German vs English: Comparing Vocabulary Size and Word Counts

Have you ever wondered how many words the German language has compared to English? It's a common question among language lovers and learners alike. Both German and English are famed for their rich vocabularies – English for its global adoption and diverse origins, and German for its seemingly endless compound words. In this post, we'll dig into credible estimates of vocabulary size for each language, explore how words are formed (from German compound nouns to English derivations), and see how history and linguistics have shaped their word counts. Along the way, we'll share some fascinating linguistic facts and practical tips to build your vocabulary. Whether you're a general language enthusiast, a German learner, or just linguistically curious, read on to discover which language is bigger – and why that question isn't as straightforward as it sounds.

How many words does the German language have?

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What Counts as a Word? (Why Counting Is Hard)

Before we compare German vs English vocabulary size, we need to ask: what exactly is a word? Linguists struggle with this definition, and it greatly affects any word count. Here are a few challenges that make counting words tricky:

• Rare and Obscure Words: Should extremely rare words count? Every language has archaic or little-used terms (English “crapulous” meaning sick from overeating, or an obscure German word “honnet” meaning honourable). If hardly anyone knows a word, does it belong in the count? Languages constantly evolve – new slang appears and old terms fall out of use. Deciding which ones "count" is subjective.

• Compound Words: German can string words together to form very specific terms. For example, Müllautohintendraufsteher (literally “garbage-car-back-on-top-stander”) humorously describes a garbage collector who stands on the back of a truck. Is that one word or several? In German, it's written as one, and we understand its meaning, so it is a word. But such compounds can be created freely, leading to potentially infinite words. English, by contrast, might describe the same concept with a phrase ("guy standing on the back of a garbage truck") rather than a single new word. So if we count every possible compound, German’s word count explodes.

• Multiple Meanings (Homonyms): If one word has multiple meanings, do we count it once or multiple times? For instance, German Schloss means “lock” and also “castle” – two unrelated meanings. English ring could mean a piece of jewelry or the sound a phone makes. These homonyms are spelled the same. Should Schloss count as one word or two? Similarly, what about polysemes – words with related meanings (like “head” of a person vs “head” of an organisation)? Lexicographers must decide whether to list these under one entry or separate ones.

• Inflected Forms: Both languages change words for grammar. English verbs conjugate (go/goes/going/went/gone) and nouns pluralize (cat/cats). German has far more inflection – verbs change with person and tense (ich gehe, du gehst, er geht... ging, gegangen), and nouns change with case and number (der Mann, des Mannes, die Männer, etc.). If we naively counted each variant as a separate word, German would seem much larger. Clearly, it's more sensible to count a base word (lemma) once. So “gehen” (to go) is one word, encompassing gehe, gehst, ging, etc. We generally do not count every conjugation or plural separately.

As you can see, any vocabulary size estimate has to make choices about these issues. Keeping this in mind, let's look at how many words German and English actually have – or at least the best estimates linguists can give.

How Many Words Does the German Language Have?

German is often said to have a “vast” vocabulary, but pinning down a number is challenging. Traditional counts focused on standard German (everyday, non-technical vocabulary). Leading linguists have estimated the German lexicon (excluding most proper names and specialised jargon) at roughly **350,000 to 500,000 words. This is an estimate for the total number of German words in common use. For comparison, the famous Grimm Brothers’ Deutsches Wörterbuch – an extensive historical dictionary – contains about 350,000 headwords covering German usage up to the 19th century. 

Modern analyses suggest the count can soar much higher when considering all domains. The Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (DWDS) and other corpora have revealed huge numbers of distinct words in use. The editor-in-chief of Duden (Germany’s premier dictionary) noted that an analysis of the Duden corpus found 17.4 million distinct word forms in German texts! This included every unique base form (uninflected word) occurring, even highly technical or rare ones. In fact, the Dudenkorpus (a large electronic database of German) contains around 18 million entries as of 2020, because it includes scientific terms, regional words, and archaic words along with everyday language.

