Opposites in German
Explore German opposites to broaden language skills and comprehension.
This article is part of our German vocabulary series. Also make sure to check out our A1 / A2 online German lessons and our German reading material.
Learning opposites in German can be both fun and useful as it allows you to express contrasting ideas and concepts. In this blog post, we'll provide you with multiple lists of very useful German words and their opposites.
Adjectives and Adverbs
Let's start with some common adjectives and their opposites:
alt
old
neu
new
groß
big
klein
small
hell
bright
dunkel
dark
Verbs
Next, let's explore some action verbs and their opposites:
kommen
to come
gehen
to go
starten
to start
beenden
to finish
anfangen
to begin
aufhören
to stop
Nouns
Now, let's learn some nouns and their opposites:
der Tag
day
die Nacht
night
der Sommer
summer
der Winter
winter
die Sonne
sun
der Mond
moon
Prepositions
Lastly, let's explore some prepositions and their opposites:
vor
in front of
hinter
behind
über
above
unter
below
vorwärts
forward
rückwärts
backward
We hope this vocabulary list helps you express contrasting ideas in German! Whether you're describing objects, actions, or locations, these words will come in handy. Viel Erfolg! (Good luck!)
Verbs
A - F
to be awake - to be asleep
wach sein - schlafen
to attack - to defend
angreifen - verteidigen
to arrive - to depart
ankommen - verlassen
to arrest - to free
festnehmen - freilassen
to question - to answer
fragen - antworten
to amuse - to bore
sich amüsieren - sich langweilen
G - L
to give - to take
nehmen - geben
to come - to go
kommen - gehen
good - bad
gut - böse
generous - stingy
großzügig - geizig
happy - sad
glücklich - traurig
to hate - to love
hassen - lieben
M - R
to melt - to freeze
schmelzen - einfrieren
to miss - to hit
verfehlen -
to open - to close
öffnen - schließen
to permit - to forbid
erlauben - verbieten
to protect - to attack
beschützen - angreifen
to push - to pull
drücken - ziehen
S - Z
to save - to spend
sparen - ausgeben
to scream - to whisper
schreien - flüstern
to sell - to buy
verkaufen - kaufen
to sit - to stand
sitzen - stehen
to start - to stop
beginnen - aufhören
to stand up - to lie down
stehen - liegen
Non-Verb Opposites
A - F
attic - cellar
der Dachboden - der Keller
awful - pleasant
schrecklich - angenehm
angel - devil
der Engel - der Teufel
ancient - modern
antik - modern
after - before
davor - danach
artificial - natural
künstlich - natürlich
G - L
gentle - rough
sanft - rau
guest - host
der Gast - der Gastgeber
guilty - innocent
schuldig - unschuldig
healthy - sick
gesund - krank
high - low
hoch - niedrig
huge - tiny
riesig - winzig
M - R
minor - major
nebensächlich - hauptsächlich
moderate - extreme
moderat - extrem
much - little
viel - wenig
morning - evening
der Morgen - der Abend
never - always
nie - immer
nothing - everything
nichts - alles
S - Z
safety - danger
die Sicherheit - die Gefahr
satisfaction - dissatisfaction
die Zufriedenheit - die Unzufriedenheit
serious - funny
ernst - lustig
servant - master
der Diener - der Herr
sharp - blunt
scharf - stumpf
solid - liquid
fest - flüssig
