A1 · 40 words
Clothes in German
What you wear, what it costs, and the verb German uses for putting it on.
German has one verb for wearing — tragen — and a separable, reflexive one for putting something on: sich anziehen. Ich ziehe mir eine Jacke an has the prefix at the end, the reflexive pronoun in the dative because there is already an accusative object, and both of those are ordinary German rather than a peculiarity of clothes. A few garments are plural in German and singular in English or the other way round. Die Hose is one trouser, die Brille is one glass, and die Schuhe come in a pair the way English shoes do. Getting the number wrong is harmless and immediately noticeable.
The words
Verb (6)
tragento wear; to carryVerbA1
du trägst, er trägt; getragen. Two meanings, both common.
sich anziehento put on, to get dressedVerbA1
Separable and reflexive. The reflexive is dative when there is an object.
sich ausziehento take off, to undressVerbA2
The opposite of anziehen, and built the same way.
passento fit; to suitVerbA1
Takes a dative for the person, like gefallen and stehen.
anprobierento try onVerbA2
Separable and inseparable at once: an- separates, pro- does not, so the participle is "anprobiert" with no ge-.
umtauschento exchange, to returnVerbA2
Separable. Keep the receipt — "der Kassenbon".
Noun (26)
die KleidungclothingNounA1
No plural. The everyday word for clothes is "die Sachen" or "die Klamotten".
das HemdshirtNounA1
Plural: die Hemden.
die HosetrousersNounA1
Singular in German: eine Hose is one pair.
der RockskirtNounA1
Plural: die Röcke.
das KleiddressNounA1
Plural: die Kleider, which also means clothes in general.
die JackejacketNounA1
Plural: die Jacken.
der MantelcoatNounA1
Plural: die Mäntel.
der Pulloverjumper, sweaterNounA1
Plural: die Pullover. Often shortened to "der Pulli".
das T-ShirtT-shirtNounA1
Plural: die T-Shirts. Hyphenated, because a single letter cannot be run into a noun.
der SchuhshoeNounA1
Plural: die Schuhe.
die SockesockNounA1
Plural: die Socken.
der HuthatNounA2
Plural: die Hüte.
die Mützecap, woolly hatNounA2
Plural: die Mützen.
der SchalscarfNounA2
Plural: die Schals.
der HandschuhgloveNounA2
A compound: Hand plus Schuh. Plural: die Handschuhe.
die BrilleglassesNounA1
Singular in German: eine Brille is one pair.
die Taschebag; pocketNounA1
Plural: die Taschen. Two meanings, one word.
der GürtelbeltNounA2
Plural: die Gürtel.
die Umkleidekabinechanging roomNounA2
Plural: die Umkleidekabinen.
die Kassetill, checkoutNounA1
Plural: die Kassen. Also means a health insurance fund.
der PreispriceNounA1
Plural: die Preise. Also means a prize.
der Stofffabric, materialNounA2
Plural: die Stoffe. Also means a substance and a subject matter.
die BaumwollecottonNounA2
No plural. Literally "tree wool".
die WollewoolNounA2
No plural.
das LederleatherNounA2
No plural.
das Geschenkpresent, giftNounA1
Plural: die Geschenke.
Adjective (8)
teuerexpensiveAdjectiveA1
Loses the -e- before an ending: ein teures Hemd.
billigcheapAdjectiveA1
Carries a hint of poor quality; "günstig" is the neutral word for a good price.
günstiggood value, reasonableAdjectiveA2
weichsoftAdjectiveA1
harthardAdjectiveA1
Comparative: härter.
bequemcomfortableAdjectiveA1
Of a person it means lazy — "er ist bequem" is not a compliment.
schmutzigdirtyAdjectiveA2
modischfashionableAdjectiveB1
This list belongs to Clothes and fashion — three lists and 121 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 40 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.