Compound nouns in German
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Compound nouns are nouns that are composed out of two or more words and then build a new word with sometimes a new meaning.
In German, it is very common to assemble several existing words to create new ones. The compound can be made from nouns, adjectives, verbs or an invariable element (prepositions). There is no limit of the number of the associated words. Following, you can find several rules to build a compound noun.
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Keep in mind: The last word always determines the gender, the number and the case of the compound noun. It is also the only one to decline depending on the case.
The emphasis is always on the first word of the compound noun, but not always on the first syllable.
To understand the meaning of compound word read from right to left. Here are some examples.
First noun | Second noun | Compound word |
---|---|---|
die Orangen - oranges | der Saft - juice | der Orangensaft - orange juice |
das Wasser - water | die Flasche - bottle | die Wasserflasche - water bottle |
There exist different combinations of compound words:
Associated nouns can be understood as simple or compound nouns. Here are some examples.
First noun | Second noun | Compound noun |
---|---|---|
das Hotel | das Zimmer | das Hotelzimmer - hotel room |
der Zahn | die Bürste | die Zahnbürste - tooth brush |
der Fußball | die Weltmeisterschaft | die Fußballweltmeisterschaft - world cup |
Some compound nouns are build out of the radical of a verb and another noun. Here are some examples.
Verb | Noun | Compound noun |
---|---|---|
essen | das Zimmer | das Esszimmer - dining room |
schreiben | die Maschine | die Schreibmaschine - typewriter |
laufen | der Schritt | der Laufschritt - double quick |
You can also form a compound noun out of an adjective or a particle and a noun. Have a look.
Adjective/participle | Noun | Compound noun |
---|---|---|
groß | die Stadt | die Großstadt - big city |
rot | der Kohl | der Rotkohl - red cabbage |
gebraucht | der Wagen | der Gebrauchtwagen - used car |
Some nouns are composed of an invariable element, often a preposition, and a noun. Here are some examples.
Invariable element/preposition | Noun | Compound noun |
---|---|---|
vor | der Ort | der Vorort - suburb |
aber | der Glaube | der Aberglaube - superstition |
To connect two nouns and to build a new noun, the first one needs an additional suffix. Either you have to add -s or -es or sometimes you have to use the plural forms of the first word.
Here you can find some examples for the juncture with -s or -es.
First noun | Second noun | Compound noun |
---|---|---|
der Staat | das Examen | das Staatsexamen - state examination |
der Liebling | die Farbe | die Lieblingsfarbe - favorite colour |
die Arbeit | die Kraft | die Arbeitskraft - worker |
This rule applies to all of the nouns with the suffix: -keit, -heit, -schaft, -ung, -ion, -tät, -ling, -tum.
Often the first noun is pluralized before being associated to with another noun. Here you can find some examples.
First noun | Second noun | Compound noun |
---|---|---|
die Kranken | die Schwester | die Krankenschwester - nurse |
die Straßen | die Lampe | die Straßenlampe - street lamp |
die Suppen | der Löffel | der Suppelöffel - tablespoon |
You know everything about compound nouns in German. Now you can practise them with some exercises.
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Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
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Very expert and nice teacher. Organized, professional, she made my German lessons a pleasant experience. Customized learning materials according to you needs and interests. Highly recommended!
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Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
I would like to help you to master the German language. You will get your personal online lesson via Skype.
If you are interested in learning this world language, just contact me –
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
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A very nice and motivated teacher. Thank you Katerina for your support with the German language.
Katerina B.Dear Edivania, thank you for the nice words. It is a pleasure to work with you.
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I'm a Italian/German bilingual teacher form Florence!
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The lesson was perfectly geared to my needs. As my requirement for learning does not fit easily in any 'set course' or classroom situation, this individual approach, looking at what I need and then providing it, suits me very well indeed. I am very happy with the way in which the teaching / learning experience is going so far and would certainly recommend Niccoló.
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ABOUT ME:
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Lessons with Jana are always well-structured, with clear learning goals and well-prepared supporting materials. I find her approach very good to learn German "seriously", i.e. focusing not only on basic communication skills, but steadily improving speaking, writing, and understanding. Jana is adjusting to the current level, and with her it's always progress, step by step building up on it. Difficult grammatical topics are split into smaller easily understandable chunks, learned through the course of the lesson and reinforced with homework. Each lesson has a certain relevant and interesting topic and a corresponding vocabulary to learn. With hearing exercises as homework, it allows to be immersed in up-to-date German.