Why such a huge number? Two big reasons:

• Productive Compounding: As mentioned, German forms compounds easily. Many of those 17+ million “words” are compound nouns that appear perhaps once in a corpus. For example, German legal and technical texts can coin monsters like Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (literally "beef labelling supervision duties delegation law") – which at 79 letters was famously one of the longest German words. While not used in daily chat, such terms show how German vocabulary grows by combining elements for precision. A more everyday example: Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung (36 letters) means “motor vehicle liability insurance”. It’s a single word in German (and even appears in the dictionary as the longest official word in 2025), whereas English breaks that idea into four words. Clearly, if we count each compound, the list of German words is endless. (As Mark Twain joked about German compounds, “These are not words; they are alphabetical processions.”).

• Specialised Terminology: German (like English) has an extensive technical vocabulary. For instance, chemistry alone contributes an estimated 20 million term names in  (consider all the complex compound names of chemicals). Most of these won’t appear in a general dictionary, but they exist in technical usage. Similarly, fields like medicine, technology, and academia add countless loanwords (often from Latin/Greek or English) to German’s repertoire.

Given all this, lexicographers often say the total vocabulary of German is “open-ended” – effectively *500,000 + ∞. No single dictionary can capture it all, and new words are coined all the time. For practical purposes, though, Duden’s standard dictionary (2020 edition) includes about 148,000 keywords, and it estimates the active everyday vocabulary at around 500,000 words. Each new edition of Duden adds roughly 5,000 new entries to keep up with emerging words. Recent editions have included tech terms like Emoji, Selfie, Tablet and even colloquial gems like Kopfkino (“head-cinema” for daydreaming) – many of these are loanwords from English or newly coined compounds.

Bottom line for German: By moderate estimates, around 300–500 thousand words exist in the German language. If you include every technical term, regionalism, and conceivable compound, the number reaches into the millions, even “infinite” in theory. However, the vocabulary an average person actually uses is a much smaller subset (we'll discuss that soon). First, let’s see how English stacks up.

How Many Words Does the English Language Have?

English is often touted as one of the richest languages in vocabulary. Thanks to its history and global use, English has accumulated an enormous lexicon. A common reference point is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), renowned for its comprehensive coverage of English words. The OED currently includes over 500,000 words and phrases, past and present. (This count includes entries for archaic words and many technical terms across the English-speaking world.) For example, the second edition of the OED (1989) listed about 273,000 headwords in total, of which ~171,000 were in current use and ~47,000 obsolete, amounting to well over 600,000 defined word forms.

It’s worth noting that English dictionaries differ in scope. A collegiate dictionary might list “only” ~200,000 words, whereas the OED aims to be historical and exhaustive (hence 500k+ entries). Some estimates (counting scientific names, etc.) even claim a million or more English words exist, though such counts are debatable. Like German, English constantly absorbs new words – from slang (to binge-watch), tech jargon (cryptocurrency), to borrowings (sushi, déjà vu, schadenfreude). The language is a notorious loanword magnet, which is one reason it has so many synonyms and nuanced terms.

Historical influences have massively expanded English vocabulary. After the Norman Conquest (1066), English was flooded with French and Latin words. Linguists estimate that over half of English words have Latin or French origin, while only about 25% are Germanic in origin. This means English often has multiple words for the same or similar concept. For example, English has the Anglo-Saxon begin and the Latinate commence, kingly (Germanic) and royal (French). Such doublets enrich English vocabulary with fine shades of meaning, but they also inflate the word count. German, in contrast, kept more of its native Germanic core; many everyday terms in German have a single common word where English might have two or three synonyms of different origins.

Additionally, English forms new words through derivational processes and other means. It readily adds prefixes and suffixes (e.g. happy, unhappy, happiness, unhappiness all counted as distinct words in a broad sense). It also creates new words by converting parts of speech (e.g. to Google from the noun Google), by compounding (e.g. website, laptop, which start as compound phrases and eventually solidify as one word), and by blending (e.g. smog from smoke+fog, brunch from breakfast+lunch). These processes, while present in German too, are especially prolific in English because English has fewer grammatical restrictions on word formation. The result: an ever-growing lexicon with layers of old, new, borrowed, and invented words.

