A1–A2 Vocabulary
Christmas is the best season to learn German. The words are everywhere: on market stalls, in shop windows, on cards and in the songs you already half know. In this lesson you’ll learn the German Christmas words you actually need, with their articles, the greetings Germans really use, the vocabulary of a Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market), and how to write a short Christmas card in German.
Quick answer
“Merry Christmas” in German is Frohe Weihnachten. Christmas is (das) Weihnachten, the Christmas tree is der Weihnachtsbaum, a present is das Geschenk and Christmas Eve is der Heiligabend. In Germany, presents are usually opened on the evening of 24 December, not on the 25th.
Tip: Learn every noun with its article (der, die, das). Tap the speaker buttons to hear the words, and say them aloud before you listen.
Christmas Greetings
These are the greetings you’ll hear and read from late November to early January. Start with the first two: they cover almost every situation.
| German | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Frohe Weihnachten! | Merry Christmas! | Everyone, any situation |
| Schöne Feiertage! | Happy holidays! | Work, shops, people you don’t know well |
| Frohes Fest! | Happy festival! | Friendly and short, very common |
| Fröhliche Weihnachten! | Merry Christmas! | A little more traditional, also in songs |
| Schönen Advent! | Have a nice Advent! | The four weeks before Christmas |
| Einen guten Rutsch! | Happy New Year! (literally “a good slide”) | The days before 31 December |
| Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr! | Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! | Cards and emails |
If someone wishes you Frohe Weihnachten, simply answer Danke, dir auch! (thanks, you too) or, more formally, Danke, Ihnen auch!. For more ways to say thank you, see Danke schön, Dankeschön or Danke sehr.
Festive Vocabulary
Here is the core list, grouped so it’s easier to remember. Notice how many words are built on Weihnacht- (Christmas): once you know it, you can decode dozens of compound words.
Days and dates
| German | English |
|---|---|
| das Weihnachten | Christmas (usually used without an article) |
| die Adventszeit | the Advent season |
| der Nikolaustag | St Nicholas’ Day, 6 December |
| der Heiligabend | Christmas Eve, 24 December |
| der erste Weihnachtsfeiertag | Christmas Day, 25 December |
| der zweite Weihnachtsfeiertag | Boxing Day / St Stephen’s Day, 26 December |
| die Feiertage | the holidays |
| Silvester | New Year’s Eve, 31 December |
At home
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Weihnachtsbaum / der Tannenbaum | Christmas tree / fir tree |
| die Christbaumkugel | Christmas bauble |
| die Lichterkette | string of fairy lights |
| der Adventskranz | Advent wreath (with four candles) |
| der Adventskalender | Advent calendar |
| die Kerze | candle |
| der Stern | star |
| der Engel | angel |
| die Krippe | nativity scene |
| das Geschenk | present, gift |
| das Geschenkpapier | wrapping paper |
| die Bescherung | the moment presents are given out |
| das Weihnachtslied | Christmas carol |
People and figures
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Weihnachtsmann | Father Christmas, Santa |
| das Christkind | the Christ Child, who brings presents in many southern regions |
| der Nikolaus | St Nicholas |
| das Rentier | reindeer |
| der Schneemann | snowman |
Winter weather
der Schnee (snow), es schneit (it’s snowing), kalt (cold), der Winter (winter), die Mütze (woolly hat), der Schal (scarf), die Handschuhe (gloves).
How to make these words stick
Memory works best when words are tied to a scene. Instead of drilling the list, picture one room: der Weihnachtsbaum in the corner, die Lichterkette on it, die Geschenke under it, der Adventskranz on the table. Walk through that room in your head once a day this week. That’s the “memory palace” technique, and it works especially well with vocabulary that belongs together.
German Christmas Traditions in Ten Words
Knowing the traditions makes the vocabulary meaningful:
- Advent: on each of the four Sundays before Christmas, one more candle on the Adventskranz is lit. Children open one door of the Adventskalender every day from 1 December.
- Nikolaustag (6 December): children put a boot (der Stiefel) outside the door the night before and find sweets in it in the morning.
