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Random German Words

Translate these random German words into English.
All the answers are a single word
If multiple answers fit, guess the most common
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 10, 2019
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First submittedSeptember 30, 2014
Times taken116,613
Average score75.0%
Rating4.38
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German
English
Nein
no
Kind
child
sprechen
speak
danke
thanks
über
over
Zeit
time
Frau
woman
Zwei
two
gut
good
Morgen
morning
Wurst
sausage
Blitz
lightning
Geist
ghost
Volk
people
Nacht
night
Hund
dog
Flug
flight
Boot
boat
Achtung
attention
leben
live
verboten
forbidden
Haus
house
Weiß
white
Bahn
railway
Josefs
+2
Level 68
Nov 2, 2016
Shouldn't "know" be accepted for weiß since it can meen that too?
McCoy
+1
Level 62
Nov 23, 2016
weiß = white, weiss = know.

Its the way its spelled. No german with a good writing education will write "ich weiß", when we mean "I know".

PaterN
+24
Level 78
Nov 25, 2016
Dear McCoy, you are wrong. It´s always written "weiß", for both meanings.
Gassu
+4
Level 70
Jun 4, 2018
Not quite, only in Germany and Austria. We Swiss don‘t use the ß
schnuederlue
+5
Level 68
Jun 19, 2018
Gassu, but then, both words would still be written the same way
JackintheBox
+3
Level 79
Nov 26, 2019
Whether you use an Eszett (ß) when writing 'weiß'/'weiss' does not affect the meaning of that word.
Carry
+5
Level 63
Jan 4, 2017
With the capital W "Weiß" can't be translated to "know".
rustwat
+6
Level 64
Oct 18, 2020
Adjectives shouldn't be capitalised in German, only nouns.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 89
Nov 30, 2020
White can be a noun in English and Weiß is a noun in German.
ProfessorTaco567
+1
Level 46
Jan 12, 2024
True, but "white" is also a noun.
Yanni47
+5
Level 77
Dec 17, 2018
Everybody, if you re-translate "know" back into German, you will only get the basic form "wissen". "Weiß" is just a conjugated form of "wissen" (as in "ich weiß"). I don't suppose QM has intended to be that specific in this quiz.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Nov 26, 2019
Yep, 'wissen' is the infinitive form of 'know', so if 'know' were an answer than 'wissen' would be listed, not 'weiß'. The basic form of the adjective 'white' is 'weiß', so that is the correct answer.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 89
Nov 30, 2020
Affirming that, if you're throwing out basic vocabulary you'd use the infinitive, wissen. Weiß clearly means white in a beginner's vocabulary test.
ProfessorTaco567
+1
Level 46
Jan 12, 2024
No, because "white" is both an adjective and a noun, while "know" is a verb, and since nouns are capitalized in German, "Weiß" = "white," and "weiß" = "know." "Weiß" cannot mean "know."
Tramp
+2
Level 76
Jan 4, 2017
18/24. Quite happy with that considering I've never studied German before.
kalbahamut
+11
Level 82
Jan 4, 2017
bahn... tried way, path, road, street, track, highway, route, etc etc etc etc etc... all of which appear in the online dictionary when I looked it up.
Arp2600
+7
Level 86
Jan 4, 2017
As far as I know, "Bahn" is basically a synonym of "Weg", i.e. way.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 82
Jan 4, 2017
yes makes sense. Autobahn... highway... way for autos. Infobahn.. information superhighway.. internet. Doesn't have to be a railroad track.
divantilya
+2
Level 37
Apr 19, 2017
