How to say nationalities & countries in German with confidence

There are hundreds of countries and thousands of cities in the world, and every single one of us has a different idea of home. Being able to learn about each other’s backgrounds is one of the greatest benefits of language learning.

One of the first questions to ask when you meet a German-speaker is “​​Where are you from?” and if you found our helpful guide on how to ask people about their origins in German, you already know this one.

The question itself is easy enough but the answer can be a lot more complex.

Not all German-speakers are actually from a German-speaking country. That’s why we collected a long list of countries and cities in German that will help you understand people’s origins better. Soon you’ll be able to make friends from all over the world and learn all about their countries and hometowns!

List of continents in German

To give people a rough idea where you’re from, you can always start with the continent or larger area, before you go into more detail about your country or city.

English	German	IPA
Continent	Kontinent	[ˈkɔntinɛnt]
Africa	Afrika	[ˈaːfʁika]
North America	Nordamerika	[ˈnɔʁtʔaˌmeːʁika]
Central America	Mittelamerika	[ˈmɪtl̩ʔaˌmeːʁika]
South America	Südamerika	[zyːtʔaˈmeːʁika]
Asia	Asien	[ˈaːzi̯ən]
Europe	Europa	[ɔɪ̯ˈʁoːpa]
Oceania	Ozeanien	[ot͡seˈaːni̯ən]
Australia	Australien	[aʊ̯sˈtʁaːli̯ən]

List of countries in German

“Countries” in German is “Länder” and the singular is “das Land”. This is related to the English “land” and the original meaning focuses more on the geography of the land itself than on its political borders. We’ve listed the majority of countries for you, divided by continent. Luckily, they’re all very similar to the English names, so memorizing them shouldn’t be too hard!

African countries in German

The population census shows that 1% of Germany’s population consists of minorities with passports from African countries, mostly from Morocco, Eritrea and Nigeria. Many more officially have German citizenship but a background that involves at least one of these African countries:

English	German	IPA	Flag
Algeria	Algerien	[alˈɡeːʁiən]	🇩🇿
Angola	Angola	[aŋˈɡoːlaː]	🇦🇴
Cameroon	Kamerun	[ˈkaməʁuːn]	🇨🇲
Cape Verde	Kap Verde	[kap ˈvɛʁdə]	🇨🇻
Republic of the Congo	Die Republik Kongo	[ʁepuˌbliːk ˈkɔŋɡo]	🇨🇬
The Democratic Republic of the Congo	Die Demokratische Republik Kongo	[ˌdemoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʁepuˌbliːk ˈkɔŋɡo]	🇨🇩
Egypt	Ägypten	[ˌɛˈɡʏptn̩]	🇪🇬
Equatorial Guinea	Äquatorialguinea	[ˌɛkvatoˈʁi̯aːlɡiˌneːa]	🇬🇳
Ethiopia	Äthiopien	[ɛˈti̯oːpi̯ən]	🇪🇹
Ghana	Ghana	[ˈɡaːna]	🇬🇭
Ivory Coast	Die Elfenbeinküste	[ˈɛlfn̩baɪ̯nˌkʏstə]	🇨🇮
Kenya	Kenia	[ˈkeːni̯a]	🇰🇪
Libya	Libyen	[ˈliːbi̯ən]	🇱🇾
Mauritius	Mauritius	[maʊ̯ˈʁiːt͡si̯ʊs]	🇲🇺
Morocco	Marokko	[ˌmaˈʁɔko]	🇲🇦
Mozambique	Mosambik	[ˌmozamˈbiːk]	🇲🇿
Nigeria	Nigeria	[niˈɡeːʁia]	🇳🇬
Rwanda	Ruanda	[ʁuˈanda]	🇷🇼
Senegal	Senegal	[ˈzeːneɡal]	🇸🇳
Somalia	Somalia	[zoˈmaːli̯a]	🇸🇴
South Africa	Südafrika	[ˌzyːtˈʔaːfʁika]	🇿🇦
Sudan	Sudan	[zuˈdaːn]	🇸🇩
Syria	Syrien	[ˈzyːʁiən]	🇸🇾
Tunisia	Tunesien	[tuˈneːzi̯ən]	🇹🇳
Uganda	Uganda	[uˈɡanda]	🇺🇬
Zimbabwe	Simbabwe	[zɪmˈbapvə]	🇿🇼

American countries in German

Here is a list of American countries in German - from Canada to Nicaragua and all the way down to Chile.

