Last Tuesday I returned to my regular German classes and, oh my, it’s so good to be back. I had never lost touch with the language as all my gadgets, computer, Facebook, Twitter and even some of my friends posts are in German. Anyhow, following a book again, speaking German, making mistakes, having a great teacher to correct me, and interacting with others by using German are things you cannot easily get outside a classroom.
So we’re studying clothes, die Kleidung, and I’d like to share what I’ve learnt so far.
I bet you’ll like it…
As I think nothing is better to memorize new words than looking at a picture, I’ve selected and tagged some photos for you. Note that in German things (i.e. nouns) can be masculine (maskulin), feminine (feminin) or neutral (neutral), that is, they have gender. I’ve color-coded the articles so you can better identify them. Bellow each word you’ll find its plural form; remember: in German, the definite plural article is always die. If you’re wonder what those “crazy” symbols next to each word is, read my post about the IPA, you’ll love it.
Before I start I’d like to introduce you to some verbs:
- anziehen – to dress, to put clothes and accessories on.
- ausziehen – to undress, to take a piece of clothes off.
- tragen – to wear, to have on one’s body as clothing.
- umziehen – to change clothes, to take clothes off and put others on.
Sie trägt eine Winterjacke, eine Hose, Handschuhe und eine Mütze.
She wears a winter jacket, a pair of paints, gloves and a tuque.
- die Mütze /ˈmʏʦə/
die Mützen /ˈmʏʦn̩/ - die Winterjacke /ˈvɪntɐˌjakə/
die Winterjacken /ˈvɪntɐˌjakn̩/ - die Hose /ˈhoːzə/
die Hosen /ˈhoːzn̩/ - der Handschuh /hantʃuː/
die Handschuhe /ˈhantˌʃuːə/
Translation: A. tuque, B. winter jacket, C. pants, D. glove.
Er trägt einen schwarzen Anzug und einen blauen Hemd.
He wears a black suit and a blue shirt.
- die Uhr /uːɐ̯/
die Uhren /ˈuːʀən/ - der Gürtel /ˈɡʏʁtl̩/
die Gürtel /ˈɡʏʁtl̩/ - die Jacke /ˈjakə/
die Jacken /ˈjakn̩/ - das Hemd /hɛmt/
die Hemden /ˈhɛmdn̩/ - die Krawatte /kʀaˈvatə/
die Krawatten /kʀaˈvatn̩/ - der Anzug /ˈanʦuːk/
die Anzüge /ˈanʦyːɡə/ - die Hose /ˈhoːzə/
die Hosen /ˈhoːzn̩/ - der Schuh /ʃuː/
die Schuhe /ʃuːə/
Translation: A. watch, B. belt, C. jacket, D. shirt (for men only), E. tie, F. suit, G. pants, H. shoe.
Die Frau trägt einen gelben Bikini, eine Sonnenbrille und ein Armband.
The woman wears a yellow bikini, sunglasses and a bracelet.
- der Bikini /biˈkiːni/
die Bikinis /biˈkiːnis/ - die Sonnenbrille
/ˈzɔnənˌbʀɪlə/
die Sonnenbrillen
/ˈzɔnənˌbʀɪlən/ - das Armband
/ˈaʁmˌbant/
die Armbänder
/ˈaʁmˌbɛndɐ/
Translation: A. bikini, B. sun glasses, C. bracelet.
Die Sekretärin trägt eine Jacke, einen Rock und Absätze.
The secretary wears a jacket, a skirt and high heels.
- die Jacke /ˈjakə/
die Jacken /ˈjakn̩/ - der Rock /ʀɔk/
die Röcke /ˈʀœkə/ - die Tasche /ˈtaʃə/
die Taschen /ˈtaʃn̩/ - der Absatz /ˈapˌzats/
die Absätze /ˈapˌzɛtsə/ - der Ring /ʀɪŋ/
die Ringe /ˈʀɪŋə/ - der Ohrring /ˈoːɐ̯ˌʀɪŋ/
die Ohrringe
/ˈoːɐ̯ˌʀɪŋə/
Translation: A. jacket, B. skirt, C. purse, D. high heels, E. ring, F. earring.
Some other garments that you might want to know:
- der BH (Büstenhalter) – bra
- die Bluse – blouse
- die Halskette – necklace
- die Jeans – jeans
- das Kleid – dress
- der Pullover (Pulli) – sweatshirt
- der Rucksack – backpack
- der Schal – scarf
- der Slip – panties
- die Socke – sock
- der Sportschuh – sneaker
- das T-Shirt – T-shirt
- die Unterhose – underpants