Countries, Nationalities & Languages
Countries, Nationalities & Languages
German nationality words split into a noun form (der Deutsche, "the German person") and an adjective form (deutsch, "German"), and — unlike English — languages and adjectives of nationality are never capitalized.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Nationality adjectives are lowercase in German
Ich bin deutsch. / die deutsche Sprache
I am German. / the German language
English always capitalizes nationality words, whether used as a noun or adjective ("German," "a German"). German only capitalizes the noun form referring to a person or the language name used as a noun (Deutsch, der Deutsche) — the adjective form is lowercase (deutsch, deutsche Sprache). This is a common small error for English speakers writing German, since the impulse to capitalize nationalities is deeply ingrained.
Most country names take no article — a few do
Ich komme aus Deutschland. / Ich komme aus der Schweiz. / Ich komme aus den USA.
I come from Germany. / I come from Switzerland. / I come from the USA.
Like English, most German country names are used without an article (Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien). But a notable set of countries are grammatically feminine, masculine, or plural and DO require an article: die Schweiz (Switzerland), der Iran, die USA (plural) — and the article changes case after aus, just like any other noun (aus der Schweiz, aus den USA). These irregular countries must be memorized individually, similar to how English marks a few countries with "the" ("the Netherlands," "the UK") while most take none.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Deutschland | DOYTSH-lahnt | Germany |
| Österreich | ER-ster-ryhk | Austria |
| die Schweiz | dee shvyts | Switzerland |
| England | ENG-lahnt | England |
| die USA | dee oo-es-AH | the USA |
| deutsch | doytsh | German (adjective, lowercase) |
| der Deutsche / die Deutsche | dair DOY-cheh / dee DOY-cheh | the German (male/female person) |
| Englisch | ENG-lish | English (the language) |
| Ich bin Amerikaner/Amerikanerin. | ikh bin ah-may-ri-KAH-ner / ah-may-ri-KAH-ner-in | I am American. (male/female) |
| Welche Sprachen sprichst du? | VEL-kheh SHPRAH-khen shprikhst doo | Which languages do you speak? |