Today's words · 🌌 Sky & space
Look up! 10 German words for the sky and space
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Once you can talk about the sky in German, every evening walk gets a little more romantic.
You're lying on the grass in the park on a summer night and your friend says, ‘Schau mal, die Sterne!’ You want to say the moon looks huge — but is it der or die?
Here are ten words about the sky and outer space. From weather chat to stargazing to space news, you'll be able to enjoy it all in German. 🌌
📋 The ten words at a glance
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
der Himmel
[HIM-el]sky; heaven(Pl. die Himmel)
📌 Der Himmel ist heute blau.
→ The sky is blue today.
💡 Sky and heaven in one word ☁️ Heaven is up in the sky, after all!
Bonus ‘For heaven's sake!’ = Um Himmels willen!
die Sonne
[ZON-uh]sun; sunshine(Pl. die Sonnen)
📌 Heute scheint die Sonne.
→ The sun is shining today.
💡 Same root as English sun ☀️ In German the sun is feminine: die Sonne.
⚠ die Sonne but der Mond — the opposite of French and Spanish.
der Mond
[MOHNT]moon(Pl. die Monde)
📌 Heute ist Vollmond.
→ There's a full moon tonight.
💡 A cousin of English moon 🌙 And it's masculine: der Mond.
Bonus full moon = der Vollmond · Montag is ‘moon day’, just like Monday.
der Stern
[SHTERN]star(Pl. die Sterne)
📌 Nachts sieht man viele Sterne.
→ At night you can see lots of stars.
💡 Same root as English star ⭐ Remember: st at the start sounds like ‘sht’.
Bonus shooting star = die Sternschnuppe
die Erde
[AIR-duh]earth; ground; soil(Sg.)
📌 Die Erde dreht sich um die Sonne.
→ The earth revolves around the sun.
💡 English earth's sister 🌍 Planet, ground and soil — all Erde.
Bonus on Earth = auf der Erde
der Planet
[pla-NAYT]planet(Pl. die Planeten)
📌 Die Erde ist der dritte Planet von der Sonne aus.
→ The Earth is the third planet from the sun.
💡 Greek for ‘wanderer’ 🪐 Planets wander across the sky.
⚠ Weak noun: den/dem/des Planeten
der Weltraum
[VELT-rowm](outer) space(Sg.)
📌 Sie möchte später einmal in den Weltraum fliegen.
→ She would like to fly into space one day.
💡 Welt (world) + Raum (room, space) = the room the world sits in 🚀
Bonus space station = die Raumstation
der Astronaut
[as-troh-NOWT]astronaut(Pl. die Astronauten (f: die Astronautin))
📌 Der Astronaut verbrachte sechs Monate auf der Raumstation.
→ The astronaut spent six months on the space station.
💡 astron (star) + nautes (sailor) = a star sailor 👩🚀
⚠ Weak noun: den/dem/des Astronauten
die Rakete
[ra-KAY-tuh]rocket; missile(Pl. die Raketen)
📌 Die Rakete startete pünktlich um acht Uhr.
→ The rocket launched right on time at eight o'clock.
💡 From Italian for a small spool — same shape, right? 🚀
Bonus The rocket launches = Die Rakete startet.
der Satellit
[zat-el-EET]satellite(Pl. die Satelliten)
📌 Das Wetter wird mithilfe von Satelliten vorhergesagt.
→ The weather is forecast with the help of satellites.
💡 Latin satelles = bodyguard, circling close to its planet 🛰️
⚠ Weak noun: den/dem/des Satelliten
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
The sky is hidden in German weekday names too. Sonntag is ‘sun day’ and Montag is ‘moon day’ — the same idea as Sunday and Monday.
Many German cities have an observatory (Sternwarte) or a planetarium. And Darmstadt is home to the European Space Agency's mission control centre, so the city often pops up in space news.
In August, lots of people head out of town to watch the Perseid meteor shower. When you see a shooting star, say ‘Wünsch dir was!’ (Make a wish!) 🌠
✅ Quick quiz
Q. The news says an astronaut is heading to the space station. Which sentence is right?
- ① Der Satellit fliegt um die Erde.
- ② Der Astronaut fliegt auf den Mond.
- ③ Der Astronaut fliegt in den Weltraum.
Show the answer
③ Der Astronaut fliegt in den Weltraum.
To go into space is in den Weltraum fliegen, and Astronaut is masculine: der.
Look out of the window tonight and say ‘der Mond, die Sonne, die Sterne’ out loud — articles included! 🌙
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🏞️ Landscapes