In summary, English’s vocabulary size is commonly placed at 500,000+ words when including historic and scientific terms. In everyday use, however, only a fraction of that is actively used by speakers or needed by learners (we'll explore that soon). English may have more total words than German in absolute terms, but as we’ll see, the gap is not as dramatic for practical purposes. Also, sheer numbers aside, each language’s vocabulary reflects its culture and history in unique ways. While English may have a larger vocabulary in absolute terms, German possesses its own unique features and nuances that make it a fascinating language to explore and learn.

Word Formation: German Compounds vs. English Derivation

One key difference between German and English vocabulary growth lies in how new words are formed:

• German – The Compound Noun Champion: German is famous for its compound nouns. Need a new term? Germans often glue words together to form one. This ability is built into the language’s grammar – nouns, verbs, adjectives can combine in nearly unlimited ways. It’s like linguistic Lego: Hand (hand) + Schuh (shoe) becomes Handschuh (glove). Fern (far) + sehen (to see) yields Fernsehen (television). This makes German vocabulary extremely flexible and precise. You can coin a word for a very specific concept on the fly. For instance, consider Freundschaftsbeziehungen – literally “friendship relationships” – which is just a longer way to say “friendships”. German speakers might chuckle at such constructions, but they are perfectly valid. The advantage is that once you know the component parts, a long German word often isn’t as scary as it looks – it’s just several familiar smaller words stuck together. The disadvantage, from a counting perspective, is that the number of possible words blows up exponentially. Most compound words never make it into dictionaries (they have to be widely used to merit an entry). Nonetheless, compounding is a major contributor to German vocabulary growth. It also explains why German dictionaries (like Duden) will never capture every word – speakers can always create new compounds beyond the official.

• English – Derivation and Borrowing: English also has compounds (think hairbrush, bedroom, football), but it often simply uses a two-word phrase (e.g. car door, where German might make a compound Autotür). More than compounding, English expands via derivation – adding prefixes/suffixes to existing words to create new meanings. For example, from teach we get teacher, teachable, reteach, unteachable, etc. From nation we get national, international, nationalise, nationality, and so on. These derivational processes can add dozens of related words from one root. English is also very happy to borrow words outright instead of inventing a native compound. Over centuries, English has absorbed words from Norse, French, Latin, Greek, and more recently from languages worldwide. Want a new food term? If it’s invented in Italy, just call it pizza in English. German tends to either borrow or calque (translate) foreign terms, depending on the era – e.g. Fernseher (television) is a calque of Greek tele- and Latin vision; but modern tech words are often borrowed (German says Internet, Computer, Smartphone just like English). Loanwords have richly contributed to English vocabulary size – consider that English contains German loanwords like kindergarten, Schadenfreude, doppelgänger, rucksack, wanderlust, gemütlich and many more. Likewise, German has taken many English words into its usage, especially in pop culture and tech (Job, Team, Bluetooth, etc.). In the 27th Duden edition (2017), a notable number of the 5,000 new words added were Anglicisms – for example, emoji, Darknet, tablet, tindern (to Tinder, i.e. online date) entered German . This cross-pollination shows that history and cultural exchange are big drivers of vocabulary growth for both languages.

In short, German grows its words internally (compounding smaller words into bigger ones), whereas English readily adopts and adapts words from outside (and multiplies words via prefixes/suffixes). Both languages also use a mix of methods – German certainly has prefixes/suffixes (e.g. spielen -> Spieler, verspielen, spielerisch, etc.) and English does compound (especially in technical jargon like database, smartphone). But the emphasis is different, and that shapes how their total word counts accumulate.

Loanwords, Cognates and Etymological Tidbits

Diving a bit more into etymology, here are a few interesting facts about German and English vocabulary:

• Common Origins: English and German are cousins in the Germanic language family. This means they share some ancient roots. For example, basic words like water (Wasser), friend (Freund), house (Haus), summer (Sommer) are cognates – they come from the same Proto-Germanic words, often with sound shifts. This is a bonus for learners: many simple German words sound familiar to an English speaker. However, due to separate development, there are also “false friends” – e.g. Gift in German means poison, not a present! (Both come from an old meaning of “that which is given” – poison as in a dose given to someone).

