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German grammar Part of Chapter 5

CEFR A1

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German School and Town Words: Lehrer, Lehrerin, Bahnhof

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 12 October 2026

The German word for a person usually comes in two forms: for a man, for a woman. Learn that one ending, -in, and a dozen school and town words become two dozen. The places themselves are ordinary nouns: learn each with its article, , , .

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

The whole system on one screen

masculinefeminineneuterpluralWhat do the colours mean?
WhereWordsSay it
at school ,
the school day ,
at work ,
in town ,
free time ,
to eat , .

Two patterns do most of the work. The -in ending makes the woman's word, and its plural is always -innen. And (before and places) or (before places) says where you are heading.

At school: der Lehrer, die Lehrerin

masculinefeminineneuterpluralWhat do the colours mean?
GermanEnglishPlural
school
class, year
teacher (man)
teacher (woman)
pupil (boy)
pupil (girl)
lessons, teaching(no plural)
subject
break
canteen
  • . - I'm doing my homework. (nearly always plural in German)
  • . - We are in the same class.
  • . - Lessons start at eight.

is the teaching, not one lesson. A single school lesson is , the same word as an hour. (paper) and round out the classroom.

School subjects

GermanEnglishGender
German
English
mathsdie
biologydie
historydie
artdie
musicdie
PE

Pupils say Mathe far more often than the full word. Talking about a subject, you usually drop the article: . - I have German and art today.

People: the -in ending

masculinefemininepluralWhat do the colours mean?

German makes the word for a woman by adding -in to the word for a man. The plural adds -nen, so it always ends -innen:

der Lehrer, die Lehrerin, die Lehrerinnen
ManWomanWomen

Every woman's word in -in is feminine, so it is always , and for a. With a job after , German drops the article, unless an adjective comes with it:

  • . - She is a good teacher.
  • . - She is a teacher.
Four people in their work clothes: a woman doctor with long hair and a bow, in a white coat with a stethoscope; a man teacher with glasses, a moustache and a tie, pointing at a board and holding a book; a man cook with a moustache, in a chef's hat and apron, holding a frying pan with an egg; a man police officer with a moustache, in a blue uniform and cap.

The woman doctor is die Ärztin, with an umlaut; the man teaching is der Lehrer, and the officer der Polizist. A woman teacher would be die Lehrerin.

Two small changes

ChangeManWoman
drop the -e
drop the -e
add an umlaut

No reliable rule says which words take the umlaut: learn and as a pair. For a mixed group, has traditionally meant all the teachers, women included; you will also see both forms side by side, , in schools, letters and the news.

Around town: Bahnhof, Kino, Museum

masculinefeminineneuterWhat do the colours mean?
GermanEnglish
station
cinema
museum
restaurant
snack bar, takeaway
stadium
chemist
shop

Many loanwords are neuter, like the cinema, the and the restaurant, but not all: . A asks for the museum; a local asks for the , where you buy a .

Getting there

  • ? - Where is the station?
  • ? - How do I get to the station?
  • ? - Is this the way to the museum?
  • ? - Which line goes to the stadium?
  • . - It's two kilometres.

On foot is ; by bike is .

Where you are, where you are going

wo? where you arewohin? where you are goingWhat do the colours mean?
Placewo? (where)wohin? (where to)
school
cinema
station
  • . - I'm at school.
  • . - I'm going to the cinema.
  • . - I'm going to the station.

is , before a or place; is , before a die place. is , is . Learn these as chunks for now: German prepositions has the full rule.

is to go for a walk: . - We are going for a walk in the park.

Free time: Fußball, Konzert, Ticket

masculinefeminineneuterWhat do the colours mean?
GermanEnglish
football
sport
team
club
coach
goal
concert
ticket
fan

After a sport takes no article, and nor does after :

  • . - I play football.
  • . - I do sport.
  • . - He scores a goal.

is everyday German for a concert or train ticket; means the same and is just as common. The plurals are and .

At the Imbiss: Wurst, Pommes

The is the German snack bar, and its menu is short.

  • , . - A sausage and chips, please.
  • . - I'm hungry.
  • . - I'm thirsty.

German usually has and thirst. " durstig" is correct too, but is what most people say. (chips) is plural: .

A first day: a short scene

A new pupil, Lena, meets her class.

WhoGermanEnglish
teacher Lena. .This is Lena. She new in the class.
Jonas, Lena! ?Hi, Lena! Do you play football?
Lena! .Yes! And I like going to the cinema.
Jonas. .OK. We're going to the snack bar after school.
teacher !Homework first!

Lena (smiles). On her first day she gets to know the class: is to get to know someone, and it splits like any separable verb.

  • . - She gets to know the class.

Common mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. .woman form, no article
die Lehrerinen plural is -innen
die umlaut
Student (a pupil)Student is university
is
. .you have thirst

With the article, is the ball itself: . Nearly all of these words are on the AQA GCSE German vocabulary list at Foundation tier.

What to do next

  1. Say three people you know in German, with the right form: .
  2. Ask the way to three places in your town with ...? or ...?
  3. Do the drill below.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/4

Build the word for the woman, or for the women.

  1. der Lehrer: a woman who teaches

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

  2. der Schüler: two girls at school

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

  3. der Kunde: a woman who is a customer

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

  4. der Arzt: a woman who is a doctor

    Umlauts count - ae, oe, ue and ss work for ä, ö, ü, ß

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/8

Which article goes in front of each word?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Complete the story

0/4

Where is everyone, and where are they going?

Lena's first day

Lena ist neu der Schule. Nach der Schule geht sie mit Jonas Imbiss. Dann gehen sie Kino. Der Film ist gut, aber Lena hat .

Gap 1 of 4

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

Matching

0/5

Match each German word to its English.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the German word for a female teacher?
. German adds -in to the word for a man to make the word for a woman: , . The plural is . The same ending gives , and .
Why is it and not ?
Some short words take an umlaut when they add -in: becomes . There is no reliable rule to predict it, so learn the pair. Words that end in -e drop it first: , ; , .
How do you ask the way to the station in German?
? (How do I get to the station?) or, more simply, ? is short for and goes before a masculine or neuter place; before a feminine place it is : , .
Is it or ?
Both, with different meanings. is where you are: . is where you are going: . also means going there and is just as common.
Do you say or ?
, with no article. and games take no article after : , . with the article is the ball itself, or football as a topic: .