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German Language Trivia Quizzes

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29 German Language quizzes and 280 German Language trivia questions.
1.
  Some German Military Terms   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz will give you some terms in German that all relate to the Bundeswehr (German defense forces). You decide whether each term translates to a rank, a piece of equipment, a unit or something else.
Average, 10 Qns, WesleyCrusher, Feb 25 12
Average
WesleyCrusher editor
4150 plays
2.
  Hubert's Strange Translations    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Hubert, a German, receives a Green Card. He immediately travels to the United States with his few belongings only to find that his English vocabulary is lacking. So he will have to improvise from German words...
Average, 10 Qns, WesleyCrusher, May 13 16
Average
WesleyCrusher editor
4801 plays
3.
  German - Plurals of Some Common Nouns   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Those who want to communicate effectively in German need to learn the genders and plurals of the nouns. Test your knowledge and have fun.
Average, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Dec 20 15
Average
bloomsby gold member
4252 plays
4.
  German Place Names   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I'm returning to Germany for the first time since I was a student in 1969. Do you recognize the names of the places I want to see?
Easier, 10 Qns, shvdotr, Feb 25 14
Easier
shvdotr gold member
2103 plays
5.
  German 101   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Fun questions about German. You don't have to know too much German, guessing is pretty easy.
Average, 10 Qns, maggie99, Jul 01 23
Average
maggie99
Jul 01 23
9105 plays
6.
  Windy Poems in German by James Kruess   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here are two beautiful poems for children in German by German author/poet James Krüss. Here are "Der Sturm" and "Was Singt Der Wind" Do you understand them?
Average, 10 Qns, Heidi66, Apr 04 14
Average
Heidi66 gold member
1715 plays
7.
  Der - die - das    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The English language only has one article: 'the'. German has three: 'der' (masculine), 'die' (feminine) and 'das' (neuter). Read the following sentences and decide whether the subject has the correct article or not.
Average, 10 Qns, Chris1013, Oct 31 04
Average
Chris1013
3372 plays
8.
  False Friends    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
There are 200 - 300 words in English and German that look alike but don't mean the same. These are the famous "False Friends". I've picked out a few, so here we go ...
Average, 10 Qns, PearlQ19, Sep 26 12
Average
PearlQ19 gold member
4608 plays
9.
  More Or Less Essential Bavarian   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
So you're planning a vacation in Bavaria, perhaps for the Oktoberfest? Here's some terms and phrases that will certainly come in handy. Good luck, and have fun.
Average, 10 Qns, PearlQ19, Jun 14 11
Average
PearlQ19 gold member
654 plays
10.
  Animals in German   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I give you the English description of an animal in a few words, and you try to choose the correct (German) answer to each question. Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, froggyx, Sep 15 15
Average
froggyx
864 plays
trivia question Quick Question
The most famous one: "bekommen" in German does not mean "to become". What does it mean?

From Quiz "False Friends"




