Adjektive – Adjectives
Adjectives describe nouns, and can either precede or follow the noun in German without affecting the meaning of the article. In German, just like English, adjectives can be graded to express comparisons between two (comparative) or more (comparative and superlative) things, places, people or thoughts. Unlike in English, however, adjectives that precede nouns take endings depending on the case, gender and number of that noun.
Adjectives – Before and after
1. Attributive adjectives
Adjectives that precede nouns (and most often come between an article and a noun) are called attributive adjectives.
| Es war einmal ein reicher Mann. | Once upon a time, there was a rich man. |
| Seine Frau hatte eine einzige Tochter. | His wife had only one daughter. |
2. Predicate adjectives
Adjectives that follow nouns are usually separated by a verb such as sein, werden, heißen and are called predicate adjectives.
| Die Frau war sehr weise. | The woman was very wise. |
| Sie sagte ihrer Tochter: Liebes Kind, sei fromm und gut! | She said to her daughter: Dear child, be pious and good! |
Common adjectives
| blau | blue (also: drunk) |
| rot | red |
| grün | green |
| orange | orange |
| lila | purple |
| schwarz | black |
| weiß | white |
| bunt, farbenfroh | colorful |
| schwarzweiß | black and white |
| dunkel | dark |
| stockdunkel | pitch dark/pitch-black |
| hell | bright |
| braun | brown |
| gelb | yellow |
| grau | gray |
| weit | far |
| entfernt | distant |
| weit entfernt | far away |
| nah | near |
| genau | exact |
| offen/geöffnet | open |
| zu/geschlossen | closed |
| lustig | funny |
| schön | beautiful |
| wunderschön | gorgeous |
| der/die/das allerschönste | the most beautiful |
| hübsch | pretty |
| übrig | left over/remaining |
| einfach | simple |
| richtig | right/correct |
| falsch | wrong/false |
| echt | real/true |
| derselbe | the same (one and the same) |
| dergleiche | the same (identical) |
| weitere | another |
| anderer/andere/anderes | another |
| fremd | foreign/strange/unfamiliar |
| neu | new |
| frei | free |
| kostenlos/kostenfrei | free/at no charge |
| toll | great |
| cool | cool |
| geil | cool (also: horny) |
| schick | cool/chic |
| früh | early |
| spät | late |
| alt | old |
| jung | young |
| knapp (‘das war knapp!’) | short (‘that was close’) |
| eng | narrow/tight (clothes) |
| kurz | short |
| lang | long |
| sauber | clear |
| dreckig | dirty/muddy |
| schmutzig | dirty |
| breit | wide |
| schnell | fast |
| blitzschnell | fast as lightning |
| langsam | slow |
| schleunig | speedy |
| steif | stiff |
| schwach | weak |
| stark | strong |
| dick | thick/fat |
| fett | fat |
| fettig | greasy |
| dünn | thin |
| schlank | slim |
| offen (zu) | honest (with) |
| intelligent | intelligent |
| schlau | sly/sharp |
| klug | smart |
| vernünftig | reasonable/sensible |
| dumm | stupid/dumb |
| blöd | foolish/stupid |
| doof | dumb |
| schüchtern | shy |
| oberflächlich | superficial |
| scheu | shy |
| interessant | interesting |
| schwul | gay |
| hetero(a) | straight |
| schwül | humid/stuffy |
| feucht | humid/moist |
| warm | warm |
| heiß | hot |
| kalt | cold |
| eiskalt | ice cold/freezing |
| eisig | icy/frosty |
| frisch | fresh (food)/cool (tempearture) |
| kühl | cool |
| neblig | foggy |
| regnerisch | rainy |
| reif | ripe (also: mature) |
| ausreichend | adequate/sufficient |
| genügend | adequate/sufficient |
| mangelhaft | inadequate/deficient |
| ausgezeichnet | excellent |
| gut | good |
| besser | better |
| der/die/das beste | the best |
| der/die/das allerbeste | the very best |
| gutaussehend | good-looking |
| feuerfest | fire-proof |
| Promi– | VIP |
| tapfer/mutig | brave |
| versehentlich | accidental |
| zuverlässig | reliable |
| zuversichtlich | confident |
| ruhig | calm/quiet |
| schweigsam | silent (person) |
