Today's words · 🏫 School life
Back to school: 10 German classroom words
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Whether it's a parents' evening or your first day at language school, these words make the classroom less scary.
The neighbours' little girl walks to school hugging a huge cone full of sweets. Her mum chats to me about the timetable and homework, and I follow about half. In my own German class, the teacher says “Schreibt das von der Tafel ab!” and my mind goes blank.
Today's ten words are the ones you hear in school every single day. With them you can follow your child's school news and your own language course much more easily. 🏫
📋 The ten words at a glance
- die Schule — school
- der Lehrer — teacher
- der Schüler — pupil, (school) student
- die Klasse — class; grade, year; class, category
- der Unterricht — lessons, classes, teaching
- die Hausaufgabe — homework
- der Stundenplan — timetable, schedule
- das Fach — subject; compartment
- die Tafel — blackboard, board; panel; bar (of chocolate)
- die Ferien — (school) holidays, vacation
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
die Schule
[SHOO-luh]school(Pl. die Schulen)
📌 Die Kinder gehen um acht Uhr in die Schule.
→ The children go to school at eight o'clock.
💡 English school with an -e on the end 🏫 to go to school = in die Schule gehen
Bonus primary school: die Grundschule · language school: die Sprachschule
der Lehrer
[LAY-rer]teacher(Pl. die Lehrer (f: die Lehrerin))
📌 Unsere Lehrerin erklärt sehr gut.
→ Our teacher explains things really well.
💡 lehren (to teach) + -er = the one who teaches 👩🏫 A cousin of lernen and English learn.
der Schüler
[SHUE-ler]pupil, (school) student(Pl. die Schüler (f: die Schülerin))
📌 Die Schüler haben heute frei.
→ The pupils have the day off today.
💡 Schule + -er = someone who goes to school 🎒 For ü, say ‘ee’ with rounded lips.
⚠ University students are Studenten, not Schüler.
die Klasse
[KLAS-suh]class; grade, year; class, category(Pl. die Klassen)
📌 Meine Tochter ist in der dritten Klasse.
→ My daughter is in third grade.
💡 Class, school year — and “Klasse!” means ‘Great!’ 👍
Bonus What year are you in? = In welcher Klasse bist du?
der Unterricht
[OON-ter-risht]lessons, classes, teaching((pl. rare))
📌 Der Unterricht beginnt um 9 Uhr.
→ Lessons start at 9 o'clock.
💡 From unterrichten (to teach) — the time when someone teaches you 📚
Bonus The verb: unterrichten = to teach
die Hausaufgabe
[HOWSS-owf-gah-buh]homework(Pl. die Hausaufgaben)
📌 Hast du deine Hausaufgaben gemacht?
→ Have you done your homework?
💡 Haus (house) + Aufgabe (task) = the task you take home 📝 Ends in -e, so die.
⚠ Usually plural: Hausaufgaben machen (to do homework)
der Stundenplan
[SHTOON-den-plahn]timetable, schedule(Pl. die Stundenpläne)
📌 Laut Stundenplan habe ich montags sechs Stunden.
→ According to my timetable I have six lessons on Mondays.
💡 Stunde (lesson) + Plan = a plan of your lessons 🗓️
Bonus At school, die Stunde means a lesson or period, not just an hour.
das Fach
[FAKH]subject; compartment(Pl. die Fächer)
📌 Mein Lieblingsfach ist Mathe.
→ My favorite subject is math.
💡 It first meant a compartment 🗄️ Subjects are knowledge in little boxes!
Bonus favourite subject = das Lieblingsfach
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Fächer
die Tafel
[TAH-fel]blackboard, board; panel; bar (of chocolate)(Pl. die Tafeln)
📌 Der Lehrer schreibt an die Tafel.
→ The teacher writes on the board.
💡 From Latin tabula, like English table 🧑🏫 Any flat board is a Tafel.
Bonus a bar of chocolate = eine Tafel Schokolade
die Ferien
[FAIR-ee-en](school) holidays, vacation((plural only))
📌 In den Ferien fahren wir nach Spanien.
→ We're going to Spain in the holidays.
💡 From Latin for feast days 🏖️ The holidays are always a party!
⚠ Plural only: die Ferien. A worker's holiday is der Urlaub.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
On their first day of primary school, German children get a Schultüte: a big paper cone filled with sweets and school things. For many kids it's as exciting as a birthday. 🎒
Grades go from 1 to 6, and 1 is the best. So if a German child proudly says they got a 1, that's top marks, not a disaster.
School holiday dates depend on the federal state (Bundesland). Summer holidays are staggered between states, partly so that not everyone hits the motorway at once. If you're planning a trip, check the local Ferien dates first.
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You want to ask your child if they've done their homework. What do you say?
- ① Die Ferien beginnen morgen.
- ② Der Lehrer schreibt an die Tafel.
- ③ Hast du deine Hausaufgaben gemacht?
Show the answer
③ Hast du deine Hausaufgaben gemacht?
Hast du deine Hausaufgaben gemacht? = Have you done your homework? Hausaufgaben is usually plural.
Say your own timetable out loud in German today. Start with Am Montag habe ich… 📚
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🎓 University life