How to Describe People in GermanLesson 7

Now that you know the German verb sein and some basic German nouns, you could already start describing people... if only you knew some adjectives (description words)!

How to Describe People

Describing people (or things) in German is pretty easy. It works just like in English. All you need is the noun you want to describe (for example die Frau), the correct word for being (for example ist or sind) and the description word.

Das Horn

Die Ameise

Die Prinzessin

Der Floh

German Description Words

Here are some basic German adjectives to describe people:

Here are some more fun descriptions:

Now try this exercise:

Negation with nicht

If you want to say that Tom is tall, you could say this one of two ways:

• You might say: Tom is tall
• Or you might use a negation: Tom is not small

In German, you can negate adjectives by using the word nicht:

Immer, Nie, Manchmal

Lastly, you can also use modifiers like always, never or sometimes. Maybe you want to say that your dog is sometimes a little bit silly, that you are always honest and that those women over there are always crazy.