English	German	IPA	Flag
Argentina	Argentinien	[ˌaʁɡɛnˈtiːni̯ən]	🇦🇷
Belize	Belize	[bəˈliːs]	🇧🇿
Bolivia	Bolivien	[boˈliːvi̯ən]	🇧🇴
Brazil	Brasilien	[bʁaˈziːli̯ən]	🇧🇷
Canada	Kanada	[ˈkanada]	🇨🇦
Chile	Chile	[ˈt͡ʃiːlə]	🇨🇱
Colombia	Kolumbien	[koˈlʊmbi̯ən]	🇨🇴
Costa Rica	Costa Rica	[ˈkɔsta ˈʁiːka]	🇨🇷
Ecuador	Ecuador	[ˌeku̯aˈdoːɐ̯]	🇪🇨
Nicaragua	Nicaragua	[ˌnikaˈʁaːɡu̯a]	🇳🇮
Puerto Rico	Puerto Rico	[ˈpu̯ɛʁto ˈʁiːko]	🇵🇷
Dominican Republic	Die Dominikanische Republik	[dominiˌkaːnɪʃə ʁepuˈblik]	🇩🇴
Jamaica	Jamaika	[jaˈmaɪ̯ka]	🇯🇲
Mexico	Mexiko	[ˈmɛksikoː]	🇲🇽
Panama	Panama	[ˈpanaˌmaː]	🇵🇦
Paraguay	Paraguay	[ˈpaːʁaɡvaɪ̯]	🇵🇾
Peru	Peru	[peˈʁuː]	🇵🇪
Venezuela	Venezuela	[ˌveneˈt͡su̯eːla]	🇻🇪
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad und Tobago	[ˈtʁɪniˌdat ʊnt toˈbaːɡo]	🇹🇹
United States	Vereinigte Staaten	[fɛɐ̯ˌʔaɪ̯nɪçtə ˈʃtaːtn̩]	🇺🇸

Asian countries in German

You’ll meet many people with Asian backgrounds in Germany. Turks are the largest minority group, making up for almost 4% of the German population. In fact, Berlin alone is home to more than 200,000 residents claiming Turkish heritage.

English	German	IPA	Flag
Armenia	Armenien	[aʁˈmeːni̯ən]	🇦🇲
Azerbaijan	Aserbaidschan	[ˌazɛʁbaɪ̯ˈd͡ʒaːn]	🇦🇿
Bangladesh	Bangladesch	[ˌbaŋɡlaˈdɛʃ]	🇧🇩
Cambodia	Kambodscha	[kamˈbɔd͡ʒa]	🇰🇭
China	China	[ˈçiːna]	🇨🇳
India	Indien	[ˈɪndi̯ən]	🇮🇳
Indonesia	Indonesien	[ɪndoˈneːzi̯ən]	🇮🇩
Iran	Iran	[iˈʁaːn]	🇮🇷
Iraq	Irak	[iˈʁaːk]	🇮🇶
Japan	Japan	[ˈjaːpan]	🇯🇵
Jordan	Jordanien	[jɔʁˈdaːni̯ən]	🇯🇴
Kazakhstan	Kasachstan	[ˈkaːzaxˌstaːn]	🇰🇿
North Korea	Nordkorea	[ˈnɔʁtkoˈʁeːa]	🇰🇵
South Korea	Südkorea	[ˈzyːtkoˈʁeːa]	🇰🇷
Lebanon	Der Libanon	[ˈliːbanɔn]	🇱🇧
Malaysia	Malaysia	[maˈlaɪ̯zi̯a]	🇲🇾
Mongolia	Die Mongolei	[ˌmɔŋɡoˈlaɪ̯]	🇲🇳
Myanmar	Myanmar	[ˈmi̯anmaːɐ̯]	🇲🇲
Oman	Der Oman	[oˈmaːn]	🇴🇲
Pakistan	Pakistan	[ˈpaːkɪstaːn]	🇵🇰
Palestine	Palästina	[palɛsˈtiːna]	🇵🇸
Philippines	Die Philippinen	[ˌfilɪˈpiːnən]	🇵🇭
Qatar	Katar	[kaˈtaːɐ̯]	🇶🇦
Saudi Arabia	Saudi-Arabien	[ˌzaʊ̯diʔaˈʁaːbi̯ən]	🇸🇦
Singapore	Singapur	[ˈzɪŋɡapuːɐ̯]	🇸🇬
Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	[sʁiː ˈlaŋka]	🇱🇰
Thailand	Thailand	[ˈtaɪ̯lant]	🇹🇭
Turkey	Die Türkei	[tʏʁˈkaɪ̯]	🇹🇷
United Arab Emirates	Vereinigte Arabische Emirate	[fɛɐ̯ˌʔaɪ̯nɪçtə ʔaˌʁaːbɪʃə ˌʔemiˈʁaːtə]	🇦🇪
Uzbekistan	Usbekistan	[ʊsˈbeːkɪstaːn]	🇺🇿
Vietnam	Vietnam	[vi̯ɛtˈnam]	🇻🇳
Yemen	Der Jemen	[ˈjeːmən]	🇾🇪

