Knowing German adjectives will help you describe things and have richer conversations in the language. We’ve compiled a long list of useful German adjectives and their opposites for you to learn and reference!
German adjectives and opposites to learn
Learning German adjectives as pairs of opposites is an effective way to anchor vocabulary in your memory. If you memorise each word together with its antonym, you’re doubling the amount of new German adjectives you acquire and strengthen your recall thanks to the mnemonic device of pairing.
The following list of German adjectives is based on frequency of use in conversation and how useful the words are to language learners of all levels.
The most common spoken words in German
| GERMAN | ENGLISH | OPPOSITE | ENGLISH |
| ähnlich | similar | unähnlich, verschieden | different |
| alt | old | jung, neu, modern | young, new, modern |
| angenehm | enjoyable | unangenehm | unpleasant |
| anwesend | present | abwesend | absent |
| bekannt | known, famous | unbekannt | unknown |
| besser | better | schlechter | worse |
| bestimmt | specific, definite, certain | unbestimmt | indefinite |
| bunt | colorful | einfarbig | plain, monochrome |
| dankbar | grateful | undankbar | ungrateful |
| deutlich | clear, distinct, obvious | undeutlich | indistinct |
| dick | thick, fat | dünn | thin |
| direkt | direct, straight | indirekt | indirect |
| ehrlich | honest | unehrlich | dishonest |
| eigen | own, proper | uneigen, fremd | strange, external |
| einzeln | single, individual, lone, odd | viel, zusammen | a lot, together |
| elegant | elegant | unelegant | inelegant |
| empfindlich | sensitive | unempfindlich | insensitive |
| eng | tight, narrow, close, snug | weit | loose, far |
| erfahren | experienced | unerfahren | inexperienced |
| fest | firm | locker, weich | loose, soft |
| flach | flat, shallow | steil, tief | steep, deep |
| fleißig | diligent | faul | lazy |
| frei | free | unfrei | unfree |
| freundlich | friendly | unfreundlich | unfriendly |
| froh | glad | traurig | sad |
| geduldig | patient | ungeduldig | impatient |
| geizig | stingy | großzügig | generous |
| gemeinsam | together | allein | alone |
| gemütlich | Comfortable, cozy | ungemütlich | uncomfortable |
| genau | exact, accurate, precise | ungenau | inaccurate |
| gerade | straight, right, even, direct | ungerade, krumm | odd, crooked |
| geschickt | clever, skillful, adept | ungeschickt | clumsy |
| gesund | healthy | ungesund, krank | unhealthy, sick |
| gewiss | certain, sure | ungewiss | uncertain |
| glatt | smooth | rau | rough |
| gleich | equal, similar | ungleich, verschieden | unequal, different |
| glücklich | happy | unglücklich | unhappy |
| groß | large, big | klein | small, tiny |
| gut | good | schlecht, böse | bad, evil |
| halb | half | ganz | whole |
| hart | hard | weich | soft |
| häufig | frequent, common | selten | rare |
| heiß | hot | kalt | cold |
| hell | bright | dunkel | dark |
| hoch | high, tall | tief | deep |
| höflich | polite | unhöflich | impolite |
| horizontal | horizontal | vertikal | vertical |
| hungrig | hungry | satt | full, fed up |
| interessant | interesting | uninteressant, langweilig | uninteresting, boring |
| kaputt | broken | ganz | whole, all, complete |
| klar | clear | unklar | not clear, obscure |
| klug | smart, intelligent | unklug, dumm | imprudent, stupid |
| lang, lange | long | kurz | short |
| laut | loud | leise | quiet |
| letzter, letzte, letztes | last | erster, erste, erstes | first |
| lustig | funny, amusing | unlustig, ernst | not amusing, unfunny, serious |
| mein | my | dein | your |
| möglich | possible | unmöglich | impossible |
| müde | tired | wach | awake |
| nah | close | fern | remote |
| nass | wet | trocken | dry |
| national | national | international | international |
| natürlich | natural | unnatürlich | unnatural |
| normal | normal | unnormal | abnormal |
| offen | open, open-minded | geschlossen, verschlossen | closed, locked, closed off, secretive |
| öffentlich | public | privat | private |
| ordentlich | neat, tidy | unordentlich | disorderly, messy, unkempt |
| persönlich | personal, private | unpersönlich | impersonal |
| positiv | positive | negativ | negative |
| praktisch | practical, handy, useful | unpraktisch | impractical |
| pünktlich | punctual, prompt, on time | unpünktlich | unpunctual, tardy |
| recht | right | unrecht | wrong |
| reich | rich | arm | poor |
| richtig | right, correct | falsch | false, not correct |
| rund | round | eckig | angular, square |
| sanft | gently | unsanft | rude, ungentle |
| sauber | clean | dreckig, schmutzig | dirty |
| schnell | fast | langsam | slow |
| schön | beautiful | hässlich | ugly |
| schwer, schwierig | hard, difficult | leicht, einfach | easy, simple |
| sicher | safe, certain, sure | unsicher | unsure |
| sozial | social | unsozial | antisocial |
| spät | late | früh | early |
| spitz | pointed, sharp, spiked | stumpf | dull |
| sportlich | sporty, athletic, fit | unsportlich | unathletic, unsporting, out of shape |
| stark | strong | schwach | weak |
| süß | sweet | sauer | sour, angry |
| sympathisch | sympathetic | unsympathisch | unsympathetic |
| teuer | expensive | billig | cheap, inexpensive |
| treu | loyal, true, faithful | untreu | unfaithful |
| unterschiedlich | different, diverse, varied | gleich, identisch | same, identical |
| viel | many, a lot | wenig, gering | little, low |
| voll | full | leer | empty |
| vorsichtig | careful, cautious | unvorsichtig | careless |
| wahrscheinlich | probable, plausible | unwahrscheinlich | improbable, unlikely |
| wertvoll | precious, valuable | wertlos | worthless |
| wesentlich | essential, significant | unwesentlich | inessential, insignificant |
| wichtig | important | unwichtig | unimportant |
| wild | wild | zahm | tame |
| zufrieden | satisfied, content, happy | unzufrieden | dissatisfied, discontent, unhappy |
Are you interested in more useful vocabulary? We’ll teach you the top 100 German words you need to know!
