Today's words · 📑 Contracts & pay
Before you sign: 10 German words for contracts and pay
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Your contract arrives before your first payslip — so start with the words inside it.
You've got the job at a German company! You open the email, and there's an attachment: Arbeitsvertrag. Probezeit, befristet, Gehalt… you'll want to know what they mean before you sign.
Today's ten words come up in every employment contract and every talk about pay. With them you can read the key parts of your contract and feel calmer when you discuss salary. 📑
📋 The ten words at a glance
- der Arbeitsvertrag — employment contract
- das Gehalt — salary
- die Probezeit — probationary period, probation
- die Gehaltserhöhung — pay rise, salary increase
- der Lohn — wage(s), pay
- der Arbeitgeber — employer
- der Arbeitnehmer — employee
- die Vollzeit — full-time
- befristet — fixed-term, temporary
- unbefristet — permanent, open-ended, unlimited
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Arbeitsvertrag
[AR-bites-fair-trahk]employment contract(Pl. die Arbeitsverträge)
📌 Lesen Sie den Arbeitsvertrag genau, bevor Sie unterschreiben.
→ Read the employment contract carefully before you sign it.
💡 Arbeit (work) + s + Vertrag (contract) ✍️ The last part is der, so the whole word is der.
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Arbeitsverträge.
das Gehalt
[guh-HALT]salary(Pl. die Gehälter)
📌 Sie verdient ein gutes Gehalt.
→ She earns a good salary.
💡 From halten, to hold 💰 Your salary is what you hold on to every month.
⚠ das Gehalt = salary, der Gehalt = content (e.g. fat content). Watch the article!
die Probezeit
[PROH-buh-tsite]probationary period, probation(Pl. die Probezeiten)
📌 In der Probezeit kann der Arbeitgeber schneller kündigen.
→ During the probationary period the employer can dismiss you more quickly.
💡 Probe (test) + Zeit (time) = trial time 🧪 You and the company test each other.
Bonus die Probezeit bestehen = to pass your probation
die Gehaltserhöhung
[guh-HALTS-air-huh-oong]pay rise, salary increase(Pl. die Gehaltserhöhungen)
📌 Nach zwei Jahren bat er seinen Chef um eine Gehaltserhöhung.
→ After two years he asked his boss for a pay rise.
💡 Gehalt + erhöhen (to raise) = pay rise 📈 hoch (high) is hiding inside.
Bonus um eine Gehaltserhöhung bitten = to ask for a pay rise
der Lohn
[LOHN]wage(s), pay(Pl. die Löhne)
📌 Der Lohn wird am Monatsende gezahlt.
→ Wages are paid at the end of the month.
💡 Short and sweet, like a loan you've earned 💵 Pay for the hours you work.
Bonus The minimum wage is der Mindestlohn.
der Arbeitgeber
[AR-bite-gay-ber]employer(Pl. die Arbeitgeber)
📌 Mein Arbeitgeber bezahlt einen Teil der Fahrtkosten.
→ My employer pays part of my travel costs.
💡 Arbeit (work) + Geber (giver) = the one who gives work 🎁 That's the employer.
Bonus Singular and plural look the same: der/die Arbeitgeber.
der Arbeitnehmer
[AR-bite-nay-mer]employee(Pl. die Arbeitnehmer)
📌 Arbeitnehmer haben in Deutschland Anspruch auf mindestens 20 Urlaubstage.
→ In Germany employees are entitled to at least 20 days' holiday.
💡 Arbeit + nehmen (to take) + -er = the work taker 🙌 Geber and Nehmer are a pair.
Bonus A female employee is die Arbeitnehmerin.
die Vollzeit
[FOLL-tsite]full-time((no plural))
📌 Ich arbeite in Vollzeit, 40 Stunden pro Woche.
→ I work full-time, 40 hours a week.
💡 voll (full) + Zeit (time) = full-time ⏳ Built exactly like English!
Bonus The opposite is die Teilzeit (part-time): in Teilzeit arbeiten.
befristet
[buh-FRIS-tet]fixed-term, temporary📌 Ich habe einen befristeten Vertrag.
→ I have a fixed-term contract.
💡 die Frist (deadline) is inside ⏰ A contract with a deadline is fixed-term.
⚠ Before a noun it takes an ending: ein befristeter Vertrag.
unbefristet
[OON-buh-fris-tet]permanent, open-ended, unlimited📌 Endlich habe ich eine unbefristete Stelle!
→ I've finally got a permanent job!
💡 un- (not) + befristet = no end date 🎉 The happiest word in any contract.
Bonus eine unbefristete Stelle = a permanent job
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
On German contracts and payslips (Gehaltsabrechnung), always check whether a figure is Brutto (before tax) or Netto (after tax). Tax and social insurance come off, so your Netto is often much lower than you expect.
Salaries are usually paid once a month, around the end of the month. Some employers also pay a Christmas bonus (Weihnachtsgeld) or a thirteenth month's salary, so read your contract carefully.
Also, asking about salary is quite personal in Germany. Unless you're close, people usually don't ask colleagues what they earn. 🤫
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Your contract ends after one year. Which sentence describes it?
- ① Ich habe einen befristeten Vertrag.
- ② Ich habe einen unbefristeten Vertrag.
- ③ Ich arbeite in Vollzeit.
Show the answer
① Ich habe einen befristeten Vertrag.
A contract with a fixed end date is befristet, fixed-term.
Think of your job, or your dream job, and say out loud: Ich arbeite in Vollzeit/Teilzeit. Mein Vertrag ist … — here's hoping it's unbefristet! 🍀
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 👨👩👧 Family