Learning German clothing vocabulary is a great starting point for beginners, whether you’re shopping, describing outfits, or getting ready for a trip. Knowing these key terms will help you feel more confident in everyday conversations.
In this article, we’ve put together a list of essential clothing words, complete with example sentences so you can see how they’re used in context. Plus, we’ve included a free quiz and short stories at different levels to help you practice and reinforce what you’ve learned.
| German (with Article) | English |
|---|---|
| der Anzug | the suit |
| der Badeanzug | the swimsuit |
| die Badehose | the swimming trunks |
| der Bikini | the bikini |
| die Bluse | the blouse |
| die Brille | the glasses |
| der Handschuh | the glove |
| das Hemd | the shirt |
| die Hose | the trousers |
| der Hut | the hat |
| die Jacke | the jacket |
| das Kleid | the dress |
| der Mantel | the coat |
| die Mütze | the cap |
| der Pullover | the sweater |
| der Rock | the skirt |
| der Schal | the scarf |
| die Schuhe | the shoes |
| die Socke | the sock |
| die Sonnenbrille | the sunglasses |
| das T-Shirt | the T-shirt |
| die Unterwäsche | the underwear |
| Vocabulary | German Example | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| der Anzug | Tom kauft den schwarzen Anzug. | Tom buys the black suit. |
| der Badeanzug | Tina trägt ihren neuen Badeanzug am Strand. | Tina wears her new swimsuit at the beach. |
| die Brille | Peter braucht eine Brille zum Lesen. | Peter needs glasses to read. |
| das Kleid | Laura trägt heute ein blaues Kleid. | Laura is wearing a blue dress today. |
| der Mantel | Im Winter brauche ich meinen dicken Mantel. | I need my thick coat in winter. |
*Note: Always pay attention to the gender of the noun (der, die, das) when forming sentences.
It is essential for daily life—from shopping in a department store to describing what someone was wearing in a conversation.
Label the clothes in your own closet with sticky notes. Seeing the word "der Pullover" every time you get dressed creates a visual anchor.