Today's words · 💻 Computers
Click, save, download: 10 computer words for a German office
A1A2B1
Open a German laptop for the first time and you'll find the Z and Y have swapped places.
It's your first day at a German company. The IT person hands you a laptop and says: ‘Programm installieren, Datei speichern, dann…’ You nod along, catching half of it, then try to type your password and find the Z where the Y should be!
Today's ten words are the ones you meet every time you use a computer. Screen, keyboard and mouse, then clicking, saving, downloading and installing: with these, German settings menus and your colleagues' requests won't scare you. 💻
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Computer
[kom-PYOO-ter]computer(Pl. die Computer)
📌 Mein Computer ist zu langsam.
→ My computer is too slow.
💡 Straight from English 🖥️ Just remember it's der.
⚠ The plural is also die Computer, with no -s.
der Laptop
[LEP-top]laptop(Pl. die Laptops · = der/das Laptop)
📌 Ich arbeite oft mit dem Laptop im Café.
→ I often work on my laptop in a café.
💡 A computer for your lap 💻 Same word as in English.
Bonus Both der Laptop and das Laptop are used.
der Bildschirm
[BILT-shirm]screen, monitor(Pl. die Bildschirme)
📌 Ich sitze den ganzen Tag vor dem Bildschirm.
→ I sit in front of a screen all day.
💡 Bild (picture) + Schirm (screen, shade) = picture screen 📺 An umbrella is a Regenschirm!
Bonus vor dem Bildschirm sitzen = to sit in front of a screen
die Tastatur
[tas-ta-TOOR]keyboard(Pl. die Tastaturen)
📌 Auf meiner Tastatur fehlt das ß.
→ My keyboard doesn't have an ß.
💡 Lots of Tasten (keys) together make a Tastatur ⌨️ One key is die Taste.
⚠ German keyboards are QWERTZ: Y and Z are swapped.
die Maus
[mowss]mouse; (computer) mouse(Pl. die Mäuse)
📌 Die Katze jagt eine Maus.
→ The cat is chasing a mouse.
💡 Same word as English mouse 🐭 For the animal and the gadget.
⚠ The plural changes the vowel: die Mäuse
klicken
[KLICK-en]to click(klickt – hat geklickt)
📌 Klicken Sie hier, um sich anzumelden.
→ Click here to register.
💡 The click sound turned into a verb 🖱️ Klicken Sie hier!
Bonus A double click is der Doppelklick
die Datei
[da-TIE](computer) file(Pl. die Dateien)
📌 Kannst du mir die Datei schicken?
→ Can you send me the file?
💡 A blend of Daten (data) + Kartei (card index) 📁 One file full of data.
⚠ Don't mix it up with die Daten (data). One computer file is die Datei.
speichern
[SHPY-khern]to save, to store (data)(speichert – hat gespeichert)
📌 Vergiss nicht, die Datei zu speichern!
→ Don't forget to save the file!
💡 der Speicher was originally a granary 🌾 Saving means storing your data in the barn.
Bonus The opposite, to delete: löschen
herunterladen
[heh-ROON-ter-lah-den]to download(lädt herunter – hat heruntergeladen)
📌 Sie können die App kostenlos herunterladen.
→ You can download the app for free.
💡 herunter (down) + laden (to load) = download, translated piece by piece ⬇️
⚠ Separable: Ich lade die App herunter. In speech, often runterladen.
installieren
[in-sta-LEE-ren]to install(installiert – hat installiert)
📌 Ich muss noch das neue Programm installieren.
→ I still have to install the new program.
💡 English install + -ieren ⚙️ Verbs ending in -ieren take no ge- in the perfect.
Bonus Perfect: hat installiert
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
German keyboards use the QWERTZ layout. Y and Z are swapped, and there are separate keys for ä, ö, ü and ß. You'll make plenty of typos at first, but once you're used to it, typing German gets much easier.
Plenty of computer vocabulary is simply English. Some people say downloaden instead of herunterladen; it depends on the person and the workplace. Settings menus and official instructions often use the German words, though, so it helps to know both.
Many people in Germany also take Datenschutz (data protection and privacy) seriously. It's good manners to ask before posting a photo of someone online. 🔒
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You need a document your colleague has. What do you ask?
- ① Kannst du die Datei herunterladen?
- ② Kannst du auf den Bildschirm klicken?
- ③ Kannst du mir die Datei schicken?
Show the answer
③ Kannst du mir die Datei schicken?
mir … schicken means send to me, so you're asking them to send you the file.
When you switch on your computer today, name what you see: der Bildschirm, die Tastatur, die Maus. And don't forget to speichern! 💾
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 📲 Social media & video