European countries in German

Did you know that the name for the European continent is derived from the Phoenician princess Europa, a fictional character in Greek mythology? Therefore, in German, Spanish, Italian and other languages the word for Europe is “Europa”.

English	German	IPA	Flag
Albania	Albanien	[alˈbaːni̯ən]	🇦🇱
Andorra	Andorra	[anˈdɔʁa]	🇦🇩
Austria	Österreich	[ˈøːstəʁaɪ̯ç]	🇦🇹
Belgium	Belgien	[ˈbɛlɡi̯ən]	🇧🇪
Bulgaria	Bulgarien	[bʊlˈɡaːʁiən]	🇧🇬
Croatia	Kroatien	[kʁoˈaːt͡si̯ən]	🇭🇷
Cyprus	Zypern	[ˈt͡syːpɐn]	🇨🇾
Czechia	Tschechien	[ˈt͡ʃɛçi̯ən]	🇨🇿
Denmark	Dänemark	[ˈdɛːnəˌmaʁk]	🇩🇰
Finland	Finnland	[ˈfɪnlant]	🇫🇮
France	Frankreich	[ˈfʁaŋkʁaɪ̯ç]	🇫🇷
Germany	Deutschland	[ˈdɔɪ̯t͡ʃlant]	🇩🇪
Greece	Griechenland	[ˈɡʁiːçn̩ˌlant]	🇬🇷
Hungary	Ungarn	[ˈʊŋɡaʁn]	🇭🇺
Iceland	Island	[ˈiːslant]	🇮🇸
Ireland	Irland	[ˈɪʁlant]	🇮🇪
Italy	Italien	[iˈtaːli̯ən]	🇮🇹
Lithuania	Litauen	[ˈlɪtaʊ̯ən]	🇱🇹
Luxembourg	Luxemburg	[ˈlʊksm̩ˌbʊʁk]	🇱🇺
The Netherlands	Die Niederlande	[ˈniːdɐˌlandə]	🇳🇱
Norway	Norwegen	[ˈnɔʁˌveːɡn̩]	🇳🇴
Poland	Polen	[ˈpoːlən]	🇵🇱
Portugal	Portugal	[ˈpɔʁtuɡal]	🇵🇹
Romania	Rumänien	[ʁuˈmɛːni̯ən]	🇷🇴
Russia	Russland	[ˈʁʊslant]	🇷🇺
Serbia	Serbien	[ˈzɛʁbi̯ən]	🇷🇸
Slovakia	Die Slowakei	[ˌslovaˈkaɪ̯]	🇸🇰
Slovenia	Slowenien	[sloˈveːni̯ən]	🇸🇮
Spain	Spanien	[ˈʃpaːni̯ən]	🇪🇸
Sweden	Schweden	[ˈʃveːdn̩]	🇸🇪
Switzerland	Die Schweiz	[ʃvaɪ̯t͡s]	🇨🇭
Ukraine	Die Ukraine	[ˌukʁaˈiːnə]	🇺🇦
United Kingdom	Vereinigtes Königreich	[fɛɐ̯ˌʔaɪ̯nɪçtəs ˈkøːnɪçˌʁaɪ̯ç]	🇬🇧

Oceanian countries in German

If you dug a hole to the other side of the world in Germany, you’d be floating in the ocean somewhere off the East coast of New Zealand. Nothing’s further away than Oceanian countries and islands but luckily for those of us trying to flee the cold German weather, soaking in the sun on Samoa is only a couple of flights away.

