Disculpe, ¿es usted alemán?
Excuse me, are you German?
He isn't sure, so he asks politely with usted, and alemán is the word that tells where someone comes from.
From Suits · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "German" in Spanish
alemán
adjective and nounfeminine: alemanaplural: alemaneslowercase
"German" in Spanish is alemán for a man and alemana for a woman. The language has the same name: el alemán. Spanish writes nationalities and languages in lowercase, so it's Soy alemán and Hablo alemán.
Hear "alemán" in real movie scenes
A polite question and a passport check. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Suby Hartwell, alemana.
Suby Hartwell, German.
At a passport desk the nationality comes right after the name, and because this is a woman, alemán becomes alemana and drops its accent.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Alemán: four forms and a language
One word covers the people, the adjective and the language.
| Form | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| alemán | a German man, or a masculine noun | un coche alemán (a German car) |
| alemana | a German woman, or a feminine noun | una ciudad alemana (a German city) |
| alemanes | German men, or a mixed group | Son alemanes. (They're German.) |
| alemanas | German women | Somos alemanas. (We're German.) |
| el alemán | the German language | Estudio alemán. (I'm studying German.) |
Tip: Only alemán carries a written accent. Add an ending and the stress stays on MA, so alemana and alemanes don't need one.
Grammar: alemán, alemana, alemanes
Four rules for the nationality and the language.
Lowercase
Write Soy alemán, not Soy Alemán. The language is lowercase too: el alemán.The accent comes and goes
alemán has a written accent. alemana, alemanes and alemanas don't.Speaking the language
After hablar, drop the article: Hablo alemán. When the language is the subject, keep it: El alemán es difícil.After the noun
As an adjective it follows the noun and agrees with it: un coche alemán, una ciudad alemana.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Soy alemán.
I'm German.
Soy alemana.
I'm German. (said by a woman)
Hablo un poco de alemán.
I speak a little German.
Estudio alemán.
I'm studying German.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Soy Alemán
✓Soy alemán
Nationalities take a small letter in Spanish.
✗alemána
✓alemana
The feminine form ends in a vowel with the stress on MA, so no accent is written.
✗Hablo el alemán
✓Hablo alemán
With hablar, people normally leave the article out.
Real conversation: where are you from?
A short dialog at a photo exhibition. Tap to listen.
At the opening of an international photo exhibition, you get talking with Pablo, the guest standing next to you.
¡Hola! Soy de Brasil.
Hi! I'm from Brazil.
¡Ah, brasileño!
Oh, Brazilian!
Sí. ¿Y tú? ¿Eres alemán?
Yes. And you? Are you German?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
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What do you hear in the video?
The other 31 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Alemán sounds a bit like "a lemon". Picture a German tourist holding up a lemon at a market stall and saying Soy alemán.
Questions about "German" in Spanish
How do you say German in Spanish?
Alemán for a man and for the language, alemana for a woman. Write both in lowercase.
How do you say "I speak German" in Spanish?
Hablo alemán, with no article. If you only know some, say Hablo un poco de alemán.
Is alemán capitalized in Spanish?
No. Nationalities and languages are lowercase: soy alemán, estudio alemán. Only the country name, Alemania, takes a capital.
What's the plural of alemán?
Alemanes for men or a mixed group, alemanas for women. Neither one has a written accent.
