Lesson 19: Clothing and Descriptions
In this lesson, you’ll learn some common clothing words in German. You’ll also learn how to describe clothes with simple color words.
What you’ll learn
- common clothes words in German
- how to talk about simple colors with clothes
- how to understand short descriptive phrases
- how to make easy sentences about clothes
Common clothes words
Here are some useful beginner clothes words:
das T-Shirt = the T-shirt
die Hose = the pants
das Kleid = the dress
der Pullover = the sweater
die Jacke = the jacket
der Schuh = the shoe
die Schuhe = the shoes
die Tasche = the bag
These are good everyday words because you can use them often in real life.
Talking about colors
You already learned some color words. Now you can use them with clothes.
Here are a few common colors again:
schwarz = black
weiß = white
blau = blue
rot = red
grün = green
Simple clothes phrases
Here are some easy combinations:
ein schwarzes T-Shirt = a black T-shirt
eine blaue Hose = blue pants
ein rotes Kleid = a red dress
ein grüner Pullover = a green sweater
eine schwarze Jacke = a black jacket
For now, do not worry too much about why the endings change. Learn these phrases as complete chunks.
A simple way to describe clothes
You can also use a very easy sentence pattern:
Das T-Shirt ist schwarz. = The T-shirt is black.
Die Hose ist blau. = The pants are blue.
Das Kleid ist rot. = The dress is red.
This is easier for beginners because you do not need long sentences.
A small grammar point
You already know ist from sein.
So now you can say:
- Das T-Shirt ist schwarz.
- Die Jacke ist grün.
- Der Pullover ist blau.
This is a simple way to describe something.
Simple example sentences
Das T-Shirt ist weiß. = The T-shirt is white.
Die Hose ist schwarz. = The pants are black.
Das Kleid ist rot. = The dress is red.
Der Pullover ist grün. = The sweater is green.
Die Jacke ist blau. = The jacket is blue.
Exercise: Match the clothes word
Explore more German Clothing Vocabulary for Beginners.