• Latin & Greek Influence: English has thousands of words from Latin and Greek (especially for scientific, legal, and academic terms). German also has many, but sometimes, where English kept the borrowed word, German invented a native term. For instance, telephone is from Greek roots meaning “far sound”; German officially uses Fernsprecher (literally “far speaker”) – though colloquially Telefon is also common. Automobile (Greek “self-moving”) in German became Automobil (borrowed) and also Kraftfahrzeug (“power-drive-vehicle”) as a more technical term. These choices affect vocabulary counts: English might count telephone and phone, telephonic etc. as separate words, while German’s Fernsprecher is a compound of existing words.

• Doublets and Synonyms: English’s borrowing habit means it often has synonyms of different flavours. For example, freedom (Germanic) and liberty (Latinate) mean almost the same, but have different connotations. German typically just has Freiheit. For “holy”, English has holy (Germanic), sacred (Latin via French), consecrated (Latin) etc., whereas German mainly sticks to heilig. This makes English’s lexicon broad but also redundant in some areas.

• Unique German Words: German is known for terms that capture specific ideas with no direct English equivalent. Schadenfreude (literally “harm-joy”, meaning pleasure at another’s misfortune) is so handy that English speakers adopted the German word itself. Wanderlust and Weltschmerz are other examples that have entered English unchanged because they express something succinctly that English originally couldn’t. These enrich English vocabulary while showcasing German creativity.

• New Word Trends: Both languages continue to evolve. English coinages like blog, selfie, crowdfunding quickly make their way into German (often unchanged or with a slight twist, like das Blog as a neuter noun, or Selfie capitalised as nouns are in German). Meanwhile, German youths might say “chillen” (to chill out) or “downloaden”, showing English influence. Conversely, English occasionally borrows modern German terms, especially informal or cultural ones (kindergartner, Oktoberfest, umlaut in linguistics, über- as a prefix meaning super, etc.). Each exchange adds to the count of words in the receiving language.

Understanding these historical and cultural influences explains why German and English ended up with so many words. English’s openness to loans and synonyms boosted its sheer numbers, while German’s internal combinatory power created a vast potential vocabulary (much of it not in dictionaries unless needed). For a learner, though, what matters is not memorizing hundreds of thousands of words, but focusing on the right words.

Vocabulary Size and Language Learning: What Do Learners Need?

When learners ask, “Does German have more words than English?”, often the real concern is: “Do I have to learn more words to be fluent in German than I would in English?” The answer is reassuring. Despite the intimidating totals we discussed, you do not need to learn anywhere near all those words!  In fact, everyday vocabulary for functioning in the language is a manageable number:

• Linguists estimate that knowing the most common 10,000 words in a language will give you roughly native-like fluency in daily life. For English, about 10k words is often cited as sufficient for an educated speaker’s general need. For German, some suggest a slightly larger core (perhaps 15,000–20,000 words for equivalent fluency). This might be because German compounds can create many variants, or simply due to how we count a “word”. But the ballpark is similar. A working vocabulary on the order of tens of thousands, not hundreds of thousands, is what a fluent speaker actually uses. Even highly educated native speakers use perhaps 20,000–50,000 words actively. For instance, one analysis found Goethe, the great German writer, used about 90k words across his entire works – and that’s an exceptional case. The average German adult’s active vocabulary is estimated around 12,000 to 16,000 words, with passive understanding of up to ~50,000 words. Similarly, an average adult English speaker might know on the order of 20,000 words. These figures are far below the total words in the language. So, learners aren’t expected to digest a half-million words!

