Today's words · 👕 Clothes shop
Shopping for clothes in German: 10 words to know
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Ever found the perfect trousers, then put them back because you couldn't ask where the changing rooms were?
It's sale season in a German clothes shop. You're holding a pair of trousers when an assistant asks, "Kann ich Ihnen helfen?" You want to ask about sizes and whether you can try them on, but the words won't come.
Today's ten words are made for the clothes shop. With them you can ask for a size, try things on and even say "it's a bit tight". Shopping just got a lot more fun! 🛍️
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
die Kleidung
[KLY-doong]clothing, clothes((no pl.))
📌 Im Winter braucht man warme Kleidung.
→ In winter you need warm clothes.
💡 das Kleid (dress) + -ung = all your clothes 👗 -ung means die!
⚠ No plural: ‘clothes’ is simply die Kleidung.
die Hose
[HOH-zuh]trousers, pants(Pl. die Hosen)
📌 Die Hose ist zu lang.
→ The trousers are too long.
💡 Like a garden hose, but two of them, one for each leg 👖
⚠ It's singular: eine Hose = a pair of trousers. Not plural like English ‘trousers’!
das Hemd
[hemt]shirt(Pl. die Hemden)
📌 Er trägt ein weißes Hemd.
→ He's wearing a white shirt.
💡 Clear your throat — ‘hem!’ — and button up your shirt 👔
Bonus A T-shirt is das T-Shirt, a blouse is die Bluse.
die Jacke
[YAK-uh]jacket(Pl. die Jacken)
📌 Nimm eine Jacke mit, es ist kalt.
→ Take a jacket, it's cold.
💡 English jacket with the end chopped off 🧥 Remember: German j sounds like y.
Bonus Germans call almost any outdoor or rain jacket a Jacke.
der Schuh
[shoo]shoe(Pl. die Schuhe)
📌 Zieh bitte die Schuhe aus.
→ Please take your shoes off.
💡 Sounds exactly like English shoe 👟 Easy!
Bonus take off your shoes = die Schuhe ausziehen · put on = anziehen
die Größe
[GRUR-suh]size(Pl. die Größen)
📌 Haben Sie das auch in Größe M?
→ Do you have this in size M as well?
💡 groß (big) + -e = bigness, size 📏 Adjective + -e often gives a die noun.
Bonus one size up = eine Nummer größer · one size down = eine Nummer kleiner
anprobieren
[AN-pro-bee-ren]to try on(probiert an – hat anprobiert)
📌 Kann ich die Hose anprobieren?
→ Can I try these trousers on?
💡 an (on the body) + probieren (to try) = try on 🪞
⚠ Separable: Ich probiere die Hose an. Past participle: anprobiert (no ge-).
die Umkleidekabine
[OOM-kly-duh-ka-bee-nuh]changing room, fitting room(Pl. die Umkleidekabinen)
📌 Die Umkleidekabinen sind dort hinten.
→ The changing rooms are over there at the back.
💡 um (change) + Kleid (clothes) + Kabine (cubicle) = changing cubicle 🚪 Long, but just Lego.
Bonus Just die Kabine is fine in conversation.
passen
[PASS-en]to fit; to suit; to be convenient(passt – hat gepasst)
📌 Die Jacke passt mir nicht, sie ist zu klein.
→ The jacket doesn't fit me, it's too small.
💡 The trousers pass the test — they fit! 🧩 Passt! = Fits perfectly!
⚠ passen = fit (size), stehen = suit (look good): Die Farbe steht dir.
eng
[eng]tight; narrow(eng – enger – am engsten)
📌 Die Hose ist mir zu eng.
→ The trousers are too tight for me.
💡 Too tight? You'll go ‘eng!’ trying to breathe 😣
Bonus Opposite: weit (loose) · It's too tight for me = Das ist mir zu eng.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
German clothing sizes are not the same as UK or US ones. Women's clothes often use numbers like 36, 38, 40 and men's like 48, 50, 52, though many shops also use S, M and L. Shoes use EU sizes (39, 40 …), so trying them on is a good idea at first.
Exchanging or returning clothes bought in a shop (Umtausch) depends on the shop's own policy. Many chains will take things back with a receipt (Kassenbon), so always keep it.
And remember: most shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. That's why high streets are so busy on Saturday afternoons! 🛍️
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You've found some trousers you like. What do you ask the assistant to try them on?
- ① Die Hose ist zu lang.
- ② Kann ich die Hose anprobieren?
- ③ Zieh bitte die Schuhe aus.
Show the answer
② Kann ich die Hose anprobieren?
anprobieren = to try on, so this means ‘Can I try these trousers on?’
Open your wardrobe and name each item in German, out loud. If you can say Die Hose passt!, you've nailed it! 👖
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🛒 Supermarket