Today's words · 🧠 Personality
Beyond ‘nett’: 10 German words for personality
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If ‘nett’ is the only word you use to describe people, today is your upgrade.
You've made a new friend at your language school. Someone asks, ‘Wie ist sie denn so?’ — what's she like? — and all you can think of is nett. But she's hard-working, a bit shy and really funny.
Today's ten words describe personality. Use them to introduce friends, talk about yourself, or answer that classic job interview question about what kind of person you are. 🧠
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Charakter
[ka-RAK-ter]character; nature; (in a story) character(Pl. die Charaktere)
📌 Sie hat einen starken Charakter.
→ She has a strong character.
💡 The Ch sounds like K 🎭 Just like English character.
⚠ The stress moves in the plural: die Charaktere (ka-rak-TAIR-uh).
nett
[NET]nice, kind(nett – netter – am nettesten)
📌 Das ist sehr nett von Ihnen.
→ That's very kind of you.
💡 From the same root as English neat 😊 Short, neat and kind.
Bonus Das ist nett von Ihnen! = That's kind of you!
freundlich
[FROYNT-likh]friendly, kind(freundlich – freundlicher – am freundlichsten)
📌 Die Verkäuferin war sehr freundlich.
→ The shop assistant was very friendly.
💡 Freund (friend) + -lich = friend-like 🤝 The perfect word for helpful shop staff.
Bonus The opposite: unfreundlich = unfriendly
lustig
[LOOS-tikh]funny, amusing(lustig – lustiger – am lustigsten)
📌 Der Film war sehr lustig.
→ The film was really funny.
💡 Lust (fun, pleasure) + -ig = full of fun 😂
⚠ False friend: lustig = funny, not ‘lusty’.
ehrlich
[AIR-likh]honest, sincere(ehrlicher – am ehrlichsten)
📌 Sei ehrlich: Wie findest du mein Kleid?
→ Be honest: what do you think of my dress?
💡 Ehre (honour) + -lich = honourable, so honest 🙋
Bonus Ehrlich gesagt, … = To be honest, …
fleißig
[FLY-sikh]hard-working, diligent(fleißig – fleißiger – am fleißigsten)
📌 Sie ist eine fleißige Studentin.
→ She's a hard-working student.
💡 Picture a busy bee flying around: FLY-sikh 🐝
Bonus Its opposite is the next word: faul.
faul
[FOWL]lazy; rotten(faul – fauler – am faulsten)
📌 Am Sonntag bin ich gern faul.
→ On Sundays I like being lazy.
💡 Sounds like foul — same root! A lazy person lying on the sofa 🛋️
Bonus It also means rotten: Der Apfel ist faul.
schüchtern
[SHÜKH-tern]shy📌 Als Kind war ich sehr schüchtern.
→ As a child I was very shy.
💡 Shh… the shy person wants to stay quiet 🙈
Bonus Similar: zurückhaltend = reserved
geduldig
[guh-DOOL-dikh]patient(geduldig – geduldiger – am geduldigsten)
📌 Sie ist eine sehr geduldige Lehrerin.
→ She is a very patient teacher.
💡 Geduld (patience) + -ig 🐢 Slow and steady.
Bonus The opposite: ungeduldig = impatient
großzügig
[GROHS-tsü-gikh]generous; spacious(großzügig – großzügiger – am großzügigsten)
📌 Das ist sehr großzügig von dir.
→ That's very generous of you.
💡 groß (big) + Zug (trait) = big-hearted 🎁
Bonus The opposite: geizig = stingy
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
Honesty (Ehrlichkeit) is highly valued in Germany. Many people will tell you straight out that your idea or your outfit doesn't work. It's usually meant as help, not as rudeness.
Watch out for nett, though. If a friend says of a date, ‘Er ist ganz nett,’ it often means he was fine — but nothing special. Listen to the tone as much as the word.
And if Germans seem a little reserved at first, don't be discouraged. Friendships often take time to build, but people say they tend to last once they do. 🤝
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Your friend has just paid for everyone's dinner. What do you say?
- ① Du bist so großzügig!
- ② Du bist so faul!
- ③ Du bist so schüchtern!
Show the answer
① Du bist so großzügig!
großzügig = generous, which is exactly what your friend was.
Pick three words from today and describe yourself out loud: ‘Ich bin … und …, aber manchmal ein bisschen …’ 😄
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🪞 Appearance