11.
  Peculiar German Expressions   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
All languages have sayings that sound strange when translated. See if you know or can guess what these expressions mean.
Tough, 10 Qns, Catamount, Dec 07 07
Tough
Catamount
2693 plays
12.
  Translation: English into German    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In each case pick the best and most idiomatic of the German versions. Have fun!
Difficult, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Jul 12 15
Difficult
bloomsby gold member
4739 plays
13.
  Untranslatable German Words   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
One beauty of foreign languages is their ability to convey an emotion or event in a single word that has no equivalent English word. Let's learn about some German words that fit this.
Average, 10 Qns, SixShutouts66, Dec 18 21
Average
SixShutouts66 gold member
Dec 18 21
286 plays
14.
  German Surnames   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Can you match the meanings or occupations from which these common German surnames are derived? I'm sure you can. Have fun proving me right.
Average, 10 Qns, shvdotr, Jul 15 13
Average
shvdotr gold member
681 plays
15.
  False Friends: German-English   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
We all know that 'aktuell' does not in fact mean 'actual' - or do we? Here are some more false friends, some better known than others. Have fun!
Tough, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Nov 12 20
Tough
bloomsby gold member
Nov 12 20
719 plays
16.
  Funny German Words For Another Person   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This will give you ten imaginative words to call or describe another person in German, and a question pertaining to each. Some knowledge of German required. Contains some mild terms of abuse, but nothing obscene. Good luck, and have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, PearlQ19, Jun 08 11
Average
PearlQ19 gold member
820 plays
17.
  German for Beginners    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
With around 90 million native German speakers around the globe, German is one of the world's major languages. Here are a few words and phrases for people just starting out learning the German language.
Easier, 10 Qns, aaronjunior, May 08 22
Easier
aaronjunior
May 08 22
672 plays
18.
  German Modal Verbs   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz on the German modal auxiliary verbs is, I suspect, not exactly elementary. Pick out the closest English translation - and have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Oct 09 13
Average
bloomsby gold member
3665 plays
19.
  Fun Q and A in German    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Do you understand German? Choose the correct answers to the following questions. I think you'll do fine. Have fun!
Easier, 10 Qns, shvdotr, May 24 15
Easier
shvdotr gold member
544 plays
20.
  Idiomatic German    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Ten questions on idiomatic German. Some of the questions are basic, while others more advanced. In all cases, choose the most idiomatic option.
Tough, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Oct 22 15
Tough
bloomsby gold member
3110 plays
21.
  Musical Instruments in German    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I'll give you a musical instrument in German, you tell me what it means in English!
Average, 10 Qns, ladymacb29, Mar 22 18
Average
ladymacb29 editor
Mar 22 18
3716 plays
22.
  More Peculiar German Expressions   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A few more German idioms for your enjoyment.
Tough, 10 Qns, catamount, Oct 22 05
Tough
catamount
1113 plays
23.
  Fun with English-German Machine Translation    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz contains ten German sentences as translated from English by an online MT tool. Can you guess the source text? Pay close attention to the multiple choice possibilities, then you should be fine. Good luck!
Tough, 10 Qns, PearlQ19, Mar 14 16
Tough
PearlQ19 gold member
615 plays
24.
  Some German Linguistic Oddities    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a miscellany of language questions - some quite demanding. In each case choose the most idomatic version. Have fun!
Tough, 10 Qns, bloomsby, Jan 16 18
Tough
bloomsby gold member
Jan 16 18
1530 plays
25.
  Ivy's Basic German Language    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
As I have only taken two weeks of German classes so far this quiz should be incredibly easy. Please contact me if you see anything wrong with it, or if you like it. Thanks!
Average, 10 Qns, tumblre, Jan 25 23
Average
tumblre
Jan 25 23
3258 plays
26.
  The German Language    
Multiple Choice
 5 Qns
This quiz is for German students who know the first basic words of the German language. It will be easy for you.
Easier, 5 Qns, violistchick, Feb 23 17
Easier
violistchick
8548 plays
27.
  German Idioms and Sayings    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Like English, German is rich with idioms and sayings. However, 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch' doesn't mean much when translated - German has its own version. To find out this and more have a go at this difficult, but interesting quiz.
Tough, 10 Qns, hews, Aug 27 21
Tough
hews
Aug 27 21
2004 plays
28.
  German Idiomatic Expressions    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
How familiar are you with German expressions? Take this quiz to find out. I'll give the first part of the saying, you'll have to finish it. Good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, PearlQ19, May 08 23
Average
PearlQ19 gold member
May 08 23
1610 plays
29.
  Wie ist das Wetter?    
Multiple Choice
 5 Qns
A relatively easy quiz on how our Teutonic friends describe the weather.
Average, 5 Qns, 142857, Jan 08 19
Average
142857
Jan 08 19
3122 plays
Related Topics
  Germany Government [World] (5 quizzes)

  German Music [Music] (12 quizzes)

  German Football [Sports] (11 quizzes)

  Mixed Germany [General] (9 quizzes)

  German History [History] (104 quizzes)

  German Films [Movies] (3 quizzes)

  German Foods [Hobbies] (6 quizzes)

  German Literature [Literature] (7 quizzes)

  Germans: Famous & Historical [People] (4 quizzes)

  Germany [Geography] (35 quizzes)


German Language Trivia Questions

1. The term Schadenfreude has crossed over into English and is now used to express a particular personal feeling. When would I experience Schadenfreude?

