Today's words · 🌙 Evening & bedtime
From clocking off to dreamland: 10 German evening words
A1A2B1B2
If Germans had a favourite word, it might well be Feierabend.
It's 6 pm. A colleague grabs their bag and says “Schönen Feierabend!” on the way out. You get home, drop onto the sofa, eat, put the TV on… and soon you're nodding off.
Today's ten words take you from the end of work to falling asleep. With them you can describe your whole evening in German — even complain about a snoring flatmate! 🌙
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Abend
[AH-bent]evening(Pl. die Abende)
📌 Am Abend sehe ich oft fern.
→ In the evening I often watch TV.
💡 Same root as English eve and evening 🌆 Guten Abend! = Good evening!
Bonus abends = in the evenings · heute Abend = this evening
der Feierabend
[FY-er-ah-bent]end of the working day; evening off(Pl. die Feierabende)
📌 Schönen Feierabend!
→ Have a nice evening!
💡 Feier (celebration) + Abend = every evening after work is a party 🎉
Bonus What you say when leaving work: Schönen Feierabend!
das Abendessen
[AH-bent-ess-en]dinner, evening meal(Pl. die Abendessen)
📌 Zum Abendessen gibt es Suppe.
→ There's soup for dinner.
💡 Abend + Essen (meal) = dinner 🍲 Compounds take the gender of the last word: das.
Bonus Breakfast is das Frühstück, lunch is das Mittagessen.
sich ausruhen
[zikh OWS-roo-en]to rest, to have a rest(ruht sich aus – hat sich ausgeruht)
📌 Nach der Arbeit ruhe ich mich auf dem Sofa aus.
→ After work I rest on the sofa.
💡 aus (completely) + ruhen (rest) = rest until you're fully recharged 🛋️
⚠ Separable: Ich ruhe mich aus.
fernsehen
[FAIRN-zay-en]to watch TV(sieht fern – hat ferngesehen)
📌 Abends sehe ich gern fern.
→ In the evening I like watching TV.
💡 fern (far) + sehen (see) = tele + vision, translated bit by bit 📺
⚠ Separable: Ich sehe fern. The fern goes to the end.
müde
[MUE-duh]tired(müde – müder – am müdesten)
📌 Ich bin heute sehr müde.
→ I'm very tired today.
💡 Say it slowly like a yawn: “müüüde” 🥱 You'll feel sleepy already.
Bonus The opposite is wach (awake): Ich bin noch wach.
schlafen
[SHLAH-fen]to sleep(schläft – hat geschlafen (irregular))
📌 Das Baby schläft schon.
→ The baby is already asleep.
💡 A cousin of English sleep 😴 Stretch the “shlaaa” like a lazy yawn.
⚠ The vowel changes: du schläfst, er schläft.
einschlafen
[INE-shlah-fen]to fall asleep(schläft ein – schlief ein – ist eingeschlafen)
📌 Ich bin beim Film eingeschlafen.
→ I fell asleep during the film.
💡 ein (into) + schlafen = to slip into sleep 💤 Like halfway through a film.
⚠ Perfect with sein: Ich bin eingeschlafen.
träumen
[TROY-men]to dream(träumt – hat geträumt)
📌 Ich habe von dir geträumt.
→ I dreamed about you.
💡 From der Traum (dream) — Traum and dream sound alike 💭
Bonus Dreaming about someone: Ich habe von dir geträumt.
schnarchen
[SHNAR-khen]to snore(schnarcht – hat geschnarcht)
📌 Mein Mann schnarcht so laut, dass ich nicht schlafen kann.
→ My husband snores so loudly that I can't sleep.
💡 Say it with a rumble — it sounds just like snoring 🐻
Bonus The morning complaint: Du hast die ganze Nacht geschnarcht!
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
For many Germans, Feierabend is almost sacred. Once work is over, people often ignore work emails and keep the evening for family, friends or hobbies.
A traditional German evening meal is Abendbrot: bread with cheese and cold meats rather than a hot dish. Plenty of families still eat a big lunch and a light supper.
If you live in a flat, keep the noise down from around 10 pm. Many buildings' house rules (Hausordnung) mention quiet hours at night (Nachtruhe). 🤫
✅ Quick quiz
Q. A colleague is leaving the office for the day. What do you say?
- ① Ich bin eingeschlafen.
- ② Schönen Feierabend!
- ③ Ich sehe fern.
Show the answer
② Schönen Feierabend!
Schönen Feierabend! = Enjoy your evening! It's what you say to someone finishing work.
Before bed tonight, describe your evening in three German sentences, out loud. Schlaf gut! 😴
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🧹 Housework