German Measurements & Units Vocabulary
This set covers the words you need to talk about size, weight, and distance in German: der Abstand for the gap between two things, die Fläche for a surface area, and wiegen for the act of weighing something. One trap here is der Abstand, which English speakers often reach for as "distance" in the sense of a journey, but it's better used for a fixed gap or spacing, while längere Reisestrecken use other words entirely.
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All 20 words
plural: die Kilos
kilo
Die Tasche wiegt fast zehn Kilo. — The bag weighs almost ten kilos.
plural: die Kilometer
kilometre
Die Stadt ist zehn Kilometer entfernt. — The city is ten kilometres away.
plural: die Liter
litre
Ich brauche zwei Liter Milch. — I need two litres of milk.
plural: die Millimeter
millimetre
Der Regen beträgt fünf Millimeter. — The rain amounts to five millimetres.
plural: die Thermometer
thermometer
Das Thermometer zeigt hohe Temperaturen. — The thermometer shows high temperatures.
plural: die Breiten
width
Welche Maße hat der Tisch? – Länge: 1 m, Breite: 80 cm, Höhe: 1,20 m. — What are the dimensions of the table? – Length: 1 m, width: 80 cm, height: 1.20 m.
plural: die Flächen
surface, area
Unsere Wohnung hat eine Wohnfläche von 100 m². — Our apartment has a living area of 100 m².
plural: die Höhen
height, altitude
Mein Tisch hat folgende Maße: Länge: 1,20 m, Breite: 0,60 m, Höhe: 0,80 m. — My table has the following dimensions: length 1.20 m, width 0.60 m, height 0.80 m.
plural: die Längen
length
Mein Schreibtisch hat folgende Maße: Länge 1.20 m, Breite: 0,85 m, Höhe: 0,75 m. — My desk has the following dimensions: length 1.20 m, width: 0.85 m, height: 0.75 m.
- messenB1
measure
Haben Sie schon Fieber gemessen? — Have you measured the fever already?
- wiegenB1
weigh
Wie viel wiegst du? — How much do you weigh?
plural: die Abstände
distance / spacing / gap
Der Abstand zwischen den beiden Stühlen beträgt einen Meter. — The distance between the two chairs is one meter.
plural: die Dichten
density / thickness
Die Dichte des Metalls ist sehr hoch. — The density of the metal is very high.
one gram
Ein Gramm ist eine kleine Menge. — One gram is a small amount.
one pound
Ein Pfund Butter kostet etwa zwei Euro. — One pound of butter costs about two euros.
one percent
Ein Prozent der Bevölkerung spricht Deutsch. — One percent of the population speaks German.
one centimetre
Ein Zentimeter ist sehr klein. — One centimeter is very small.
plural: die Meter
meter/metre
Das Feld ist hundert Meter lang. — The field is one hundred metres long.
plural: die Scheffel
a bushel
Ein Scheffel ist ein altes Getreidemaß. — A bushel is an old grain measure.
plural: die Spannweiten
a wingspan / span / spread
Die Spannweite der Flügel dieses Vogels ist bemerkenswert. — The wingspan of this bird's wings is remarkable.
How to learn this set
Notice that nearly all the measurement nouns ending in -e are feminine: die Breite, die Fläche, die Höhe, die Länge, die Dichte, die Spannweite. That's not a coincidence, it's a real pattern in German abstract nouns, so if you learn one gender you've basically learned five. For the metric units (der Kilometer, der Millimeter, das Meter, der Liter), drill them in phrases with actual numbers, like zwei Kilometer or fünf Liter, since that's how you'll actually use them. Keep messen and wiegen separate in your head by pairing each with a typical object: messen with die Breite or die Länge, wiegen with das Gramm or das Kilo.
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Frequently asked questions
Is das Meter or der Meter correct in German?
Both are used. Das Meter is technically the standard in Germany for the unit of measurement, but der Meter is extremely common in everyday speech, especially in Austria and Switzerland where der is the norm. You won't be misunderstood either way.
What is the difference between messen and wiegen?
Messen means to measure length, distance, temperature, or similar dimensions, as in Ich messe die Breite des Tisches (I'm measuring the width of the table). Wiegen means specifically to weigh: Ich wiege das Paket (I'm weighing the package).
What's the difference between die Höhe and die Länge?
Die Höhe is height or altitude, used for how tall or how high something is. Die Länge is length, used for how long something is. A building has Höhe, a rope has Länge.
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