From Quiz
Untranslatable German Words

Answer: Joy at the suffering of others

The compound word Schadenfreude is built from the German words Schaden (damage or harm) and Freude (joy) and expresses the malicious feeling of happiness when someone or something one doesn't like, suffers a failure or defeat. An example would be the joy one feels when a rival team loses a sporting contest. The term Gluckschmerz, from the German words for fortune and pain, has been invented to express the feeling of pain when a rival does well, although it apparently was not a true German word or a very recent one. Fremdschämen is feeling for the embarrassment of others, such as the feeling one has when a friend tells a joke that falls flat.

2. According to About.com, the most common German surname in 2012 was Müller. What occupation do you suppose the first Germans named Müller practiced?

From Quiz German Surnames

Answer: grinding wheat into flour

Müller translates into English as "miller". Furthermore, in my experience, Americans of German descent whose name is Mueller sometimes have their last name pronounced "Miller".

3. It is very tall and brown with spots, has beautiful eyes, a long neck and is found in Africa in the wild. The German word for this animal is what?

From Quiz Animals in German

Answer: Die Giraffe

This could only be the giraffe out of my options. My other options were pig, rat and rabbit. The German translation of the description would be: 'Sie ist sehr groß und braun mit Punkten, hat schöne Augen, einen sehr langen Hals und lebt wild in Afrika.' In the German language, the feminine article 'die' is placed before giraffe, thus I described her as female.

4. What is the meaning of 'konsequent'?

From Quiz False Friends: German-English

Answer: consistent

Example: 'Diese Argumentation ist nicht ganz konsequent' - 'This line of argument is not altogether consistent (logical)'. Note, however, that 'die Konsequenz (pl. -en)' used as a countable noun does mean 'consequence'. The German for 'consequent' (adj.) is '(daraus) resultierend'.

5. Bavarians have a good eye (and ear) for foreigners. So don't be too surprised if you'll be dubbed a "Prussian", because that is the universal Bavarian term for anyone from, well, outside Bavaria. How do you say "Prussian" in Bavarian, then?

From Quiz More Or Less Essential Bavarian

Answer: "Preiß" or "Breiß"

For historical reasons, Prussians and Bavarians never really got along. The small fact that the Kingdom of Prussia no longer exists does not stop Bavarians to keep thinking of it as the "enemy". Of course, this should not be taken too literally. Bavarians just have a peculiar sense of humor and do not take themselves too seriously. Otherwise it would be hard to explain how an oxymoron such as "Saupreiß, italienischer!" (roughly: "Darned Italian Prussian") could be genuinely meant as an offense. The Bavarian art of swearing is, however, a bottomless topic and could probably fill a subcategory of its own.

6. Rather old-fashioned, but still understood today, is the word "Dreikäsehoch" for a little boy. The word, usually used in an affectionately mocking tone, implies that the child is no taller than ... what?

From Quiz Funny German Words For Another Person

Answer: Three loafs of cheese stacked atop each other

Literally, "Three-cheese-high", this saying has been in use since the 18th century. The etymology is not quite clear. It might be that loafs of cheese were indeed used to indicate the height of a child, but others presume it might come from the French "caisse", meaning "crate" or "box", so the child would have been "three crates high". I've only ever heard it used for boys, although you could probably use it for a girl as well. However, my primary association with the term is always a cheeky little five-year-old boy with red hair and freckles and a charming laugh.

7. We're spending three weeks traveling through Germany. What do the Germans call their country?

From Quiz German Place Names

Answer: Deutschland

Österreich is the German name for Austria. I believe Aleman is Spanish for Germany, and Germania is to be found in the film "Gladiator," being the Latin name for Germany. The German word for German is Deutsch, of course.

8. Guess the original English source text of this machine translation output: "Obgleich er ein Jäger ist, schießt er nicht tut."

From Quiz Fun with English-German Machine Translation

Answer: Although he is a hunter, he does not shoot does.