| respektlos | disrespectful |
| brav | good (child, animal) |
| gemein | mean |
| fies | mean/nasty |
| mies | mean/nasty |
| schlecht | bad (also: sick) |
| schlimm | bad |
| übel | evil (also: sick) |
| böse | evil (also: angry, bad [child]) |
| zwanglos | casual/informal |
| formell | formal |
| sauer | sour (also: angry/bitter) |
| stocksauer | furious |
| wütend | angry |
| süß | sweet (food)/cute (person) |
| lieb | dear/sweet (person) |
| teuer | expensive |
| sauteuer | expensive as heck |
| billig | cheap |
| preiswert | inexpensive |
| zäh | tough |
| salzig | salty |
| scharf | spicy |
| lecker | tasty |
| köstlich | delicious |
| satt | full (having eaten enough) |
| krank | sick |
| grippig – ‘Ich fühle mich grippig’ | flu – ‘I feel like I have the flu’ |
| ansteckend | contagious |
| schwindlig | dizzy |
| wacklig | wobbly/(also: groggy) |
| schmerzhaft | painful |
| wund | sore |
| blind | blind |
| taub | deaf |
| behindert | disabled |
| gelähmt | paralyzed |
| stumm | mute |
| einfallsreich | imaginative/resourceful |
| freundlich | friendly |
| komisch | strange |
| witzig | funny |
| wettbewerbsfähig | competitive |
| kindisch | childish |
| empfindlich | sensitive (also: picky) |
| überempfindlich | hypersensitive |
| rücksichtsvoll | considerate |
| selbstbewusst | self-confident |
| selbstsicher | self-confident |
| aufmerksam | attentaive/observant |
| bekannt | well known |
| berühmt | famous |
| beliebt | popular |
| populär | popular |
| hochnäsig | snobby/snotty |
| gebildet | educated |
| verbildet | spoiled |
| eingebildet | conceited |
| unverschämt | imprudent/rude |
| beeindruckend | impressive |
| beeindruckt | impressed |
| besonders | special |
| groß | big |
| riesig | huge |
| klein | small |
| winzig | tiny |
| fabelhaft | wonderful |
| großartig | great/wonderful |
| stur | stubborn |
| eigensinnig | opinionated/obstinate |
| spießig | narrow-minded |
| aufgeschlossen | open-minded |
| frankiert | stamped (envelope) |
| gültig | valid |
| endgültig | final/definite |
| neugierig | curious |
| tief | deep |
| hoch | high |
| niedrig | low |
| laut | loud |
| leise | quiet |
| blass | pale |
| bleich | pale |
| besoffen | trashed/inebriated |
| betrunken | drunk |
| normal | normal |
| beschwipst | tipsy |
| nüchtern | sober |
| akzeptabel | acceptable |
| unangebracht | inappropriate |
| angenehm | pleasant |
| unangenehm | unpleasant |
| unaufgefordert | uninvited |
| fassungslos | stunned |
| kräftig | strong/hearty (meal) |
| schwervorstellbar | hard to imagine |
| hinter | back |
| leer | empty |
| voll | full (also: drunk) |
| fertig | finished/ready |
| bereit | ready |
| erfinderisch | inventive/innovative |
| originell | original/creative |
| original | original (the first one) |
| hart | hard/tough |
| schwer | heavy/difficult |
| schwierig | difficult |
| leicht | light/easy |
| einfach | simple |
| trocken | dry |
| nass | wet |
| tropfnass | dripping wet |
| pitschnass | soaking wet |
| klebrig | sticky |
| eklig | gross |
| ekelhaft | disgusting |
| glatt | smooth, slippery |
| rutschig | slippery |
| fließend | fluent |
| irre | crazy (slang) |
| verrückt | crazy |
| wach | awake |
| hellwach | wide awake |
| müde | tired |
| erschöpft | exhausted |
| glücklich | happy |
| froh | glad |
| traurig | sad |
| deprimiert | depressed |
| gespannt | anxious |
| angespannt | tense |
| besonder | special/exceptional |
| üblich | common |
| herzlich | sincere/cordial/hearty |
| seriös | serious |
| ernst/ernsthaft | serious |
| religiös | religious |
| weiter | further, another |
| nächster, nächste, nächstes | next, closest |
| sonstig | other/sundry |
| seltsam | strange |
| täglich | daily |
| heutig | today’s |
| morgig | tomorrow’s |
| gestrig | yesterday’s |
| jetzig | current |
| örtlich | local |
| regional | regional |
