German B2 Vocabulary List

Upper-Intermediate German words

Less common, more abstract vocabulary for news, essays and complex topics. · 2,844 words.

Study them as German flashcards & Anki decks by topic, see how to learn German vocabulary fast, or pick words up on YouTube with the dual-subtitle Chrome extension.

These are the words that come long after the basics. If the basics are what you actually need first, the free A1 course starts at the alphabet and is built around everyday life in Germany, Austria and Switzerland — no signup, no paywall.

All topicsSociety & Abstract 1203Work & Education 285Feelings & Character 274Communication & Media 198Everyday Actions 157Nature & Weather 144Body & Health 129Money & Shopping 92Leisure & Sport 85Travel & Transport 54Family & People 52City & Places 48Home & Household 47Food & Drink 29Time & Dates 24Clothing 23

2,844 B2 words

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Which of these B2 words do Germans actually say?

We analysed the subtitles of 192 real German videos — 4,575 lines of spontaneous speech — and cross-referenced every word on this list against them. Out of the 2844 B2 words, 113 (4%) were genuinely spoken. The most frequent is ermitteln, appearing in 6 out of the 192 videos. The list below arranges words by that count, so the ones you will meet first sit at the top. Click any word to view a line of real German speech and watch the moment it was spoken.

Corpus recorded on 2026-09-20. The “Heard in” column tallies how many videos feature the word, not how often it occurs inside them. A dash means that word never came up once.

German wordEnglish meaningHeard in
ermittelnto investigate6 of 192
der Ermittlerinvestigator6 of 192
das FrankreichFrance6 of 192
der Glaubebelief / faith6 of 192
die Thesethesis/argument6 of 192
die Regierunggovernment5 of 192
die Debattedebate4 of 192
die Empörungindignation / outrage / revolt / disgust4 of 192
bedrohtthreatened/endangered3 of 192
bergento rescue / recover3 of 192
das Budgetbudget3 of 192
das Verfahrenlegal procedure/proceedings3 of 192
der Angreiferattacker / aggressor2 of 192
die Anklageindictment/criminal charge2 of 192
der Betrugfraud/deception2 of 192
der BundestagFederal Parliament2 of 192
deutento interpret/indicate2 of 192
erschwerento make more difficult / impede / hamper2 of 192
die Evakuierungevacuation2 of 192
die Insolvenzinsolvency/bankruptcy2 of 192
der Luftangriffan air strike2 of 192
der Mitternachtmidnight2 of 192
die Tragödietragedy2 of 192
die Trockenheitdrought / aridity2 of 192
der Verdächtigea suspect2 of 192
der Verdächtigersuspect2 of 192
vorsorglichprecautionary / cautious2 of 192
die Waffeweapon2 of 192
wegfallento be omitted / cease to apply / be discontinued2 of 192
die Wiederwahlre-election2 of 192
die Abgeordnetemember of parliament1 of 192
der Absturzcrash / fall1 of 192
der Angeklagtethe accused / defendant1 of 192
der Angestellteemployee / office worker / white collar worker1 of 192
die Architekturarchitecture / structure1 of 192
die Arttype / kind / species / style1 of 192
der Asylbewerberasylum seeker1 of 192
die AufklärungEnlightenment1 of 192
das Bebenquake / quiver / tremor / shaking1 of 192
der Bechercup / mug / beaker1 of 192
die Belegschaftworkforce / staff1 of 192
bündelnto bundle / focus / concentrate1 of 192
der Dativdative case1 of 192
der Deckellid / cover1 of 192
die Diskriminierungdiscrimination1 of 192
der Drogenhandeldrug trafficking1 of 192
die Dürredrought1 of 192
die Einnahmenincome / revenue / receipts1 of 192
die Entspannungrelaxation / easing1 of 192
der Entwurfdraft/sketch1 of 192
erhobenraised / upraised1 of 192
erlangento gain / attain1 of 192
erstarrento become rigid / stiff / cold / numb1 of 192
die Expansionexpansion / territorial growth1 of 192
das Experimentexperiment1 of 192
die Fassadefacade/front1 of 192
das Finalefinale/ending1 of 192
die Foliefilm / foil / leaf1 of 192
der Forscherresearcher1 of 192
die Fraktionparliamentary group / faction1 of 192
das Freibadoutdoor pool1 of 192
der Gegenschlaga counter attack / backlash1 of 192
die Geiselhostage1 of 192
gespenstischspooky / ghostly / eerie1 of 192
der Hinterhaltan ambush1 of 192
die Hurea whore / harlot1 of 192
die Invasioninvasion / military incursion1 of 192
der Kanzlerchancellor1 of 192
die Klärungclarification / resolving1 of 192
die Koalitioncoalition1 of 192
der Kratera crater1 of 192
die Ladungcharge / cargo1 of 192
die Luftverschmutzungair pollution1 of 192
die Luftwaffethe air force1 of 192
der Missbrauchabuse1 of 192
das Mittelmeerthe Mediterranean Sea1 of 192
der Mordmurder1 of 192
das Motivmotif / subject matter1 of 192
das Musterpattern / sample / design1 of 192
die Obhutcare / custody / keeping1 of 192
die Oppositionopposition1 of 192
ortento locate1 of 192
der Ostseethe Baltic Sea1 of 192
die Paradeparade / save / parry1 of 192
die Parteipolitical party1 of 192
das QuecksilberMercury (element)1 of 192
die Quellesource1 of 192
die Raketerocket / missile1 of 192
randalierento riot / rampage1 of 192
rasantracy / meteoric / fast / rapid1 of 192
der Rettersavior / rescuer / deliverer1 of 192
die Schaleshell / cup / bowl1 of 192
die Schichtlayer / film / coating / sheet1 of 192
schleudernto sling / hurl / fling1 of 192
der Schocka shock / jolt1 of 192
der Sektchampagne / sparkling wine1 of 192
die Sicherungbackup / securing1 of 192
der Skandalscandal1 of 192
die Sprengungblasting / bursting / breaking1 of 192
strafento punish1 of 192

Find the B2 words you don’t know yet

At B2 the hard part is not the list, it is finding the gaps in it. Test yourself on these 2,844 words, then export the ones you miss — as a CSV or straight into Anki — so you only drill what you actually got wrong.

Test yourself →Download the Anki deck

Frequently asked questions

How many words are in the German B2 vocabulary list?

2,844 words, each with its English translation, the article (der/die/das) and an example sentence.

Is the German B2 word list free to download?

Yes — download the whole list free as a CSV spreadsheet or an Anki flashcard deck for spaced repetition.

What topics does German B2 vocabulary cover?

Society & Abstract, Work & Education, Feelings & Character, Communication & Media, Everyday Actions, Nature & Weather, Body & Health, Money & Shopping and more — browse them above, or open a topic for its own list.

Meet B2 words where they actually occur

Words at this level are rare by definition — you will not meet them often enough in a textbook to make them stick. Watch German news, talks and documentaries at native speed with dual subtitles, and tap any word you do not know to save it to your list.

youtube.com/watch
und sie haben es in dieser Maschine gezüchtet
and they grew it inside this machine
Maschine🔊
machine · in context
noun
machine · engine · device
A1 demo · Nicos Weg (DW) — tap any word

Vocabulary quiz

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„Wie heißt du?" — what is being asked?

Question 1 of 5 · after every video you watch

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