- Heiligabend (24 December): the main celebration. Many families decorate the tree that day, go to church, eat a simple dinner (sausages and potato salad are a classic) and open presents in the evening during the Bescherung.
- 25 and 26 December: both are public holidays, with family visits and a big lunch, often goose (die Gans).
- Who brings the presents? In the north it’s usually der Weihnachtsmann; in the south, Austria and parts of Switzerland it’s traditionally das Christkind.
Christmas Market Words
The Weihnachtsmarkt (also Christkindlmarkt in Bavaria and Austria) is where you’ll use your German most. These are the words on the stalls:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Glühwein | mulled wine |
| der Kinderpunsch | alcohol-free hot fruit punch |
| die Tasse | mug |
| das Pfand | deposit (paid on the mug, returned when you bring it back) |
| die Bratwurst | grilled sausage |
| die gebrannten Mandeln | roasted sugared almonds |
| der Lebkuchen | gingerbread |
| das Lebkuchenherz | gingerbread heart |
| der Stollen | Christmas fruit bread |
| die Plätzchen | Christmas cookies |
| die Bude / der Stand | market stall |
Useful sentences at the market
- Einen Glühwein, bitte. (One mulled wine, please.)
- Wie viel kostet das? (How much is that?)
- Ist das mit Pfand? (Is there a deposit?)
- Ich möchte die Tasse zurückgeben. (I’d like to return the mug.)
- Mit Schuss, bitte. (With an extra shot, please: a splash of rum or amaretto.)
Prices are said like this: drei Euro fünfzig (3.50 €). If numbers still slow you down, the 100 most common German words lesson covers the basics.
Writing a Card
A German Christmas card (die Weihnachtskarte) is short and warm. Use this simple structure:
- Greeting: Liebe Anna, (to a woman) / Lieber Tom, (to a man) / Liebe Familie Müller,
- The wish: ich wünsche dir frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr!
- A personal line: Ich hoffe, wir sehen uns bald. (I hope we see each other soon.)
- Closing: Viele Grüße or Liebe Grüße, then your name.
Ready-made card messages
- Frohe Weihnachten und alles Gute für das neue Jahr! (Merry Christmas and all the best for the new year!)
- Ich wünsche dir besinnliche Feiertage. (I wish you peaceful, reflective holidays.)
- Genieß die Feiertage mit deiner Familie! (Enjoy the holidays with your family!)
- Formal, for colleagues: Wir wünschen Ihnen frohe Weihnachten und ein erfolgreiches neues Jahr. (We wish you a merry Christmas and a successful new year.)
du or Sie? Use dir and dein for friends and family, Ihnen and Ihr for colleagues, clients and people you’d normally call Sie.
Christmas Food and Baking
Ask any German what Christmas smells like and the answer will be cinnamon, butter and roasted almonds. Baking cookies together in Advent is a real tradition, and many families have their own recipe book that comes out once a year. These are the words you’ll hear in the kitchen and see in every bakery window:
| German | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Plätzchen backen | to bake Christmas cookies | A favourite Advent weekend activity |
| die Zimtsterne | cinnamon stars | Star-shaped, with white icing |
| die Vanillekipferl | vanilla crescents | Especially popular in Austria and Bavaria |
| der Spekulatius | spiced shortcrust biscuits | The supermarkets stock them from September |
| die Gans / der Gänsebraten | goose / roast goose | Classic lunch on 25 December |
| der Rotkohl | red cabbage | Called Blaukraut in the south |
| die Klöße | potato dumplings | Knödel in Bavaria and Austria |
| Würstchen mit Kartoffelsalat | sausages with potato salad | The simple, traditional Christmas Eve dinner in many homes |
One thing that surprises visitors: the big Christmas dinner is often not on Christmas Eve. On the 24th, many families keep it simple so there’s more time for the tree and the presents. The feast comes on the 25th.
German Christmas Songs
Christmas carols are a gentle way to practise pronunciation, because you can sing along slowly and the words repeat. You probably know some of these melodies already, just in English:
- O Tannenbaum: “O Christmas Tree”. It’s about the fir tree that stays green all winter.
- Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht: “Silent Night”. It was first performed in Austria in 1818.
- Kling, Glöckchen: a children’s song about a little bell. Das Glöckchen is “the little bell”; the -chen ending makes things small and cute.
- Alle Jahre wieder: “Every year again”, a very simple song that’s perfect for beginners.
- Leise rieselt der Schnee: “Softly falls the snow”. Great for practising the German ie and ei sounds.
Try this: Pick one song, look up the lyrics on a German site, and read them aloud once before you listen. Then sing along twice. You’ll pick up words like Schnee, Nacht and Baum without even trying.
Common Mistakes
These are the slips I see most often from learners at Christmas time, and they’re all easy to fix:
- “Fröhliches Weihnachten”: wrong ending. It’s Frohe Weihnachten or Fröhliche Weihnachten, because the greeting treats Weihnachten like a plural.
- Confusing Nikolaus and the Weihnachtsmann. St Nicholas comes on 6 December with small treats in your boot. The Weihnachtsmann (or the Christkind) brings the real presents on the 24th.
- Saying “Guten Rutsch” too early. It’s a New Year wish. Use it after Christmas, roughly from the 27th, or when you won’t see someone again before New Year’s Eve.
- Forgetting the article. Geschenk alone isn’t enough to use it correctly. Learn das Geschenk, die Geschenke together.
A Short Dialogue at the Christmas Market
Read it aloud first, then check the English. It uses many of the words from this lesson.
Lisa: Schau mal, da gibt es Glühwein! Möchtest du auch einen?Lisa: Look, there’s mulled wine! Would you like one too?
Ben: Lieber einen Kinderpunsch. Ich muss noch fahren.Ben: I’d rather have a fruit punch. I still have to drive.
Lisa: Gute Idee. Zwei Tassen, bitte: einen Glühwein und einen Kinderpunsch.Lisa: Good idea. Two mugs, please: one mulled wine and one fruit punch.
Verkäufer: Das macht neun Euro, mit Pfand.Seller: That’s nine euros, including the deposit.
Ben: Und danach kaufen wir gebrannte Mandeln, okay?Ben: And afterwards we’ll buy roasted almonds, okay?
Quiz
1. What do Germans say for “Merry Christmas”?
Frohe Weihnachten!
2. When do most German families open their presents?
On the evening of 24 December (Heiligabend), during the Bescherung.
3. What is “der Adventskranz”?
The Advent wreath with four candles, one lit on each Sunday of Advent.
4. At the market, you pay “Pfand”. What for?
A deposit on the mug. You get it back when you return the mug.
5. Article check: ___ Geschenk, ___ Kerze, ___ Weihnachtsbaum
das Geschenk, die Kerze, der Weihnachtsbaum
FAQs
How do you say Merry Christmas in German?
Frohe Weihnachten. You can also say Frohes Fest, Fröhliche Weihnachten or, in a work context, Schöne Feiertage.
Is Weihnachten der, die or das?
It’s normally used without an article: “Weihnachten ist bald.” When an article is used, it’s das Weihnachten, though in greetings it behaves like a plural (Frohe Weihnachten).
What is the German word for Christmas Eve?
Heiligabend (or Heiliger Abend), on 24 December. It’s the main day of the German Christmas celebration.
Who brings presents in Germany: Santa or the Christkind?
Both, depending on the region. The Weihnachtsmann is more common in the north and east, the Christkind in the south, Austria and parts of Switzerland.
What does “Guten Rutsch” mean?
It’s a New Year wish, literally “a good slide” into the new year. People say it in the days before 31 December.
Conclusion
With Frohe Weihnachten, Schöne Feiertage and the core words above (der Weihnachtsbaum, das Geschenk, der Adventskranz, der Glühwein) you’re ready for a German Christmas, whether that’s a market visit, a card or a conversation with colleagues. For more everyday expressions, browse the German phrases guide, or build your word bank topic by topic in the German vocabulary hub.
Sources and further reading: DWDS dictionary for articles and meanings and Christmas in Germany on Wikipedia.
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