English	German	IPA	Flag
Australia	Australien	[aʊ̯sˈtʁaːli̯ən]	🇦🇺
New Zealand	Neuseeland	[nɔɪ̯ˈzeːlant]	🇳🇿
Federated States of Micronesia	Föderierte Staaten von Mikronesien	[fødəˌʁiːɐ̯tn̩ ˌʃtatn̩ fɔn ˌmikʁoˈneːzi̯ən]	🇫🇲
Fiji	Fidschi	[ˈfɪd͡ʒi]	🇫🇯
Kiribati	Kiribati	[kiʁiˈbaːti]	🇰🇮
Papua New Guinea	Papua-Neuguinea	[ˌpaːpuanɔɪ̯ɡiˈneːa]	🇵🇬
Samoa	Samoa	[zaˈmoːa]	🇼🇸
Solomon Islands	Die Salomoninseln	[ˈzaːlomɔnˌʔɪnzl̩n]	🇸🇧
Tonga	Tonga	[ˈtɔŋɡa]	🇹🇴
Vanuatu	Vanuatu	[ˌvanuˈaːtuː]	🇻🇺

List of major cities in German

Of course we can’t list every city in the world and we’re so sorry about all the beautiful little smalltowns and hidden gems we’re missing - but for now, let’s get started with the major metropolises and biggest cities in German.

