100 useful German adjectives and their opposites
Knowing adjectives in German will help you describe things and have richer conversations in the language. Learning German adjectives as pairs of opposites is an effective way to anchor vocabulary in your memory. If you memorize each word together with its antonym, you’re doubling the amount of new German adjectives you acquire and strengthening 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. So, enjoy our long list of 100 useful German adjectives and their opposites for you to learn and reference!
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| 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!
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Jakob Straub
Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his website or on Goodreads.
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