Opposites in German

Learning opposites in German can be both fun and useful as it allows you to express contrasting ideas and concepts. In this blog post, we'll provide you with multiple lists of very useful German words and their opposites.

Adjectives and Adverbs

Let's start with some common adjectives and their opposites:

alt

old

neu

new

groß

big

klein

small

hell

bright

dunkel

dark

Verbs

Next, let's explore some action verbs and their opposites:

kommen

to come

gehen

to go

starten

to start

beenden

to finish

anfangen

to begin

aufhören

to stop

Nouns

Now, let's learn some nouns and their opposites:

der Tag

day

die Nacht

night

der Sommer

summer

der Winter

winter

die Sonne

sun

der Mond

moon

Prepositions

Lastly, let's explore some prepositions and their opposites:

vor

in front of

hinter

behind

über

above

unter

below

vorwärts

forward

rückwärts

backward

We hope this vocabulary list helps you express contrasting ideas in German! Whether you're describing objects, actions, or locations, these words will come in handy. Viel Erfolg! (Good luck!)

Verbs

A - F

to be awake - to be asleep

wach sein - schlafen

to attack - to defend

angreifen - verteidigen

to arrive - to depart

ankommen - verlassen

to arrest - to free

festnehmen - freilassen

to question - to answer

fragen - antworten

to amuse - to bore

sich amüsieren - sich langweilen

G - L

to give - to take

nehmen - geben

to come - to go

kommen - gehen

good - bad

gut - böse

generous - stingy

großzügig - geizig

happy - sad

glücklich - traurig

to hate - to love

hassen - lieben

M - R

to melt - to freeze

schmelzen - einfrieren

to miss - to hit

verfehlen -

to open - to close

öffnen - schließen

to permit - to forbid

erlauben - verbieten

to protect - to attack

beschützen - angreifen

to push - to pull

drücken - ziehen

S - Z

to save - to spend

sparen - ausgeben

to scream - to whisper

schreien - flüstern

to sell - to buy

verkaufen - kaufen

to sit - to stand

sitzen - stehen

to start - to stop

beginnen - aufhören

to stand up - to lie down

stehen - liegen

Non-Verb Opposites

A - F

attic - cellar

der Dachboden - der Keller

awful - pleasant

schrecklich - angenehm

angel - devil

der Engel - der Teufel

ancient - modern

antik - modern

after - before

davor - danach

artificial - natural

künstlich - natürlich

G - L

gentle - rough

sanft - rau

guest - host

der Gast - der Gastgeber

guilty - innocent

schuldig - unschuldig

healthy - sick

gesund - krank

high - low

hoch - niedrig

huge - tiny

riesig - winzig

M - R

minor - major

nebensächlich - hauptsächlich

moderate - extreme

moderat - extrem

much - little

viel - wenig

morning - evening

der Morgen - der Abend

never - always

nie - immer

nothing - everything

nichts - alles

S - Z

safety - danger

die Sicherheit - die Gefahr

satisfaction - dissatisfaction

die Zufriedenheit - die Unzufriedenheit

serious - funny

ernst - lustig

servant - master

der Diener - der Herr

sharp - blunt

scharf - stumpf

solid - liquid

fest - flüssig

Opposites in German | Vocabulary List

Adjectives and Adverbs

Verbs

Nouns

Prepositions

Verbs

A - F

G - L

M - R

S - Z

Non-Verb Opposites

A - F

G - L

M - R

S - Z

99 German Idioms

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