8.4.2.1: Adjectives overview

Adjectives:Adjektive

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.

I. Before and after

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 rief ihre einzige Tochter zu sich ans Bett.	His wife called her only daughter to her bed.

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 leider sehr krank.	Unfortunately, the woman was very sick.
Sie sagte ihrer Tochter: Liebes Kind, sei fromm und gut!	She said to her daughter: Dear child, be pious and good!

II. Comparisons

Comparative and superlative

Adjectives can be graded to express comparative and superlative qualities.

Aschenputtels Leben wurde viel schlimmer, als sein Vater die andere Frau heiratete.	Cinderella's life became much worse when her father married the other woman.
Das arme Mädchen wurde jeden Tag immer trauriger.	The poor girl was sadder and sadder every day.
Als der Vater von einer Reise zurückkam, brachte er den Stiefschwestern die schönsten Kleider, Perlen und Edelsteine mit.	When the father returned from a trip, he brought the most beautiful clothes, pearls and gems for the two stepsisters.

III. Adjective endings

Attributive adjectives (the ones preceding the noun they describe) can take three different types of endings, depending on what precedes them:

• adjectives preceded by definite articles or der-words take weak adjective endings
• adjectives preceded by indefinite articles or ein-words take strong adjective endings
• unpreceded adjectives take a different set of strong adjective endings

a) adjectives after definite articles or der-words

When an adjective comes between a definite article or der-word and the noun it modifies, it takes weak adjective endings (because the article already gives enough grammatical information to signal the noun's gender, case and number).

Das kleine Aschenputtel wollte nur einen Zweig von einem Haselbusch; sie pflanzt den Zweig auf das Grab ihrer Mutter.	The little Cinderella wanted only a twig from a hazel bush; she plants the twig on the tomb of her mother.
Der schöne Baum ist der einzige Trost für das arme Mädchen.	The beautiful tree is the only consolation for the poor little girl.

b) adjectives preceded by indefinite articles or ein-words

Adjectives that are preceded by an indefinite article (ein, eine, keine) or other ein-words (meine, deine, seine) receive strong endings because the article does not give enough grammatical information to signal the noun's gender, case and number.

Ein weißes Vöglein kam jeden Tag zum Baum.	A white bird came to the tree every day.
Im Reich gab es einen alten König.	In the realm there was an old King.
Er arrangierte ein großes Fest für seinen Sohn, um für ihn eine Frau zu finden.	He arranged a large feast for his son, in order to find him a wife.

c) unpreceded adjectives

Then there are some adjectives that are either not preceded by any determiners or are preceded by quantifiers such as many (viele), some (einige) or few (wenige). These adjectives take a different set of strong endings to compensate for the lacking grammatical information about the noun's gender, case and number.

Viele schöne, junge Frauen im Lande wurden eingeladen.	Many beautiful young women in the kingdom were invited.
Aschenputtel durfte nicht auf das Fest gehen; sie hatte nur schmutzige und staubige Kleider.	Cinderella is not allowed to go to the feast; she only has dirty, dusty clothes.
Aber zwei weiße Täubchen kamen zu Aschenputtel und brachten ihm goldene und silberne Kleider, und es ging aufs Fest.	But two white turtle doves came to Cinderella and brought her golden and silver clothes, and Cinderella went to the feast.
Der Prinz verliebte sich in Aschenputtel und bestrich die Treppe mit klebrigem Pech, um das Mädchen bei sich zu behalten.	The prince fell in love with Cinderella, and covered the stairs with sticky tar, to keep the girl with him.
Aschenputtel lief weg, aber verlor ihren Schuh. Nach einigen falschen Versuchen findet der Prinz seine Braut und heiratet sie.	Cinderella ran away, but lost her shoe. After a few false attempts, the prince finds his bride and they marry.

IV. No declension

There are a numbers of adjectives, mostly colors and foreign loan words, that do not take adjective endings. Interestingly, they also do not exist in comparative and superlative forms.

beige

rosa

lila

happy

prima

super

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