My understanding too. Though the German autobahn is much longer/larger/busier than a "weg", isn't it. I think in this case, it]would be more appropriate to translate it as "highway", isn't that what it is?
Yanni47
+3
Level 77
Dec 17, 2018
I agree, Bahn is generally used for a much broader track for speedy traffic. So that works for Auto-bahn = highway, and Eisen-bahn = railroad (literally ironway). Internet highway seems evident, too, but only in English. We don't use it as such in German.
ander217
+2
Level 75
Jan 4, 2017
I thought of the Autobahn and tried road, highway, freeway, etc. Somehow I eventually got it, but not sure how.
bakainu
+3
Level 67
Jan 6, 2017
Yes, bahn is path. It's used for rail, but also road.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
Oct 17, 2020
still not accepted? Even with the Germans above chiming in? Also maybe "danger" "alert" "alarm" etc for achtung?
Kylwalda
+1
Level 48
Oct 20, 2020
Achtung is not alarm, Achtung means "attention" The problem with German is that there are a lot of different meanings for one single word depending on the context it is used. As a single word without context Achtung means attention. In a sentence it can be respect "Ich habe Achtung vor seiner Arbeit" means I have respect for his work" or you use it as a warning "Achtung, da kommt ein Auto." "Look out there is a car coming."
TheUnableDerk
+1
Level 57
Aug 8, 2022
i thought of Bahnhof for some reason so I put train and it worked
ProfessorTaco567
+1
Level 46
Jan 12, 2024
I was going off the word "Autobahn" when trying to type an answer for "Bahn," and was quite confused as a result, so I'm glad that I'm not the only one.
CurtisNewton
+2
Level 41
Feb 16, 2024
"Bahn" actually means "lane" in its plain form. "railroad" is actually not correct, as "Bahn" on its own is only used colloquially when referring to the railroad.
ander217
+1
Level 75
Jan 4, 2017
When I saw Zwei I immediately thought of Zweiback and tried all variations of toast, bread, etc. Had to look it up to see that Zweiback means "twice baked". Now it seems so obvious.
schnuederlue
+2
Level 68
Jun 19, 2018
Don't know, how you call it in English, but in Germany it's Zwieback, not Zweiback ;-)
Canadian82
+4
Level 67
Jan 4, 2017
Studied German for 4 1/2 years. Had a brain cramp on Blitz and Flug (kept thinking "air" as in airplane and airport) and not as in flight. Love to see more of these.
Sarton
+4
Level 29
Jan 5, 2017
Bahn means different things not only railway but also lane (of a highway) and road
Sly67
+3
Level 73
Jan 5, 2017
Quite a challenge, as a French working in Germany, to think and translate from German to English without thinking in French...
kristof293
+2
Level 47
Jan 5, 2017
23 out of 24... Could you please accept 'ship' for 'Boot'?
divantilya
+1
Level 37
Apr 19, 2017
No, a ship would be a "schip" (at least in Dutch it is, not sure about German) A boot is a boat. (see the similarities?)
Yanni47
+1
Level 77
Dec 17, 2018
As interchangeably as town and city? I'm sure any city would balk at the notion to being called town. So don't do it to maritime vehicles, please.
killuaoddly
+1
Level 45
Oct 18, 2020
that isn't the case in german, though. "ship" is just as right of a translation as "boat". "boot" can mean both.
rustwat
+3
Level 64
Oct 18, 2020
Schiff? German does have the same distinction as English and Dutch between ship and boat.

'Völlig losgelöst von der Erde

Schwebt das Raumschiff

Völlig schwerelos'

Great song.