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Hi, I am Christin!
After training as a pastry chef and studying business administration, I traveled a lot and discovered my interest in languages. To find out more about teaching languages, I decided on further training at the Goethe Institute and completed it. During the Goethe Institute "Learn to teach German" course I was able to give individual language lessons and actively support the examination preparation for the Goethe certificate.
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Hello, Wie gehts? Ich heiße Anna! What can I say? Learning German language isn´t easy but I´m happy to say that I´ve chosen the right teacher for me. She is very nice and patient. She happily answered all my questions and explain things in a way you can understand easily. She gives you different homeworks in which sometimes I can´t submit on time because I´m currently undergoing surgery and therapy but she is so understanding about it. Now, I somewhat understand some German writings I´ve read without translating it, and i´m just so happy that I am making progress. Thanks Christin!
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I have been an online teacher since 2012 in economics, logistics, and international trade. In 2020 I started teaching Portuguese and Spanish as well. I have also been doing translations of these languages since 2003, and in 2013 I started doing proofreading too.
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So with me you can learn all the tipps to improve or learn German. I also worked as an Engineer for several years so we can as well work on your vocabulary in a technical level.
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Olivia has been amazing in helping learn German in a crash course fashion. She has materials for exactly the things I needed to know and helped me understand the bare minimum (which is what I was going for) to help me get my ideas across and understand the structure of what people are saying. She is a fantastic teacher.
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Since I learn languages myself, I know the difficulties and hurdles that can arise when learning a foreign language. I take away your fear of using the German language, because the best way to learn a language is to speak it!
You want to take a telc or Goethe exam? I will help you! I teach from level B1 to C2. In the course of my teaching I have specialised in students and adult learners from the age of 19 who want to take one of these exams for professional or private reasons.
If you only want to prepare orally for an exam with me, I offer conversation lessons where I give you strategies and tips on how to pass the exam. You will do a lot of speaking and learn the phrases that are most important for the exam at your level.
I'll also show you how to integrate German into your everyday life, recommend podcasts, books and series to expand your vocabulary.
Are you looking for a job and need help with your application? No problem, I give you application training, revise your CV with you and write applications together with you. I will also prepare you for your job interviews.
Don't be shy and write to me before you book a trial lesson. Together we will work out a syllabus that is tailored to your needs and goals. We will learn what is important for you at this stage and where I see room for improvement. I adapt each lesson individually to you.
Due to my eight-year stay abroad in Ireland, I have a very good knowledge of English and can also explain something to you in English or Spanish, but in my lessons we almost only speak German together.
What can you expect in my lessons?
- Creative and professional preparation for telc or Goethe from B1 level upwards
- Conversation classes
- Language lessons individually adapted to your needs, each lesson is prepared for you individually
- Application training and help with application letters, revision of your CV
- Grammar explanations that YOU just need.
- Quizzes, puzzles, worksheets, books, conversation topics and much more. Learning should be fun!
The most important thing is that you invest a little time and feel like learning with me. In return, you should also do the homework so that we can make good progress. I will be happy to correct it. Let me inspire you!
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Lessons with Larissa are a lot of fun. She is very personable and committed. Thank you for your support with German language.
Larissa L.Thank you for your positive rating. I look forward to more hours with you!
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Hallo :) I'm a German language teacher with a Bachelor and Master degree in German and with many years of teaching experience.
I was born and lived in Switzerland for many years and grew up in a bilingual family, because of that I speak German, Swiss German, Croatian and English :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, listening audio, reading, writing and for some fun: games and role plays :)
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books: Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen, ....
If you wish to have only conversational lessons, I can arrange this also for you (only available for B1 and B2 level).
* IMPORTANT: coLanguage shows only my general availability, if you want to book a lesson, please sent me a message with your availability and language level, and I will contact you as soon as possible with more informations :)
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she is very flexible about rescheduling the classes. she gives a lot of exercises that fit my level and make sure to correct me if I miss pronouncing some words or have difficulty to read them.
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Always a sheer pleasure to learn from Fiorina: full of positive energy, well prepared, full of resources... and with a smile!