English	German	IPA
Tokyo	Tokio	[ˈtoːki̯oː]
Delhi	Delhi	[ˈdɛli]
Shanghai	Shanghai	[ˈʃaŋhaɪ̯]
São Paulo	São Paulo	[ˈzaːo ˈpaʊ̯lo]
Mexico City	Mexiko-Stadt	[ˌmɛksɪkəʊ ʃtat]
Cairo	Kairo	[ˈkaɪ̯ʁo]
Mumbai	Mumbai	[ˈmumbaɪ̯]
Beijing	Peking	[ˈpeːkɪŋ]
Dhaka	Dhaka	[ˈdaka]
Osaka	Osaka	[əʊˈsɑːkə]
Karachi	Karatschi	[kaˈʁa:tʃɪ]
Buenos Aires	Buenos Aires	[buˌɛnɔs ˈaɪ̯ʁɛs]
Chongqing	Chungking	[ˈtʃʊŋˈkɪŋ]
Istanbul	Istanbul	[ˈɪstanbuːl]
Kolkata	Kalkutta	[kalˈkʊta]
Manila	Manila	[maˈniːla]
Lagos	Lagos	[ˈleɪɡɒs]
Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro	[ˈʁiːo deː ʒaˈneːʁo]
Kinshasa	Kinshasa	[kɪnˈʃaːza]
Guangzhou	Guangzhou	[ɡwɑŋˈdʒəʊ]
Moscow	Moskau	[ˈmɔskaʊ̯]
Lahore	Lahore	[laˈhoːʁə]
Bangalore	Bangalore	[bæŋɡəˈlɔːr]
Paris	Paris	[paˈʁiːs]
Bogotá	Bogotá	[ˌboɡoˈtaː]
Jakarta	Jakarta	[d͡ʒaˈkaʁta]
Bangkok	Bangkok	[ˈbaŋkɔk]
Seoul	Seoul	[zeˈuːl]
London	London	[ˈlɔndɔn]
Tehran	Teheran	[ˈteːhəʁaːn]
Ho Chi Minh City	Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt	[hot͡ʃiˈmɪnˌʃtat]
Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur	[kuˈala ˈlʊmpʊʁ]
Riyadh	Riad	[ʁiˈaːt]
Baghdad	Bagdad	[ˈbakdat]
Toronto	Toronto	[toˈʁɔnto]
Dar es Salaam	Daressalam	[daʁɛsaˈlaːm]
Singapore	Singapur	[ˈzɪŋɡapuːɐ̯]
Johannesburg	Johannesburg	[dʒəʊˈhanɪsbɜːɡ]
Saint Petersburg	Sankt Petersburg	[zaŋkt ˈpeːtɐsˌbʊʁk]
Yangon	Yangon	[jaŋˈgʊn]
Sydney	Sydney	[ˈsɪdnɪ]
Melbourne	Melbourne	[ˈmɛlbɐn]
Auckland	Auckland	[ˈɔːklənd]
Montreal	Montreal	[mɔntʁeˈaːl]
Vancouver	Vancouver	[vænˈkuːvɚ]
Abu Dhabi	Abu Dhabi	[ˈabu ˈdaːbi]
Abuja	Abuja	[aˈbuːd͡ʒa]
Accra	Accra	[ˈakʁa]
Addis Ababa	Addis Abeba	[ˌadɪs‿aˈbeːba]
Algiers	Algier	[ˈalʒiːɐ̯]
Amsterdam	Amsterdam	[ˌamstɐˈdam]
Ankara	Ankara	[ˈaŋkaʁa]
Athens	Athen	[aˈteːn]
Berlin	Berlin	[bɛʁˈliːn]
Bern	Bern	[bɛʁn]
Brasília	Brasília	[bʁaˈziːli̯a]
Brazzaville	Brazzaville	[bʁazaˈvil]
Brussels	Brüssel	[ˈbʁʏsl̩]
Bucharest	Bukarest	[ˈbuːkaʁɛst]
Budapest	Budapest	[ˈbuːdaˌpɛst]
Canberra	Canberra	[ˈkɛnbəɹə]
Colombo	Colombo	[koˈlɔmbo]
Copenhagen	Kopenhagen	[ˌkopənˈhaːɡn̩]
Dakar	Dakar	[daˈkaːɐ̯]
Damascus	Damaskus	[daˈmaskʊs]
Doha	Doha	[ˈdoːha]
Dublin	Dublin	[ˈdablɪn]
Hanoi	Hanoi	[haˈnɔɪ̯]
Helsinki	Helsinki	[ˈhɛlziŋˌki]
Islamabad	Islamabad	[islaˈmabat]
Jerusalem	Jerusalem	[jeˈʁuːzalɛm]
Kingston	Kingston	[ˈkɪŋstən]
Lisbon	Lissabon	[ˈlɪsabɔn]
Nairobi	Nairobi	[naɪ̯ˈʁoːbi]
Oslo	Oslo	[ˈɔsloː]
Ottawa	Ottawa	[ˈɒtəwə]
Panama City	Panama-Stadt	[ˈpanaˌmaː ʃtat]
Phnom Penh	Phnom Penh	[pnɔm ˈpɛn]
Prague	Prag	[pʁaːk]
Rabat	Rabat	[ʁaˈbaːt]
Reykjavík	Reykjavik	[ˈʁɛɪ̯kjaviːk]
Rome	Rom	[ʁoːm]
Santiago	Santiago	[sanˈtʲaɡɔ]
Stockholm	Stockholm	[ˈʃtɔkhɔlm]
Taipei	Taipeh	[ˈtaɪ̯pe]
Vienna	Wien	[viːn]
Wellington	Wellington	[ˈvɛlɪŋtɔn]
Warsaw	Warschau	[ˈvaʁʃaʊ̯]
Zagreb	Zagreb	[ˈzaːɡʁɛp]

List of cities in the United States

Good news! All the American cities are either the same in German or they’re extremely similar to the English name and if you pronounce them a little different than the German-speakers, you could argue that technically you’re still right and they’re wrong. After all, you wouldn’t tell a German-speaker how to pronounce German cities, right?

