Today's words · 💇 Hair salon
10 German words to say before the scissors come out
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Most bad haircuts in Germany aren't the scissors' fault — they're a vocabulary problem.
Three months in Germany and your fringe is poking you in the eye. You walk into the local salon and the hairdresser smiles: „Was darf's denn sein?“ Your mind goes blank, and you end up miming scissors with your fingers.
So today we've got ten words you really need at the hairdresser's. With them you can book, say how much to cut, and ask for colour or a blow-dry. Time to swap the hand signals for words! 💇
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Friseur
[free-ZUR]hairdresser; hairdresser's(Pl. die Friseure (f: die Friseurin) · Swiss: der Coiffeur, die Coiffeuse)
📌 Ich habe morgen einen Termin beim Friseur.
→ I have an appointment at the hairdresser's tomorrow.
💡 From French friser, to curl ✂️ The person who curled your hair was the Friseur.
Bonus at the hairdresser's = beim Friseur · to go to the hairdresser's = zum Friseur gehen
das Haar
[HAAR]hair(Pl. die Haare)
📌 Ich möchte mir die Haare schneiden lassen.
→ I'd like to have my hair cut.
💡 Same root as English hair 💁 Drop the i and you're nearly there.
⚠ For the hair on your head, Germans usually use the plural die Haare: Meine Haare sind lang.
schneiden
[SHNY-den]to cut, slice(schneidet – hat geschnitten)
📌 Können Sie das Brot bitte schneiden?
→ Could you slice the bread, please?
💡 Hear the scissors going ‘shny-shny’ ✂️ Bread or hair, you schneiden it.
Bonus At the salon, add lassen: Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden. = I'm having my hair cut.
⚠ Irregular past participle: hat geschnitten
der Haarschnitt
[HAAR-shnit]haircut(Pl. die Haarschnitte)
📌 Was kostet ein Haarschnitt bei Ihnen?
→ How much is a haircut here?
💡 Haar (hair) + Schnitt (cut) = haircut 💈 Schnitt comes straight from schneiden.
die Frisur
[free-ZOOR]hairstyle, haircut(Pl. die Frisuren)
📌 Deine neue Frisur steht dir gut!
→ Your new hairstyle really suits you!
💡 The Friseur makes it, the Frisur is the result 💇♀️ Person -eur, product -ur!
Bonus A nice compliment: Die Frisur steht dir gut! = That hairstyle suits you!
kurz
[KOORTS]short(kurz – kürzer – am kürzesten)
📌 Bitte nur ein bisschen kürzer.
→ Just a little shorter, please.
💡 A cousin of English curt — short and to the point 📏
Bonus ‘Just a little shorter’ = Ein bisschen kürzer, bitte.
föhnen
[FUR-nen]to blow-dry(föhnt – hat geföhnt)
📌 Soll ich Ihre Haare föhnen?
→ Shall I blow-dry your hair?
💡 The Föhn is a warm Alpine wind — and Germans named the hairdryer after it 🌬️
Bonus The noun der Föhn = hairdryer
färben
[FAIR-ben]to dye, colour(färbt – hat gefärbt)
📌 Ich möchte meine Haare braun färben.
→ I'd like to dye my hair brown.
💡 die Farbe (colour) → färben (to colour) 🎨 Add two dots and it becomes a verb.
Bonus Ich möchte meine Haare blond färben lassen. = I'd like to have my hair dyed blonde.
der Pony
[PON-ee]fringe, bangs(Pl. die Ponys)
📌 Kannst du mir den Pony schneiden?
→ Can you cut my fringe?
💡 Like a pony's forelock flopping over its forehead 🐴
⚠ der Pony = fringe, das Pony = pony. One article changes everything.
lockig
[LOCK-ish]curly📌 Sie hat lange, lockige Haare.
→ She has long, curly hair.
💡 die Locke (curl) + -ig 🌀 It's the lock in ‘a lock of hair’.
Bonus Opposite: glatt = straight
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
In Germany you normally book an appointment (Termin) at the hairdresser's. Online booking is common now, but many small local salons still prefer a phone call. Some chains also take walk-ins.
On price lists you'll often see Waschen, Schneiden, Föhnen — wash, cut and blow-dry as a package. Prices often depend on hair length, so they may ask whether it's kurz or lang first.
Tipping isn't required, but if you're happy, rounding up a little is common. And traditionally many salons are closed on Mondays, so check before you go! 💈
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You only want your fringe trimmed. What do you say?
- ① Bitte die Haare blond färben.
- ② Können Sie mir den Pony schneiden?
- ③ Soll ich Ihre Haare föhnen?
Show the answer
② Können Sie mir den Pony schneiden?
der Pony is the fringe and schneiden means to cut, so this asks ‘Could you cut my fringe?’
Say „Bitte nur ein bisschen kürzer“ three times to the mirror. Next salon visit: no miming allowed! ✂️
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 👔 Laundry & alterations