300 fun & unique German adjectives to add magic to your vocab

Adorable, blue, clever, dreamy, elliptical… Adjectives give the worlds in our head shape, texture, color, and all kinds of other attributes. They make stories fun and nouns unique.

A car is just a car - but when you add an adjective, it becomes very tangible and specific: the silver car, the convertible car, the demolished car. AH! That one! We suddenly know which car you’re talking about. That’s the magic of adjectives.

As a new German learner, it can be difficult to express what you mean, but it’s best to be as specific as possible. So we’ll explain to you what exactly an adjective is before teaching you the most common German adjectives and how to use them.

Our comprehensive adjective lists have all the words you can think of: the funny ones, the pretty ones, the ones that describe colors and shapes - and even the ones that will make you look good in a dating profile! So grab your vocabulary book and a pen.

What are adjectives?

An adjective is an attribute that describes a noun. The word comes from the Latin verb “adicere”, which means “to add” or “to append.”

In German, we also call them “Wie-Wörter” (How-words) because they describe HOW something is. Picture a noun, something tangible, like a towel, and with an adjective, you add more meaning to the noun. A towel can be soft or rough, old or new, wet, red, smooth, fluffy or anything else you can think of.

In German, we distinguish three main types of adjectives: attributive (attributiv), predicative (prädikativ), and adverbial (adverbial).

Attributive

• An attributive adjective occurs before the noun and acts as an attribute to it.
• Example: Die schwarze Katze spielt. (The black cat is playing.)

Predicative

• A predicative adjective comes after verbs like “sein” (to be), “bleiben” (to remain) or “werden” (to become). It directly describes a noun.
• Example: Die Katze ist schwarz. (The cat is black.)

Adverbial

• An adverbial adjective follows a verb and therefore describes an activity. In English, adverbs generally end in “ly” (slowly, nicely, abruptly), unless they’re irregular (well, fast, hard). In German, they look just like other adjectives.
• Example: Die Katze schnurrt leise. (The cat is purring quietly.)

Top common adjectives in German list for beginners

Let’s start with the most common. These are the ones you will definitely need when learning German. You’ll notice that some of the most common adjectives come in opposites: Small, big, old, new, weak, and strong.

Rating something in German

We try not to judge things but sometimes judgment and ratings are inevitable. Sometimes you just can’t help but notice that the weather is terrible - or the view is just wonderful.

Describing emotions in German

Language learning can be a roller-coaster of emotions. And learning German is no exception!

You may get frustrated during a grammar lesson - or maybe you get nervous when you speak German in front of others? But once you get it right, you’ll feel proud and happy, trust me.

Here are a number of adjectives that describe your emotions.

For an even more detailed list, refer to our article on emotions in German.

Personality trait adjectives

So you’ve learned quite a few German words and think it might be time for a trip to a German-speaking country? Everyone is special and has a unique personality, but when you travel, you definitely notice how people from certain cultures can also be very similar in certain ways. There are countless adjectives to describe people’s personality traits. Here are some of them.

Describing food and drink in German

If you do get to visit, you’re gonna want to talk about that delicious German food and describe your new favorite snacks and drinks to others. So you’ll need some of these food- and drink-related adjectives in German, as well.

Funny German adjectives

We already know that German has some of the funniest words, and many of them are adjectives. Here are our favorites.

Beautiful German adjectives

German is not just funny. It can also be surprisingly pretty! These are some of the most beautiful German words words we love using to describe.

Describing colors in German

One especially beautiful aspect of life is its colors!! Just think of purple lavender fields, lush green forests, and the color of your favorite person’s eyes! Knowing colors in German is going to make your vocab a lot more expressive!

Describing shapes in German

We often find ourselves describing the shape of something we see - from the round football to the open window.

How to describe yourself in a dating profile

Now you’ve been here for a while and would like to check out the dating world? An online profile is an easy way to do it. Make a good first impression with a nice German profile text about yourself, and use any of these words to describe yourself as a good catch!

We've got some handy phrases for love and dating in German right here, as a bonus add-on.

How to describe yourself in a cover letter

Now that you’ve learned hundreds of adjectives in German, we think you’re ready to land a job in a German-speaking environment - but it’s still important to choose the right words in your cover letter. All these adjectives are sure to impress your future German employer.

FAQ for adjectives in German

1. What determines the gender of adjectives in German?

There are three genders in German. For predicative and adverbial adjectives, the noun’s gender is irrelevant. Attributive adjectives, which come directly before the noun, do take the noun’s gender (die schwarze Katze: the black cat, female).

2. How to make plural adjectives in German?

Attributive adjectives also take the numerus of the noun, either singular or plural.

• Singular: Ein kleiner Junge (one little boy)
• Plural: Zwei kleine Jungen (two little boys).

3. Placement of German adjectives

Generally, the German adjective order is the same as in English.

Notice that in German, word order is a lot more flexible than in English. So for predicative and adverbial adjectives, it’s possible to use the adjective at the beginning of the sentence, but only if you want to put special emphasis on it:

• Tief ist der Ozean.
• Langsam kreiste der Hai.

4. Which adjectives change form in German?

Only attributive adjectives change form in German.

5. How to form comparative adjectives

For regular adjectives, the comparative form in German is “er”:

• Schnell → Schneller
• Voll → Voller
• Schön → Schöner
  

6. How to form superlative adjectives in German

For regular adjectives, the superlative form in German is “sten”, following the preposition “am”.

• Schnell → Am schnellsten
• Voll → Am vollsten
• Schön → Am schönsten

7. How to add emphasis

To emphasize an adjective, you can simply add “sehr” (very), “wirklich” (really) or “echt” (truly) directly before it.

Adjectives make each sentence come alive

You just learned 300 words to describe people, places and things in German! Time to take a breather and be proud of yourself. The next time you’ll read an article on our German language blog, I’m sure you’ll pay special attention to those adjectives.

Thanks to them, a simple “world of articles” turns into a beautiful, big world full of educational, clever articles. Adjectives make each story and every single sentence come alive.