• Perception of Difficulty: Sometimes, learners find German vocabulary harder because the words look long and complex. But remember, a long German word often breaks down into smaller easy chunks. For example, if you know Hand and Schuh, you instantly get what Handschuh means (hand-shoe = glove). In English, you must memorise “glove” as an arbitrary word. In this sense, German’s compounding can be learner-friendly: once you build a basic vocabulary, you can decipher new compounds without needing to look them up. English, on the other hand, has many synonyms and idioms that may need separate learning (think of big, large, huge, enormous – four words where German would mostly use groß plus an intensifier). Both languages have their challenges: German has grammatical gender and cases affecting word endings, and English has a lot of phrasal verbs and exceptions. But neither language’s large vocabulary should discourage you – you won’t use most of it day-to-day.

• Core Vocabulary: It’s often said that the 2,000 most frequent words cover 80-90% of everyday conversations in both languages. Frequency dictionaries and corpus studies show that a small fraction of words do the heavy lifting. For example, common verbs like have, be, do (or haben, sein, machen) and basic nouns and adjectives will appear in almost every sentence. As a learner, focusing on that “Grundwortschatz” (fundamental vocabulary) yields the best payoff. Once you have a strong foundation, you can gradually expand into more specific terms as needed.

Tips for Building Your German Vocabulary

If you’re learning German (or any language), here are some effective strategies to grow your vocabulary without feeling overwhelmed:

• Learn Roots and Patterns: Take advantage of German’s structure. Learn common roots, prefixes, and suffixes. For example, if you know schreiben (to write), you can recognise Schreiber (writer), abschreiben (copy, write off), Unterschrift (signature, literally under-writing), etc. Knowing that -chen makes a noun diminutive (Haus → Häuschen, small house) or -heit/-keit turns adjectives into nouns (Schönheit – beauty, from schön) helps you guess meanings of new words. Recognising patterns makes those long compound words less scary and often even fun to decode.

• Use Cognates: Leverage the many German-English cognates – words that are similar in both languages. For instance, Sommer (summer), Haus (house), Orange (orange, the fruit) are basically the same word or very close. Thousands of English technical or academic words have close German equivalents from Latin: Kamera (camera), Universität (university), Operation (operation). These give you a free head start. Just watch out for false friends (like Gift or bekommen which means to receive, not to become).

• Context and Usage: Don’t just memorise lists of words in isolation. Read and listen to German as much as possible (articles, stories, podcasts, videos). When you encounter new words in context, you’ll remember them better and understand how they’re used. Try reading simplified German news or graded readers at your level – you’ll repeatedly see high-frequency words. Context helps reinforce meaning and nuance, which is more effective than rote memorisation.

• Spaced Repetition & Flashcards: Use flashcard apps or vocabulary trainers (like Anki, Memrise, or Quizlet) that use spaced repetition. This technique schedules reviews of words at increasing intervals to move them into long-term memory. Add new words you come across, especially those you think will be useful, and review them regularly. Include a phrase or sentence on the card so you remember usage, not just the translation.

• Practice Active Usage: To truly own a word, use it. If you’re taking German classes or lessons, incorporate new vocabulary in your speaking and writing. Set yourself small goals like “today I’ll use a new word for however (jedoch) in a sentence.” If you don’t have a speaking partner, try writing a short journal entry in German or labelling objects in your home with sticky notes (der Tisch, der Stuhl, die Tür…) to reinforce nouns.

• Leverage Language Services: A great way to accelerate your vocabulary building is with structured courses or tutoring. (For example, Olesen Tuition offers group classes, private tuition, and online courses that emphasise vocabulary in context.) A good teacher can provide you with the most relevant vocabulary for your level and goals, and help you practice it in conversation. This targeted learning saves you time – you focus on words you’re likely to use, rather than obscure terms. Plus, a tutor can teach you memory tricks and word formation strategies specific to German.

• Engage with a German Language Blog: Reading blogs about learning German (like Olesen Tuition’s German language blog) can be both informative and motivating. Blog articles often highlight thematic vocabulary, etymological facts, and common learner questions (for instance, false friends, useful idioms, or tips like these). They keep your learning fresh and connect vocabulary with culture and usage. Regularly reading such content not only teaches you new words but also how to learn – you pick up study tips and interesting tidbits that make the language memorable.

