German home vocabulary: rooms, furniture, and where things are
A typical German flat (die Wohnung) seen from above, not to scale. Tap a room. Article colours: der, die, das.
Room · ZimmerdieKücheKÜ-che · kitchen · plural: die Küchen
IchIkochecookin derin theKüche.kitchen
ikh KO-khe in dair KÜ-che · “I cook in the kitchen.”Why:In der Küche: in + dative, because you are already there.
Short answer: learn every room and object with its article: der (masculine), die (feminine) or das (neuter), because the article changes after prepositions. Say where you are with the dative (in der Küche, “in the kitchen”) and where you are going with the accusative (in die Küche, “into the kitchen”). Flats are described by rooms: a Zweizimmerwohnung has two rooms plus kitchen and bathroom.
Furniture by gender
Der Tisch, die Lampe, das Bett
German nouns have three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. There are a few helpful patterns (words ending in -e are usually feminine; -chen is always neuter), but most you learn with the article. Here the furniture is sorted by gender, with plurals. Tap a word to hear it with its article.
dermasculine
diefeminine
dasneuter
Where things are
Wo? or Wohin? The two-way prepositions
Nine prepositions take the dative for location (wo?, “where?”) and the accusative for movement (wohin?, “where to?”). A case is the form a word takes for its job in the sentence; here only the article changes. Pick a preposition and switch between “is” and “put”.
Der Ballthe ballliegtliesimin-theKarton.box
dair BAL leekt im KAR-tong · “The ball is in the box.”Why:Liegen (to lie) describes position, so in takes the dative: dem Karton, with in / an + dem shortened to im.
Putting things in place
Stehen, liegen, hängen, and their partners
German is precise about position. Things that stand upright stehen, things lying flat liegen, things hanging hängen. Each has a partner verb for putting something there, and that one takes the accusative.
Position (wo? + dative)
Putting (wohin? + accusative)
For things that are…
Das Glas steht auf dem Tisch.The glass is (standing) on the table.
Ich stelle das Glas auf den Tisch.I put the glass on the table.
upright: glasses, bottles, furniture
Das Buch liegt auf dem Bett.The book is (lying) on the bed.
Ich lege das Buch auf das Bett.I lay the book on the bed.
flat: books, phones, people lying down
Das Bild hängt an der Wand.The picture is (hanging) on the wall.
Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand.I hang the picture on the wall.
hanging: pictures, coats, lamps
Tap a row to hear both sentences. A book lying flat liegt, but a book upright on a shelf steht.
Wohnungsanzeige
Reading a German flat advert
German flat adverts are full of abbreviations and compound words. Tap a line to decode it.
Schöne 3-Zi.-Whg. in Köln-Ehrenfeld
Die Warmmietethe warm-rentbeträgtamounts-to1.170 Euro.1,170 euros
dee VARM-mee-te be-TRAYKT TAU-zent HUN-dert-SEEP-tsikh OI-ro · “The total rent is 1,170 euros.”Warmmiete = Kaltmiete + Nebenkosten, the amount you actually pay.
IchIsucheseekeineaWG.flat-share
ikh ZOO-khe AI-ne VAY-GAY · “I’m looking for a flat-share.”WG = Wohngemeinschaft, very common for students.
van kan ikh dee VOH-nung be-ZIKH-ti-gen · “When can I view the flat?”Besichtigen: the formal word for viewing a flat.
Housework
Aufräumen, putzen, Müll trennen
Many housework verbs are separable: the prefix jumps to the end of the sentence (ich räume auf). And in Germany, rubbish is sorted into several bins, so Müll trennen is a real daily task.