English	German	IPA
New York City	New York City	[nuːˈjɔɹk ˈsɪti]
Los Angeles	Los Angeles	[lɔs ˈɛnd͡ʒələs]
Chicago	Chicago	[ʃɪˈkaːɡo]
Houston	Houston	[ˈhjuːstən]
Phoenix	Phönix	[ˈføːnɪks]
Philadelphia	Philadelphia	[fɪlaˈdɛlfi:a]
San Antonio	San Antonio	[zan anˈto:nɪɔ]
San Diego	San Diego	[zan diːˈeɪgoʊ]
Dallas	Dallas	[ˈdæləs]
San Jose	San José	[zan ho:ˈze:]
Austin	Austin	[ˈɔstɪn]
Columbus	Columbus	[ko:ˈlʌmbəs]
Charlotte	Charlotte	[ʃaʁˈlət]
San Francisco	San Francisco	[ˌzan fʁanˈt͡sɪsko]
Seattle	Seattle	[siˈɛtl̩]
Denver	Denver	[ˈdɛnvɚ]
Washington, D.C.	Washington, D.C.	[ˈwɔʃɪŋtn̩ di: siː]
Boston	Boston	[ˈbɔstən]

Nationalities in German

Actual nationalities are only important when it comes to legal matters and visa applications. Other than that, all that matters is which nationality you identify with and where you feel at home. Here’s how you say a number of different nationalities in German. You’ll see that most of them follow the same pattern.

Nationality in English	Nationality in German	IPA
Argentinian	Argentinisch	[aʁɡɛnˈtiːnɪʃ]
Spanish	Spanisch	[ˈʃpaːnɪʃ]
Mexican	Mexikanisch	[mɛksiˈkaːnɪʃ]
Colombian	Kolumbianisch	[kolʊmˈbi̯aːnɪʃ]
Peruvian	Peruanisch	[peʁuˈaːnɪʃ]
Puerto Rican	Puerto-ricanisch	[ˈpu̯ɛʁtoˈʁiːkˈaːnɪʃ]
Costa Rican	Costa-ricanisch	[ˌkɔstaʁiˈkaːnɪʃ]
US-American	US-Amerikanisch	[u: ɛs ameʁiˈkaːnɪʃ]
Canadian	Kanadisch	[kaˈnaːdɪʃ]
British	Britisch	[ˈbʁɪtɪʃ]
French	Französisch	[fʁanˈt͡søːzɪʃ]
German	Deutsch	[dɔɪ̯t͡ʃ]
Italian	Italienisch	[ˌitaˈli̯eːnɪʃ]
Swiss	Schweizerisch	[ˈʃvaɪ̯t͡səʁɪʃ]
Swedish	Schwedisch	[ˈʃveːdɪʃ]
Australian	Australisch	[aʊ̯sˈtʁaːlɪʃ]
Japanese	Japanisch	[jaˈpaːnɪʃ]
Chinese	Chinesisch	[çiˈneːzɪʃ]
Indian	Indisch	[ˈɪndɪʃ]
South African	Südafrikanisch	[ˌzyːtʔafʁiˈkaːnɪʃ]
Egyptian	Ägyptisch	[ɛˈɡʏptɪʃ]
Moroccan	Marokkanisch	[maʁɔˈkaːnɪʃ]

What do Germans like about other countries?

In the following video, the German Youtubers Cari and Janusz ask fellow Germans an interesting question: What do you like about other countries?

As most Germans love to travel, everyone has their own experiences with different countries and some personal insights in what ways they wish Germans were more like people from other countries.

What Germans like about other Countries | Easy German 195

Some love the Costa Rican ability for spontaneous salsa dancing. Others admire the Australian open-mindedness, British generosity or the Italian fashion sense.

You might have noticed in the video that the Germans seem very critical of their own culture but a few non-Germans asked on social media singled out German characteristics as something positive:

Yasuo envies the Germans’ courage to say no, Ashton likes the German attention to detail and Matteo appreciates German punctuality.

Take a slice of each country you visit

One of the questions asked in the video is “Von wem können wir uns eine Scheibe abschneiden?”, meaning “Who can we cut a slice from for ourselves?” The picture behind that popular German expression is that everyone makes their own cake or loaf of bread and you can “take a slice” from everyone you meet or, in other words, learn a thing or two from them and become a better version of yourself that way.

There are almost two-hundred countries in the world and the truth is that they all have their advantages and disadvantages. The trick is to bring home the best slices of each country you travel to. That way, we all get to learn from each other and pick and choose only the best habits and characteristics from cultures across the world.

To learn more about the perks and quirks of German culture, check out our German language blog! It’s full of fascinating insights about all things German.