German C1 Vocabulary List

Advanced German words

Formal, academic and specialized words — the hard-to-find advanced vocabulary. · 4,934 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 775Feelings & Character 473Work & Education 414Body & Health 393Communication & Media 376Nature & Weather 342Everyday Actions 261Travel & Transport 257City & Places 253Home & Household 231Food & Drink 222Money & Shopping 202Leisure & Sport 199Clothing 195Time & Dates 171Family & People 170

4,934 C1 words

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Which of these C1 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 4934 C1 words, 109 (2%) were genuinely spoken. The most frequent is Hitzewelle, appearing in 15 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
die Hitzewelleheat wave15 of 192
das Unwetterstorm6 of 192
das Metermeter/metre5 of 192
der Waldbrandforest fire5 of 192
flüchtigtemporary4 of 192
der Hubschrauberhelicopter4 of 192
der Mostmost4 of 192
der Afteran anus (wenig benutzt)3 of 192
besorgtconcerned3 of 192
enthusiastischenthusiastic3 of 192
das Erdbebenearthquake3 of 192
lebensgefährlichlife-threatening3 of 192
der Waldbrandgefahrforest fire danger3 of 192
zerstörendestroy3 of 192
der Bahnverkehrrail traffic2 of 192
beeindruckendimpressive2 of 192
das Finanzamttax office2 of 192
der Freizeitparktheme park2 of 192
gewitternthunderstorm2 of 192
die Haftdetention / custody / imprisonment2 of 192
der Haftbefehla warrant2 of 192
kletternto climb2 of 192
die Melangemelange = a mixture / medley2 of 192
die Psychiatriepsychiatry2 of 192
die Razziaa raid2 of 192
skeptischskeptical2 of 192
die Stadtverwaltungcity administration2 of 192
stundenlangfor hours2 of 192
trügerischdeceptive / deceitful2 of 192
die Unwetterwarnungweather warning2 of 192
verzögerndelay2 of 192
die Villavilla2 of 192
wechselhaftchangeable2 of 192
die Würdedignity2 of 192
anhaltenstop1 of 192
anstrengendstrenuous1 of 192
der Arbeitsvertragemployment contract1 of 192
ausweichento evade1 of 192
der Bahnübergangrailway crossing1 of 192
bekämpfenfight1 of 192
belastencharge1 of 192
belastendburdensome1 of 192
beunruhigenddisquieting1 of 192
der Blitzschlaglightning strike1 of 192
cremigcreamy1 of 192
das Croissantcroissant1 of 192
durchsuchento search1 of 192
dynamischdynamic1 of 192
entkommenescape1 of 192
entsendento send / dispatch1 of 192
entsetzento horrify / appall1 of 192
erstaunlichremarkable1 of 192
die Evolutionevolution1 of 192
frustriertfrustrated1 of 192
geräumigspacious1 of 192
die Güllea slurry1 of 192
das Guthabenbalance1 of 192
der Hasshatred1 of 192
der Heizkörperradiator1 of 192
herzhaftheartily1 of 192
das HighlightHighlight1 of 192
die Inspirationinspiration1 of 192
das Insulininsulin1 of 192
die JerseyJersey1 of 192
der Kielharbor1 of 192
die Kleinstadtsmall town1 of 192
der Landeanflugapproach1 of 192
lautstarkloud1 of 192
die Lavalava1 of 192
der Lebensgefährtepartner1 of 192
das Mahnmalmemorial1 of 192
motiviertmotivated1 of 192
der Nahverkehrlocal transport1 of 192
das Naturphänomennatural phenomenon1 of 192
die Notwehrself-defense1 of 192
der Pegela level recorder / water depth gauge1 of 192
pflanzlichplant-based1 of 192
preisento praise / bless1 of 192
die Pünktlichkeitpunctuality1 of 192
der Reisebusbus1 of 192
schmerzhaftpainful1 of 192
der Schmuckjewelry1 of 192
die Schönebeautiful1 of 192
die Schraubebolt1 of 192
die Schwerelosigkeitweightlessness1 of 192
die Selbstbestimmungself-determination1 of 192
die Sondea probe1 of 192
die Sonnenfinsternissolar eclipse1 of 192
der Tafelspitzboiled beef1 of 192
tauchento dive1 of 192
der Totschlaghomicide / manslaughter1 of 192
tragischtragic1 of 192
der Tsunamitsunami1 of 192
überrennento overwhelm1 of 192
die Überschwemmungflood1 of 192
unangenehmuncomfortable1 of 192
unregelmäßigirregular1 of 192
der Verfassungsschutzconstitutional protection / domestic intelligence1 of 192
die Verkehrssicherheittraffic safety1 of 192
der Verzehrconsumption (aka eating)1 of 192

Find the C1 words you don’t know yet

At C1 the hard part is not the list, it is finding the gaps in it. Test yourself on these 4,934 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 C1 vocabulary list?

4,934 words, each with its English translation, the article (der/die/das) and an example sentence.

Is the German C1 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 C1 vocabulary cover?

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

Meet C1 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

generated from this clip

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

Question 1 of 5 · after every video you watch

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Learn German with any YouTube video — the 3minGerman plugin

The 3minGerman Chrome extension adds German and English subtitles to every YouTube video. Click any word to see its translation and etymology; it is saved to your 3minGerman account, and the daily quiz repeats it with spaced repetition until you remember it.

  1. STEP 1
    Install the plugin
    Add it to desktop Chrome — free.
  2. STEP 2
    Watch any video
    German + English subtitles appear automatically.
  3. STEP 3
    Click any word
    Translation, etymology, audio — saved to your words.
  4. STEP 4
    Take the daily quiz
    Spaced repetition beats the forgetting curve.
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