Guten Tag! Have you heard of Wordle? It’s a new, online game that seems to have taken the world by storm. It looks a little like a crossword (das Kreuzworträtsel), but the way it works is quite different!

The great thing about Wordle is that, although it started as an English language game, it is possible to play it in other languages- including German! I’ve been playing it in both English and German every day, and it’s certainly a great way to test my language skills and keep my mind sharp.

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash

Spielanleitung – How the game works

The instructions for Wordle will come up when you click the ‘i’ button at the top of the game. Here are the instructions in German, taken from this version of the game (note that there are several places you can play). I have put a few of the words and their corresponding English translations in bold, so you can pick up some extra vocabulary as you read the instructions:

Sie müssen das versteckte Wort in 6 Versuchen erraten und die Farbe der Buchstaben ändert sich, um anzuzeigen, wie nah Sie dran sind.

You have 6 attempts to guess the hidden word. The colour of the letters will change to show how close you are to the right word.”

Um das Spiel zu starten, geben Sie einfach ein beliebiges Wort ein, zum Beispiel:
To start the game, simply type in any word. For example:

STROM

This combination of colours means:

O, M sind überhaupt nicht im Zielwort (O and M are not in the goal word at all)
R ist im Wort, aber an der falschen Stelle (R is in the word, but in the wrong place)
S , T ist im Wort und an der richtigen Stelle (S and T are in the word, and in the correct place).

Where to play Wordle

Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash

There are several sites where you can play Wordle in German. Here are two I’ve used- note that one includes letters with Umlaut (ÄÖÜ), and one does not. Again, check the instructions to see if there are any specific ones surrounding Umlaut use!

Wordle.at – Das größte deutsche Wordle-Spiel
Wordle Deutsch/German

German five letter words you can use to get you started!

Photo by John Jennings on Unsplash

The first time I did this I thought, “Oh no… I don’t know any German words!!” so I started with an easy one (HALLO) and got lucky with the letter A. From there, more words came into my mind, and now it’s relatively easy to think of some every time!

If German isn’t your native language, here are a few five letter words you can use to get you started; you are sure to think of more once you’ve got that first one down:

AUGEN – Eyes
ATMEN – To breathe
HALLO – Hello
LÜGEN – To lie
KONTO – Account
NEBEL – Fog
LEBEN – Life/to live
DAUER – Duration
RUHEN – To rest
BEINE – Legs
HAARE – Hair
PAKET – Packet
LESEN – To read
LICHT – Light
NICHT – Not
TAFEL – Blackboard/whiteboard
TISCH – Table
MAUER – Wall

Wordle is a fun, easy way to get your German brain working and test your knowledge of German vocabulary and spelling! You can even share it with your friends, to encourage a little friendly competition; once you’ve finished, click the graph symbol at the top of the game, and then ‘teilen’ (‘share’). Your result will be copied to your clipboard, then all you have to do is paste it into a conversation box to your friend, and they’ll see how you did. Crucially, they will only see the colours (die Farben), rather than the words (die Wörter) you used!

Photo by Afif Kusuma on Unsplash

Have you been playing Wordle? Let me know in the COMMENT BOX what you think of it, and if it’s helping you with your German skills!

Bis bald
Constanze

PS. If you liked this post, you may also like this one: Two of the Longest Words in German