Today's words · 📡 TV & broadcasting
Remote in hand: 10 German words for TV
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They say leaving German TV on trains your ear — but first you need the words for the TV itself.
In my first months in Germany I had the TV on every evening while I studied. When the news presenter said ‘Guten Abend, meine Damen und Herren’, I'd repeat it without thinking. But when my flatmate asked ‘Auf welchem Sender läuft das Spiel?’, I had no idea how to answer.
Today's ten words are about TV and broadcasting. With them you can talk about what you watch, find the right channel and win the battle for the remote. 📺
📋 The ten words at a glance
- fernsehen — to watch TV
- der Fernseher — television (set), TV
- das Programm — program; schedule, agenda
- die Sendung — program, broadcast; shipment, consignment
- der Sender — broadcaster, (TV/radio) channel; sender
- der Moderator — presenter, host, moderator
- der Zuschauer — spectator; viewer
- die Fernbedienung — remote control
- live — live
- übertragen — to broadcast; to transfer; to transmit (disease)
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
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 (to see) = seeing far away 📺 A word-for-word translation of tele-vision!
⚠ Separable: Ich sehe fern. · perfect: hat ferngesehen
der Fernseher
[FAIRN-zay-er]television (set), TV(Pl. die Fernseher)
📌 Der Fernseher ist zu laut.
→ The TV is too loud.
💡 fernsehen + -er = the far-seeing machine 🖥️ Machines ending in -er are usually der.
⚠ The set is der Fernseher; watching TV is fernsehen. Don't swap them!
das Programm
[pro-GRAHM]program; schedule, agenda(Pl. die Programme)
📌 Was steht heute auf dem Programm?
→ What's on the agenda today?
💡 English programme with a German double m 📋 The TV schedule and today's plan are both Programm.
Bonus Was steht heute auf dem Programm? = What's the plan for today?
die Sendung
[ZEN-doong]program, broadcast; shipment, consignment(Pl. die Sendungen)
📌 Diese Sendung läuft jeden Sonntag um acht Uhr.
→ This program is on every Sunday at eight.
💡 senden (to send) + -ung = something sent over the air 📡 -ung, so die!
Bonus A parcel shipment is also a Sendung — you'll see it in tracking emails.
der Sender
[ZEN-der]broadcaster, (TV/radio) channel; sender(Pl. die Sender)
📌 Auf welchem Sender läuft das Spiel?
→ Which channel is the game on?
💡 senden + -er = the one that sends 📡 A broadcaster or a channel: der Sender.
Bonus Auf welchem Sender läuft das? = What channel is it on?
der Moderator
[mo-deh-RAH-tor]presenter, host, moderator(Pl. die Moderatoren (f: die Moderatorin))
📌 Der Moderator begrüßt die Gäste der Show.
→ The presenter welcomes the guests on the show.
💡 The person who keeps the show moderate and on track 🎤 the presenter.
Bonus A female presenter is die Moderatorin · to present = moderieren
der Zuschauer
[TSOO-show-er]spectator; viewer(Pl. die Zuschauer (f: die Zuschauerin))
📌 Im Stadion waren 50.000 Zuschauer.
→ There were 50,000 spectators in the stadium.
💡 zu + schauen (to look) + -er = someone watching 👀 Stadium crowds and TV viewers alike.
Bonus A listener is der Zuhörer; the whole audience is das Publikum.
die Fernbedienung
[FAIRN-buh-dee-noong]remote control(Pl. die Fernbedienungen)
📌 Wo ist schon wieder die Fernbedienung?
→ Where's the remote gone this time?
💡 fern (remote) + Bedienung (operation) = remote control 🎮 The thing that's always missing.
Bonus Wo ist schon wieder die Fernbedienung? = Where's the remote gone again?
live
[LIVE]live📌 Das Fußballspiel wird heute live im Fernsehen übertragen.
→ The football match is being shown live on TV today.
💡 Exactly like English live — rhymes with five 🔴
Bonus a live broadcast = die Livesendung
übertragen
[ü-ber-TRAH-gen]to broadcast; to transfer; to transmit (disease)(überträgt – übertrug – hat übertragen)
📌 Das Konzert wird live im Radio übertragen.
→ The concert is being broadcast live on the radio.
💡 über (across) + tragen (to carry) = to carry it far away 📡 to broadcast!
⚠ Not separable: Das Spiel wird live übertragen.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
One of Germany's oldest evening habits is the 8 pm news, the ‘Tagesschau’. It has been on at the same time for decades, so in many homes eight o'clock simply means news time.
On Sunday evenings lots of people watch the crime series ‘Tatort’. Each city has its own detectives, and friends often watch together at home or even in a pub.
And in Germany each household usually pays a broadcasting contribution (Rundfunkbeitrag) for public TV and radio — often even without owning a TV. After you move, the letter will find you. 📬
✅ Quick quiz
Q. You want to change the channel, but you can't see the remote. What do you ask your flatmate?
- ① Auf welchem Sender läuft das?
- ② Der Fernseher ist zu laut.
- ③ Wo ist die Fernbedienung?
Show the answer
③ Wo ist die Fernbedienung?
die Fernbedienung is the remote, so you're asking where it is.
Tonight, put the German news on for five minutes and count the words you know. Sendung, Moderator, live… how many can you catch? 📺
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🍿 Streaming