jajaco2017
+1
Level 57
Jan 16, 2017
100 % ! got them all
naroznik99
+2
Level 53
Mar 8, 2017
18/24, nice, because I'am from Poland, so this is two forein languages from me ;)
Malbaby
+1
Level 71
Mar 24, 2017
Well done, I admire anyone that can handle one other language never mind two.
benjaminmarker
+3
Level 71
Oct 17, 2020
Most Europeans can speak 3+ languages..
martay
+5
Level 70
Oct 17, 2020
@bejmaninmarker - I call BS. Most Europeans cannot speak 3 languages. I bet a lot do, but "most" is an ENORMOUS exaggeration. This source puts bilingualism at 1 in 5 and multilingualism at less than 10%. That's going to vary within different populations, socio-economic groups, etc, but Europe simply isn't a continent brimming polyglots.
beechlady
+5
Level 45
Apr 19, 2017
Bahn can also be roadway, path highway, all of which are common, so yeah..... :-/ (German language student)
Malbaby
+2
Level 71
Apr 9, 2018
I tried all of those........
Gustavhansa
+3
Level 71
Dec 23, 2019
you are not wrong. Although, as a german, the natural translation of Bahn ist 'train' (or railway). Obviously Bahn is also a translation for 'path' but this meaning, in colloquial speaking, basically only survives in the combined noun 'Autobahn'. Every other street or road is called 'Straße'. And a pathway isn't referred to as Bahn, but as 'Pfad'.
JesseFromThe6
+1
Level 69
Oct 4, 2022
There's also the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.
divantilya
+1
Level 37
Apr 9, 2018
GRU: Not really. The way I learned the difference is that a boat can fit on a ship, but a ship cannot fit on a boat.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 89
Jan 4, 2021
But a ship will always be a boat no matter how large she is, so...
freon22tec
+1
Level 58
Jun 12, 2018
Took three years of French in school and did better at the german one than the french one
MrDinosaur
+1
Level 35
Apr 22, 2024
probably because English and German are so similar
Rhubarb
+1
Level 28
Jun 26, 2018
100% 3:03 remaining.
Gassu
+7
Level 70
Oct 10, 2018
Sad that Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz didn‘t make the cut.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Nov 25, 2019
That video is satirical and the English translation it gives is incorrect
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Apr 17, 2020
German*
puzzler05
+1
Level 49
Apr 20, 2019
never learned german,but got 15 on first try
DannyDanger
+1
Level 30
May 29, 2019
The choice of words tells a lot about... people? Germans? Clichés? ;-)
SpankyMcFabulous
+3
Level 44
Aug 19, 2019
über also means by, about and via
imfrombritain
+1
Level 40
Dec 24, 2019
Danger for Achtung?
CalQuiz
+1
Level 17
Mar 6, 2020
Exactly what I thought
MayaB
+2
Level 72
Aug 7, 2020
No, it doesn't work. "Achtung" means literally attention and could also be used as "watch out".

Yes, you could say Achtung!, if you want to make someone aware of imminent danger, but the word for danger is "Gefahr" and exactly like in English you can't use both words interchangeably.

jetpunkCZ
+3
Level 41
Jan 27, 2020
Blitz was a nightmare for me, tried flash several times. :-) Took me ages to get lightning. As non-english speaker, I thought flash and lightning were synonyms. Aren't they?
Yanni47
+2
Level 77
Jun 25, 2020
Not synonyms, but they are homophones in German. Blitz can be translated as lightning as well as (photo) flash indeed.
MarcellDAvis
+1
Level 75
Nov 25, 2021
Flash is correct. Blitz can mean both lightning and flash.
MiaMaus
+2
Level 72
Apr 16, 2020
I noticed that a few possible translations are missing:

- über can also be about

- Blitz can also be flash

- Achtung also means respect

johnappleseed
+1
Level 49
Nov 30, 2020
yeah, über can basically mean anything cos prepositions are different in english and german. depending on the phrase it can mean across, about, over and more
MarcellDAvis
+1
Level 75
Nov 25, 2021
I agree, prepositions are generally diffcult if not impossible to translate between any two languages. However, the most common and typical meaning of über is probably over or above.
Anton82
+3
Level 40
May 1, 2020
über is also "about" - Wir sprechen über XY. We´re talking about XY.
Yanni47
+2
Level 77
Jun 25, 2020
Prepositions often have several meanings, even in English. Take "for" for instance. It can mean "in favor of" (I'm all for it), "towards" (I'm heading for the coast), and lots more (Dictionary.com lists 32 different meanings of "for" as a preposition, and two as a conjunction). Translated to other languages, all those meanings would likely have different words in that language. So if you want to quibble over which translation is the best, you might be awhile.
johnappleseed
+1
Level 49
May 15, 2020
theres no real translation for "Volk" - at least people isnt really the same

its more like the nations population as a whole, and also if you use it historically like a tribe or something(e.g. "Das persische Volk" -"The persians")