By using these strategies, you can steadily enlarge your German vocabulary. Remember, it’s not about the sheer number of words you cram in – it’s about learning the right words and being able to use them. Both German and English have more words than any person could learn in a lifetime, but luckily you only need a subset to communicate effectively and even sound fluent.

Conclusion: Embrace the Challenge – German Is Worth It!

In the grand German vs English vocabulary showdown, who wins? In absolute numbers, English likely has more total words (thanks to global usage and huge borrowing), but German’s word-building potential is virtually limitless due to its compounding power. Practically speaking, both languages offer rich, expressive vocabularies that far exceed what any individual will ever use. German and English simply achieve their lexicon size in different ways – one by adding from outside, the other by combining from within.

For learners, the key takeaway is: don’t be intimidated by vocabulary size. You now know that a relatively small core of words yields huge mileage in communication. German may have some famously long words, but each one can be broken down and understood. And English may have a ton of synonyms, but you don’t need to know every single one to get by (context usually offers alternatives).

If you’re feeling inspired to learn German (and you should – it’s a fascinating language with logical structure and rewarding depth), now is the perfect time to start. German opens the door to a world of literature, philosophy, science, and a vibrant modern culture. Plus, mastering German will make you appreciate English in a new light, given their shared roots and quirky differences.

Olesen Tuition is here to support you on that journey. We offer engaging German courses in London and online German classes for learners everywhere – whether you prefer the dynamics of a group or the personalisation of private tuition. Our experienced instructors will help you build a strong working vocabulary step by step, using many of the tips mentioned above (and more techniques developed through years of teaching). We tailor our lessons so you learn the most useful words for your needs, all while understanding the grammar and context that make those words stick.

Don’t let the dictionary’s size deter you from learning this wonderful language. With the right approach and guidance, German vocabulary becomes not a hurdle but a rich treasury you get to explore. Start with the basics, keep adding brick by brick (or shall we say Lego piece by Lego piece, in true German style), and you’ll be amazed at your progress.

Zusammengefasst (in summary): Both German and English are large in vocabulary, but you only need a small percentage of those words to communicate effectively. By focusing on core vocabulary, understanding word formation, and practising regularly, you can conquer German’s word wealth. So why not take up the challenge? Dive into German – learn a few new words today, explore our German language blog for more insights, or book a lesson with Olesen Tuition to kick-start your progress. You’ll soon see that every new word is a step toward fluency and a new insight into language itself.

We hope this comparison motivates you to expand your vocabulary in whichever language you pursue. Viel Erfolg! (Much success!)

References (German & English Vocabulary Sources):

• Kathrin Kunkel-Razum, Goethe-Institut: German standard vocabulary estimated at 300,000–400,000 words (circa 2000); new corpus analysis found ~17.4 million base words.

• Statistik-BW (Statistical Office BW): Total German word count estimated ~350,000–500,000 words; Duden corpus and dictionaries suggest at least 500k. statistik-bw.destatistik-bw.de. Technical terms can add millions (e.g. 20 million in chemistry), statistik-bw.de.

• Duden – Die deutsche Rechtschreibung (2020): ~148,000 entries; everyday German lexicon ~500,000 words. en.wikipedia.orgstatistik-bw.de. Each new edition adds ~5,000 words.

• Oxford English Dictionary (OED): Over 500,000 words and phrases defined; ~273k headwords (171k current) in 2nd edition.

• Olesen Tuition – German vs English words blog: German estimated 350k–500k words; ~15k–20k words for fluency. English OED ~500k; ~10k words for fluency.

• German compounding and unlimited word formation; Mark Twain on German long.

• Origin of words: German vocab mostly Germanic, with Latin, Greek, French, English loans; English vocab ~30–50% Latin/French, ~25% Germanic. Recent English loans into German (e.g. Emoji, Tablet, tindern) smithsonianmag.com.

• Average active vocabulary: German natives ~12k–16k words (50k passive); varies by education up to 200k statistik-bw.de.

As a language enthusiast or learner, you might be interested in learning more about the difference between language levels a, b, and c and the essential German grammar topics that beginners and intermediate students must master.