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Hello everyone and a big warm welcome to all the fellow language learners,
My name is Katerina, I’m a native Russian speaker and a foreign language teacher from St Petersburg, Russia. I’ve always been addicted to learning foreign languages, be it English, German, Spanish, Turkish or Arabic, so turning my passion into my job was just a matter of time. I have a Master’s degree in linguistics which taught me to understand the way the mechanism of a language works and thus to help my students see the logics behind the grammar rules. Being a constant language learner enables me to see the process from both sides and to predict the difficulties my students might face. The fact that I’m not a native speaker of English or German means I’ve been through exactly the same language-learning journey you’re about to take, and thanks to my personal experience as a student, I can make this road smooth for you.
I've had students of all ages, from pre-school kids to senior generation, and I feel comfortable working with both beginners and those who are eager to take their learning process to a new level. In my classes I encourage you to talk in the language we’re studying as much as possible, putting every single bit of knowledge into practice right away. If you’re a Russian-learner, I’d be glad to prove it to you that you can absolutely nail my mother-tongue - and yes, you’ll be able to make a small talk in Russian by the end of the first class even if you’re an absolute beginner! We’ll be focusing on the topics that are most relevant to your goals, while discovering the language and getting to know more about the culture of people who speak it.
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Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!
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Hallo :) I'm a German language teacher with a Bachelor and Master degree in German and with many years of teaching experience.
I was born and lived in Switzerland for many years and grew up in a bilingual family, because of that I speak German, Swiss German, Croatian and English :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, listening audio, reading, writing and for some fun: games and role plays :)
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books: Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen, ....
If you wish to have only conversational lessons, I can arrange this also for you (only available for B1 and B2 level).
* IMPORTANT: coLanguage shows only my general availability, if you want to book a lesson, please sent me a message with your availability and language level, and I will contact you as soon as possible with more informations :)
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Mihaela is very professional, punctual and well organised. She plans the lessons well with relevant materials based on the student interests and level. She is very flexible about rescheduling classes and always available for any doubts or requests.
Mihaela S.Thank you very much Marilena :)
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Since I learn languages myself, I know the difficulties and hurdles that can arise when learning a foreign language. I take away your fear of using the German language, because the best way to learn a language is to speak it!
You want to take a telc or Goethe exam? I will help you! I teach from level B1 to C2. In the course of my teaching I have specialised in students and adult learners from the age of 19 who want to take one of these exams for professional or private reasons.
If you only want to prepare orally for an exam with me, I offer conversation lessons where I give you strategies and tips on how to pass the exam. You will do a lot of speaking and learn the phrases that are most important for the exam at your level.
I'll also show you how to integrate German into your everyday life, recommend podcasts, books and series to expand your vocabulary.
Are you looking for a job and need help with your application? No problem, I give you application training, revise your CV with you and write applications together with you. I will also prepare you for your job interviews.
Don't be shy and write to me before you book a trial lesson. Together we will work out a syllabus that is tailored to your needs and goals. We will learn what is important for you at this stage and where I see room for improvement. I adapt each lesson individually to you.
Due to my eight-year stay abroad in Ireland, I have a very good knowledge of English and can also explain something to you in English or Spanish, but in my lessons we almost only speak German together.
What can you expect in my lessons?
- Creative and professional preparation for telc or Goethe from B1 level upwards
- Conversation classes
- Language lessons individually adapted to your needs, each lesson is prepared for you individually
- Application training and help with application letters, revision of your CV
- Grammar explanations that YOU just need.
- Quizzes, puzzles, worksheets, books, conversation topics and much more. Learning should be fun!
The most important thing is that you invest a little time and feel like learning with me. In return, you should also do the homework so that we can make good progress. I will be happy to correct it. Let me inspire you!
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Larissa is a wonderful teacher! I have been taking classes with Larissa for the past three months and she has really helped me improve my German. Besides being very kind and funny, she is also incredibly dedicated and always go that extra mile to prepare relevant and interesting classes. She also helped me prepare for a job interview in German, which was a great help for me. I can only recommend Larissa!
Larissa L.Thank you so much for your valuable feedback, Simone! I am glad that you like our lessons and I can see you advance so quickly, it's amazing! I am only helping you with your German, the biggest, hardest part is your own merrit! I am really delighted to see you progress so immensely! Very, very happy with you and your studies!
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