Yanni47
+2
Level 77
Jun 25, 2020
I would argue that a nations population as a whole is exactly what the term "Volk" means. So, "das persische Volk" can indeed be translated to "the Persian people".
Yoshimano
+1
Level 64
Jun 25, 2020
It's not random at all :/

Danke anyway

david2013
+1
Level 84
Oct 17, 2020
23/24. Watch enough movies and read enough books about World War II and one can pick up a German word or zwei.
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 89
Oct 17, 2020
I remember boat because of Das Boot.
BlackLab
+1
Level 65
Dec 6, 2021
or maybe even how to show the number 3 with fingers...
Nathaniel
+3
Level 74
Oct 17, 2020
In most cases Bahn means path, way, lane or track. Bahn as the word for railway is actually only used colloquially. Properly it would be Eisenbahn. According to Duden the official dictionary of Germany, Bahn as railway is only the 6th definition of the word. 1st = path, 2nd = route, 3rd = track in different sports activities, 4th = strip, 5th = the flat part of the top of a hammer. Thus, the definition railway is less important than "the flat part of the top of a hammer".

If you want to stick to railway, you might still want to add the much more common definitions.

camus
+2
Level 78
Oct 17, 2020
Don't know about other native speakers but when I see Bahn I assume it means railway. But the other translations are correct of course.
Nathaniel
+1
Level 74
Oct 18, 2020
In Austria when we want to say "We're going to take the train." or sth. like that, we say "Wir werden den Zug nehmen." It might be a teutonism to use "Bahn" in this context. In Austria we would never say that.
camus
+2
Level 78
Oct 18, 2020
Yeah, probably because of Deutsche Bahn. Bahn and Zug are both used often.
Nathaniel
+1
Level 74
Oct 18, 2020
I see "route" is now accepted. Thank you!
funnyvalentine
+1
Level 48
May 27, 2022
I don't speak a word of German, but I always assumed it meant something like path, way, lane, road, etc because of the autobahn
Tobbs
+2
Level 71
Jan 22, 2021
Nice quiz, for "Bahn" you should add "lane" as a correct answer.
syphus590
+2
Level 28
Feb 15, 2021
3:17

4/24

wow german is really similar to dutch

Irishboy11
+2
Level 39
Feb 17, 2021
I didn't do that good
fierceliondude
+1
Level 45
Feb 27, 2021
you didn't get the right word for "Achtung" achtung in english means danger, not attention
chloecole
+1
Level 41
Mar 10, 2021
Weiner dog
Geopro
+1
Level 60
Apr 26, 2021
For many of the beaches in northern Australia, there are signs that say 'Achtung' as a way of warning about crocodiles. That's how I got it, though I thought danger should work as well.
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Jun 1, 2021
17, I'm proud of myself considering I usually only remember swear words
protector441
+1
Level 48
Sep 16, 2021
Maybe accept "Lady" for "Frau" and "Beware" for "Achtung"?
Chazcov
+3
Level 47
Nov 16, 2021
Lady is really "Dame" (pl: Damen).

Beware is a verb, while Achtung is a noun. The -ung in Achtung is a clue that it's a noun. Very much like how we use the suffix "-ing" in English to create a gerund from verbs (ex. swim becomes swimming) or "-tion" to create a noun.

In German, the term for 'beware' is "in Acht nehmen" which basically means to take notice of or be wary of. It's a verb.

In English, we "pay attention", "attention" being the noun that is the object of the verb "pay". So Achtung (noun) is a better match with the English noun, "attention".

Hope this makes sense.

