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GCSE German

Speaking, listening, reading and writing across themes. On GCSE.es you can see what's in the course, log every result and get practice on the topics you find hardest.

Your exam board

Overview

Qualification

GCSE

Exam boards

AQA · Edexcel

Main topics

2 areas

For parents: Pearson Edexcel writes your child's German course and exams. Pearson Edexcel is one of the three main English exam boards. Many schools choose it for Maths and the Sciences; papers follow Edexcel's own specification and question style.

Topics

Topic 01

Themes & vocabulary

Identity & culture · Travel & tourism · School & future plans

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Topic 02

Grammar

Cases & word order · Tenses · Opinions & justifications

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German key terms

Original definitions for core course vocabulary, informed by the references below. Not an official or exhaustive board-specific glossary.

40 of 40 terms

Grammatical gender
German nouns have masculine, feminine or neuter gender: der Tisch, die Schule, das Haus.
Nouns, cases and word order
Noun capitalisation
German writes all nouns with an initial capital, including common nouns: die Schule means the school.
Nouns, cases and word order
Nominative case
The case normally used for a clause's subject: der Hund schläft means the dog is sleeping.
Nouns, cases and word order
Accusative case
The case commonly marking a direct object: ich sehe den Hund means I see the dog.
Nouns, cases and word order
Dative case
The case used for many indirect objects and after certain prepositions: mit dem Bus means by bus.
Nouns, cases and word order
Genitive case
A case expressing possession or association: das Dach des Hauses means the roof of the house.
Nouns, cases and word order
Verb-second order
In a German main statement, the finite verb is the second grammatical element: heute spiele ich Tennis.
Nouns, cases and word order
Verb-final subordinate clause
A subordinating conjunction normally sends the finite verb to the end: weil ich müde bin means because I am tired.
Nouns, cases and word order
Two-way preposition
A preposition taking accusative for destination and dative for location: in die Schule versus in der Schule.
Nouns, cases and word order
Adjective ending
An ending showing grammatical information before a noun: ein guter Freund means a good friend.
Nouns, cases and word order
Separable verb
A prefixed verb whose prefix separates in main clauses: ich stehe auf means I get up.
Verb patterns and time
Modal verb
A verb such as können or müssen used with a final infinitive: ich muss lernen means I must study.
Verb patterns and time
Present tense
A tense expressing current or habitual action: ich lerne means I learn or I am learning.
Verb patterns and time
Perfect tense
A past construction using haben or sein and a participle: ich habe gespielt means I played.
Verb patterns and time
Imperfect tense
A simple past form, common with sein and haben: ich war müde means I was tired.
Verb patterns and time
Future with werden
Werden plus a final infinitive expresses future action: ich werde reisen means I will travel.
Verb patterns and time
Conditional with würde
Würde plus an infinitive commonly expresses would: ich würde kommen means I would come.
Verb patterns and time
Reflexive verb
A verb taking a pronoun linked to its subject: ich wasche mich means I wash myself.
Verb patterns and time
Infinitive with um…zu
A construction expressing purpose: um fit zu bleiben means in order to stay fit.
Verb patterns and time
Imperative
A command form: komm ! means come! to one person addressed informally.
Verb patterns and time
die Familie
The family.
People, education and leisure
die Freunde
Friends; die means the when referring to a particular group.
People, education and leisure
die Hausaufgaben
Homework; normally plural in German.
People, education and leisure
das Fach
A school subject; also a compartment in other contexts.
People, education and leisure
die Ausbildung
Vocational training or education for a particular occupation.
People, education and leisure
der Beruf
A profession or occupation.
People, education and leisure
die Freizeit
Free time or leisure time.
People, education and leisure
sich entspannen
To relax or unwind.
People, education and leisure
Sport treiben
To do sport or take part in sporting activities.
People, education and leisure
das Taschengeld
Pocket money.
People, education and leisure
die Ferien
School holidays; a plural noun in German.
Travel, health and environment
der Bahnhof
The railway station.
Travel, health and environment
die Fahrkarte
A ticket for a journey on public transport.
Travel, health and environment
die Unterkunft
Accommodation or a place to stay.
Travel, health and environment
gesund
Healthy; used of people, habits or food.
Travel, health and environment
die Krankheit
An illness or disease.
Travel, health and environment
die Umwelt
The environment.
Travel, health and environment
der Müll
Rubbish or waste.
Travel, health and environment
öffentliche Verkehrsmittel
Public transport; literally public means of transport.
Travel, health and environment
Energie sparen
To save energy.
Travel, health and environment
Course references

Exams

AQA

The largest GCSE board in England, used by most state schools.

Pearson Edexcel

Widely used for GCSE Maths, Sciences and Humanities.

Add your exam dates in My Exams and see a countdown for every paper on your dashboard.

Revision

Tell GCSE.es which German topics feel weak. Your dashboard then picks a short, timed next step — learn the key idea, check yourself, review mistakes.

How revision works

Practice

  • ✓ Key terms you tap to reveal
  • ✓ Quick multiple-choice quizzes
  • ✓ 3, 6, 9 and 12-mark exam-style questions
  • ✓ Marking with feedback and a model answer

Available free inside your GCSE journey. Questions are written by GCSE.es, not taken from real past papers.

Resources

Short, focused tasks for the German topics you find hardest — learn the key idea, check yourself, then try a marked exam-style question.

Try a 10-minute task