"Does", as in plural of "doe", confused the system, so despite the word being the last one in the sentence (indicating the object rather than the predicate), it was mistaken for a verb. The correct translation should be "Obwohl er Jäger ist, schießt er keine Hirschkühe". A note on the questions: I had to add an explanation of what the questions meant to each one, just in case they get picked up out of context for one of the challenges. Sorry for the repetitions.

9. "Vor den Fenstern heult der Wind. Höre nun, Marie, mein Kind, Was ich dir berichte. Höre von dem wilden Geist, Der die ganze Welt bereist, Heute die Geschichte." The poem is called "Der Sturm"- how would you translate "Sturm"?

From Quiz Windy Poems in German by James Kruess

Answer: Storm

That was easy, I guess. This is the first verse and an introduction. He -the poet- creates the picture of someone and a girl (Marie) sitting inside the house while the wind is wildly blowing. He now starts the story of the storm. A hurricane would be "Hurrikan", rain is "Regen" and fog is "Nebel" in German. Thankfully hurricanes are -until now- an absolute rarity in Germany. About James Krüss: James Krüss was born May 31, 1926 on the German island of Heligoland.

10. When you scold somebody, Germans say you are reading this book of the Bible to him.

From Quiz More Peculiar German Expressions

Answer: Leviticus

"Jemandem die Leviten lesen" means to chew somebody out, usually in the form of a lecture. In case anybody doesn't know, "Leviticus" consists almost entirely of laws, rules and regulations.

11. Somebody who is driving very fast is said to acquire this strange item. Which?

From Quiz Peculiar German Expressions

Answer: A monkey's tooth

"Sich einen Affenzahn zulegen" means literally "to obtain a monkey's tooth", the meaning is "to drive very fast". It probably has to do with gear teeth and the fact that monkeys can move quickly. There are similar expressions with slightly different wording around as German is a language with strong regional dialects and idioms.

12. Answer this simple math problem: zweiundzwanzig minus sechs ist ...

From Quiz Ivy's Basic German Language

Answer: sechzehn

A translation would be: "twenty two minus six is sixteen". Note the spelling of "sechzehn". There's no "s" on the end of the first part. (This reflects the pronunciation).

13. The most famous one: "bekommen" in German does not mean "to become". What does it mean?

From Quiz False Friends

Answer: to get, to receive, to have

"Bekommen" (bekommt - bekam - hat bekommen) = to get, to receive, to have; to become = "werden" (wird - wurde - ist geworden). That's why a German native speaker might say in a restaurant "Can I become a steak?" instead of "I'd like to have a steak". You might even get the reply: "Never, I hope!" Pretty funny thing :)

14. I've been living in Rostock for three years.

From Quiz Translation: English into German

Answer: Ich wohne schon seit drei Jahren in Rostock.

1. With 'seit' use the present or preterite tense to render 'have been _____ ing' and 'had been ______ing' respectively. 2. In German adverbs and adverbial phrases occur in the order: time - manner - place (TMP), so here 'schon seit drei Jahren' precedes 'in Rostock'. (I hope you didn't opt for 'bin ... wohnend' as it's an excellent example of what is called 'Kauderwelsch' in German).

15. Du mußt nicht dahingehen.

From Quiz German Modal Verbs

Answer: You don't have to go there.

müssen + negative - need not, not to have to. In speech 'mußt' would normally be stressed, often quite heavily, in this context.

16. Complete this German proverb: "Es regnet..."

From Quiz German Idiomatic Expressions

Answer: Any of these

You say "it's raining cats and dogs". However, in German, there are even stranger things that may fall from the sky ... such as threads, shoe-makers, and little badger-dogs ...

17. What is the word for "windy" in German?

From Quiz Wie ist das Wetter?

Answer: Windig

Regnerisch is rainy, gewitter is a storm, and hegel is hail.

18. The plural of 'der Tag' is 'die ...'?

From Quiz German - Plurals of Some Common Nouns

Answer: Tage

Note also the essential greeting 'Guten Tag!'

19. In English, someone who has all of life's comforts is said to 'live like a king'? In German, how is such a person said to live?