JonOfKent
+1
Level 56
Sep 30, 2022
That is true but "beware" is often used in exactly the same way as "Achtung", which implies to me that it is a legitimate translation at least some of the time :-S
TheUnableDerk
+1
Level 57
Apr 8, 2022
Thank you volkssturmgewehr and volkswagen for teaching me what volk means
Saphyra
+1
Level 44
Sep 30, 2022
why german??? why not other languages ;-;
Maisiec
+1
Level 41
Oct 2, 2022
I’m a Rammstein fan so I got most of them.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 89
Oct 4, 2022
Du hast?
Murphster45
+1
Level 88
Mar 17, 2023
Weiß could also mean "know", and über could also mean about. It's what I tried first anyhow.
Greatgull
+1
Level 46
Feb 16, 2024
So why do Americans use Uber like " very" or the ultimate? Ubersexy? Confusing. Americans also use chef when it means boss not head cook. we seriously screw up foreign languages like entree for example. We use it to mean main dish wtf?! I am fluent in Spanish and proficient in Italian and speak basic Turkish and Albanianso I see all these mistakes and lmao
SwedishAlien
+1
Level 24
Mar 23, 2023
Got all except zeit, weis, verboten, flug and blitz. Forgot verboten and blitz, didn't connect weis to white and for flug I tried fly, plane, escape. Didn't realize to try flight! Fly in Swedish means to escape so I tried that. Flyga is fly, flight is flyg. Don't know why I didn't try that...
Greatgull
+1
Level 46
Feb 16, 2024
I knew verboten. Heard it in school and even in my family(not of German descent.)
Greatgull
+1
Level 46
Feb 16, 2024
I knew Weiss from trying to buy bleach in Europe. Dude Germans don't have chlorox they have this whitener that doesn't get things white! Maybe they have chlorox in a different section but not in the clothes detergent section. I was in Netherlands when I bought It
z1n0dapro
+1
Level 44
Oct 11, 2023
I'm german and I think Achtung is used more for "be careful" or "danger"
Greatgull
+1
Level 46
Feb 16, 2024
Achtung baby!
1Quiz1
+1
Level 23
Dec 16, 2023
As a German Guy i see this as an absolut Win
poisongift
+1
Level 55
Feb 5, 2024
In addition to the other comments about "weiß" also technically being acceptable as the first-person singular or third-person singular conjugation of "wissen" ("to know") – I should also point out that it shouldn't be capitalized here. It's almost never a noun, so there is really no reason to capitalize it if you're leaving other non-nouns lower-case too.
Greatgull
+1
Level 46
Feb 16, 2024
I hate German. Pleas give me an Italian, Portuguese,french or Spanish or even a Latin quiz. They sound so much better, even reading this quiz hurts my ears
McKenzieFam
+1
Level 63
Feb 9, 2024
Danke Quizmaster gute arbeit
Greatgull
+1
Level 46
Feb 16, 2024
Will you do a type-in for lightning. I always like to spell it "lightening", always have. I like putting an "e" in there.
CharlieBlue
+1
Level 23
Feb 26, 2024
Strictly speaking "lightning" and "lightening" have two different meanings. I also had to master this. The first is a noun (as in a "thunderbolt") whereas the second is a verb (as in "reducing weight"). Hope this helps.
CharlieBlue
+1
Level 23
Feb 26, 2024
Missed out on time and white (always wondered where the "edelweiss" got its name from). Don't understand why it wouldn't accept "lady", "girl" or "woman" for "vrau" but when l typed "wife" it was accepted and up popped "woman"...
CharlieBlue
+1
Level 23
Feb 26, 2024
I also thought 'bahn" meant "road" or "path" but neither was accepted. I then out of desperation typed "route" and hey, it was accepted, but "railway" popped up instead! Weird, not so?
NoOneCares
+1
Level 13
Apr 3, 2024
As a swiss german i See this as an absolute win
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