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German A1 — Core Vocabulary flashcards

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One hundred beginner words, nearly all on the Goethe A1 list: thirty high-frequency verbs with stem changes, separable prefixes and Perfekt auxiliary, fifty everyday nouns with article and plural, twenty adjectives and small words, plus Austrian and Swiss variants and false friends.

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Learn deck · part of German A1–A2 · written against: CEFR A1–A2; every word of the Goethe-Institut word lists for the Goethe-Zertifikat A1 and A2, with Austrian/Swiss variants noted; gender, plurals and spelling per Duden. Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. sein (v., du bist, er ist)
    to be (Perfekt: ist gewesen)

    Am Wochenende sind wir bei Oma in Bremen. — At the weekend we're at Grandma's in Bremen.

    Watch out: Fully irregular: ich bin, du bist, er ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind. Jobs take no article: Sie ist Ärztin = She is a doctor; with an adjective the article usually comes back: eine gute Ärztin.

    Homograph: sein (det., his; its) is a different word.
    Essential verbs
  2. fahren (v., du fährst, er fährt)
    to go (by vehicle), to drive, to ride (Perfekt: ist gefahren)

    Wir fahren am Samstag mit der Fähre nach Helgoland. — We're taking the ferry to Heligoland on Saturday.

    Watch out: a → ä only in the du and er forms: ich fahre, du fährst, er fährt, wir fahren. When you drive someone or something somewhere, the Perfekt takes haben: Ich habe meine Oma zum Bahnhof gefahren.
    Everyday verbs
  3. die Familie, -n (n.)
    family

    Meine Familie wohnt in Köln. — My family lives in Cologne.

    Watch out: Stressed on the second syllable, and the ending -ie is two sounds, a quick y-glide and a short e: fa-MI-lje (three syllables).
    People & family
  4. das Haus, ¨-er (n.)
    house

    Das Haus von meinen Großeltern steht direkt am Wald. — My grandparents' house is right by the forest.

    Watch out: nach Hause = (going) home; zu Hause = at home: Ich gehe nach Hause, Ich bin zu Hause.
    Home & daily life
  5. das Brot, -e (n.)
    bread; loaf

    Wir kaufen frisches Brot beim Bäcker. — We buy fresh bread at the baker's.

    Watch out: das Abendbrot is a simple evening meal, usually with bread.
    Food & shopping
  6. die Stadt, ¨-e (n.)
    town, city

    Hamburg ist eine große Stadt. — Hamburg is a big city.

    Watch out: Plural die Städte. in die Stadt gehen = to go into town.
    Town & travel
  7. der Tag, -e (n.)
    day

    Mein Hund schläft fast sechzehn Stunden am Tag. — My dog sleeps almost sixteen hours a day.

    Watch out: Guten Tag! is a formal hello. Days of the week are masculine: am Montag.
    Time & weather
  8. das Handy, -s (n.)
    mobile phone, cell phone

    Mein Handy ist leer. — My phone's battery is dead.

    Watch out: False friend: it is not the English adjective handy (that is praktisch). In Switzerland you will also hear das Natel.
    Talking & thinking
  9. groß (adj.)
    big, large; tall (größer, am größten)

    Die Sonnenblumen in Omas Garten sind dieses Jahr sehr groß. — The sunflowers in Grandma's garden are very tall this year.

    Watch out: After sein an adjective has no ending; before a noun it does: ein großes Haus.
    Describing words
  10. gern (adv.)
    gladly, with pleasure; with a verb: to like doing

    Ich spiele gern Tennis. — I like playing tennis.

    Watch out: verb + gern = like doing, lieber = prefer, am liebsten = like most. Gern geschehen! = You're welcome.
    Small words & numbers

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More German A1–A2 decks

Core Words: Adjectives & AdverbsCore Words: Food, Shopping & NatureCore Words: People, Home & HealthCore Words: Small Words & NumbersCore Words: Time, Work & SchoolCore Words: Town, Travel & Free TimeCore Words: Verbs & CommunicationPhrases & Core GrammarIn Context: Core Words, Part 1In Context: Core Words, Part 2VocabularyCore Vocabulary, Part 1Core Vocabulary, Part 2Core Vocabulary, Part 3Core Vocabulary, Part 4Core Vocabulary, Part 5Core Vocabulary, Part 6Core Vocabulary, Part 7GrammarIn Context: Core Words, Part 1In Context: Core Words, Part 2Cloze: Articles, Cases & Verb PositionPractice Questions

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Checked against the Duden online dictionary (duden.de) and DWDS (dwds.de) for gender, plural, conjugation, Perfekt auxiliary and regional marks, the IDS Variantengrammatik des Standarddeutschen for Austrian and Swiss usage, PONS and Langenscheidt (German–English) for glosses, and the Goethe-Institut word lists for Goethe-Zertifikat A1 (2012), A2 (2016) and B1 (2016) for level placement (reference only; no text copied). All example sentences are original.

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