (dark)
smellduftend (fragrant), stinkend (smelly), frisch (fresh)

Scroll horizontally to see all columns →

Now, let's try building a few sentences using these adjectives:

Your sentence:

Tap words below to build your sentence

Available words:

Great Job! 🎉

Let's have a look at some more German adjectives to learn.

2. Size, Shape + Weight

1. Describing Size

Die Maus
Die Maus ist klein.

The mouse is small.
  • großbig
  • kleinsmall
  • dünnthin
  • dickthick

2. Describing Shape

Der Fisch
Der Fisch ist rund.

The fish is round.
  • rundround
  • flachflat
  • eckigangular

3. Describing Weight

Der Elefant
Der Elefant ist schwer.

The elephant is heavy.
  • schwerheavy
  • leichtlight

Try building a few sentences using the Size, Shape + Weight adjectives we just covered:

Your sentence:

Tap words below to build your sentence

Available words:

3. Emotions + Judgement

Describing Emotions

  • glücklichhappy
  • traurigsad
  • wütendangry
  • gelangweiltbored
  • nervösnervous
  • aufgeregtexcited
  • gelassencalm
  • verwirrtconfused

Describing Judgments

  • gutgood
  • schlechtbad
  • unschuldiginnocent
  • schuldigguilty
  • böseevil

Now, try creating a few sentences using the Emotions + Judgement adjectives:

Your sentence:

Tap words below to build your sentence

Available words:

4. Time

  • frühearly
  • spätlate
  • schnellfast
  • langsamslow

Finally, build a few sentences using the Timeadjectives you've just learned:

Your sentence:

Tap words below to build your sentence

Available words:

Well done! 🎉

You're starting to use a wide range of adjectives in your sentences, beyond the colors you already know! Now, if you want to make your descriptions more specific, there are some useful words and phrases to help.

5. Modifying Adjectives

Sometimes we want to add or reduce emphasis. Instead of saying something is simply cold, you might want to say it's very cold, or a little cold. Words like very or littleare called modifiers and help to make descriptions more specific. Here's a list of such words and phrases:

  • nichtnot
  • sehrvery
  • ein weniga little
  • unfassbarunbelievably
  • etwassomewhat

Try the exercise below to practice using these modifiers:

1.Das Getränk ist kalt.
2.Das Essen ist heiß genug.
3.Die Musik ist angenehm.
4.Seine Stimme ist nervig.

Well done! 🎉

You now know how to be more specific with your descriptions in German! Next, we'll dive into Adjective Declension. Head over when you're ready!