German work vocabulary: jobs, the Stellenanzeige and Feierabend
Short answer: say your job with sein and no article: Ich bin Lehrerin. Most jobs add -in for a woman (der Lehrer, die Lehrerin), and job adverts add (m/w/d) to show they are open to men, women and non-binary people. Colleagues may say du or Sie; the end of the working day is der Feierabend.
One job, four forms · pick a job
IchIbinamLehrerin.teacher
ikh bin LAY-re-rin · “I’m a teacher (said by a woman).”Why:Pattern: -in added. With sein + job, German uses no article: ich bin Lehrerin, not ich bin eine Lehrerin. Forms like Lehrkräfte avoid choosing a gender.
How job titles change
-in, -frau, an umlaut, or an adjective
Almost every masculine job title has a feminine form. Most just add -in; a few also add an umlaut (the two dots on ä, ö, ü); some swap -mann for -frau; and a few are adjectives used as nouns, so their ending changes with the article. and a few are adjectives used as nouns, so their ending changes with the article. When you write at work in English too, see our guides to business emails and cover letters.
+ -inMost jobs: just add -in.
umlaut + -inThe vowel also changes.
-mann → -frauCompounds with Mann.
adjective nounsThe ending follows the article.
Talking about your job
Was machst du beruflich?
Germans often ask about work early in a conversation. Notice bei for the company you work for (bei Siemens) and als for your role (als Ingenieurin).
Anna
Waswhatmachstdoduyouberuflich?professionally
vas MAKHST doo be-ROOF-likh · “What do you do for a living?”Beruflich: “as a profession”.
Jonas
IchIbinamIngenieur.engineer
ikh bin in-zhe-NYÖR · “I’m an engineer.”No article before the job.
ikh AR-bai-te als LAY-re-rin in TAIL-tsait · “I work part-time as a teacher.”Als + role; in Teilzeit = part-time.
The job advert
Reading a Stellenanzeige
German job adverts follow a fixed layout and are full of compound words. Tap a line to see it decoded.
Wir suchen ab sofortSachbearbeiter (m/w/d) Buchhaltung
Words of a work contract
Du or Sie
Duzen or siezen at work?
Sie is the polite “you”; du is informal. Traditional companies, banks and public offices use Sie; start-ups, tech firms and many young teams use du from day one. The verb for switching is sich duzen, and it is usually the older or more senior person who offers it.
Sie · formal
Guten Tag,good dayFrau Weber.Mrs Weber
GOO-ten TAAK, frau VAY-ber · “Good afternoon, Ms Weber.”
Haben Siehave youkurzbrieflyZeit?time
HAA-ben zee KURTS TSAIT · “Have you got a minute?”
MitwithfreundlichenfriendlyGrüßengreetings
mit FROINT-li-khen GRÜ-sen · “Kind regards (email sign-off)”
du · informal
Hallo,hiLena!Lena
HA-loh, LAY-na · “Hi, Lena!”
Hast duhave youkurzbrieflyZeit?time
hast doo KURTS TSAIT · “Got a minute?”
VielemanyGrüßegreetings
FEE-le GRÜ-se · “Best wishes (email sign-off)”
The working day
Gleitzeit, Mittagspause, Feierabend
Many German offices use Gleitzeit (flexitime): you choose when to start, inside fixed core hours. The day ends with Feierabend, literally “celebration evening”, and colleagues wish each other Schönen Feierabend!
8:00
9:00–15:00
12:30
15:00
17:00
In a meeting
Im Meeting
Opening
LassenletSie unsyou usanfangen.begin
LA-sen zee uns AN-fan-gen · “Let’s get started.”lassen + uns = let’s.
Agreeing
DatherestimmeagreeichIzu.to
DAA SHTI-me ikh TSOO · “I agree with that.”zustimmen is separable.
Disagreeing
IchIseheseedasthatanders.differently
ikh ZAY-e das AN-ders · “I see it differently.”A polite way to disagree.
Closing
Wirwebleibenstayin Kontakt.in contact
veer BLAI-ben in kon-TAKT · “We’ll stay in touch.”Common sign-off after a call or meeting.
Calling in sick
Ich bin krank
In Germany you phone or email your employer on the first day of illness. From the fourth day you usually need a doctor’s note, die Krankmeldung or der gelbe Schein.