From Quiz German Idioms and Sayings

Answer: 'like God in France'

'wie Gott in Frankreich'.

20. In German, "Du hast" roughly translates as what in English?

From Quiz The German Language

Answer: You have

21. The German word 'Traum' sounds a lot like the English word, which is:

From Quiz German 101

Answer: dream

22. Verschlimmbesserung may not be a familiar term, but its meaning is very similar to what it sounds like in English. What is meant by Verschlimmbesserung?

From Quiz Untranslatable German Words

Answer: Improvements to something that make it worse

The German verb verschlimmbessern is derived from the words for bad/worse and better. Verschlimmbesserung, the corresponding noun, is an attempt to fix or improve something that leads to other more serious problems. It's a great word that expresses simply a fairly common occurrence in life that doesn't have an English equivalent. Verschlimmbesserung describes many of my DIY projects.

23. What's the best answer to "Wo wohnt Hans?"

From Quiz Fun Q and A in German

Answer: Deutschland

The question is, "Where does Hans live?" Deutschland is Germany. Freitag is Friday, Tante is aunt, and elf is 11.

24. Second on the list of common German surnames is the name Schmidt. What occupation would this most accurately suggest?

From Quiz German Surnames

Answer: blacksmith

Three other forms of the name Schmidt are also ranked high in the About.com list. Schmitt is ranked 24th, Schmid is ranked 26th, and Schmitz is ranked 28th, making this name perhaps the overall most common.

25. This animal is huge and grey, has a trunk and has the largest ears of all living creatures. What is the precise German name for this animal?

From Quiz Animals in German

Answer: Der Afrikanische Elefant

It is the African elephant. My other options were giraffe, horse and Asian elephant. The German translation of the description would be: 'Er ist riesig und grau, hat einen Rüssel und die größten Ohren aller Lebewesen.' In the German language, the masculine article 'der' is placed before elephant, thus I described him as male.

26. The word 'Romanist' can cause misunderstandings. What does 'Hans ist Romanist' mean?

From Quiz False Friends: German-English

Answer: Hans is a student of Romance languages

The word can also refer to anyone specializing in Romance languages, not only students. In English the word 'Romanist' is rare, but when it is used it refers to extreme members of the High Church wing of the Anglican Church or to Roman Catholics. Note that 'der Romanist' is a weak noun, so except in the nom. sing. it ends in -en. The German for 'Roman' is 'der Römer' (pl. -) and for 'novelist' it is 'der Romanschriftsteller' (pl. -).

27. Guess the original English source text of this machine translation output: "Führen Sie mich zur Leitung Grube."

From Quiz Fun with English-German Machine Translation

Answer: Lead me to the lead mine.

This sentence is a little older (taken from another term paper I wrote two years ago), and by now "lead" (as in the metal) has been added to the dictionary of the MT tool. But back then, I couldn't for the life of me get "Bleigrube" or "Bleimine" as a translation for "lead mine". Correct translation: "Bringen [or führen] Sie mich zur Bleigrube."

28. "Fern, im heißen Morgenland, In dem gelben Wüstensand, Ist der Sturm geboren. Den Kamelen, die dort gehn, Wo die Palmenbäume stehn, Saust er um die Ohren" Where is the birthplace of the storm?

From Quiz Windy Poems in German by James Kruess

Answer: In the desert

The storm is born in the "Morgenland" - you can translate this with orient- in the yellow desert sand. "In the field" would be "im Feld", "In Cologne" would be "in Köln" and "in the mountains" "im Gebirge" or "in den Bergen" More about James Krüss: In World War II he was evacuated from the island of Heligoland to places in Thuringia, and later to Saxony.

29. What is the German equivalent for "making a mountain out of a mole hill"?

From Quiz More Peculiar German Expressions

Answer: To make an elephant out of a gnat

"Die Muecke zum Elefanten machen" would be quite some feat!

30. What is the German equivalent of "Average Joe"?

From Quiz Peculiar German Expressions

Answer: Otto Normalverbraucher

"Otto Ordinaryconsumer" comes from a 1948 movie.

This is category 362
Last Updated Mar 18 2024 2:06 PM
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