14. Word formation: multiplying your vocabulary

German builds most of its vocabulary from a limited set of roots combined by transparent rules. Learning a root with its prefixes and suffixes gives you a whole family of words at once, and lets you decode words you have never seen.

Compounds: read right to left

A compound is a head (last element) modified by everything before it. The head gives the meaning category and the gender: der Kühlschrank is a kind of Schrank. Read long compounds from the right: Daten-schutz-grund-verordnung = a Verordnung (regulation), basic (Grund), on protection (Schutz) of data (Daten), which is the GDPR (DSGVO).

Linking sounds (Fugenelemente) join the parts. The reliable one: nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -ion, -tät always add -s- (Wohnungstür, Gesundheitssystem, Informationstechnik). Others (-n- in Straßenbahn, -er- in Kinderwagen, -e- in Hundeleine) are learned word by word.

One root, one family

The verb stellen (to put upright) generates dozens of everyday words by adding prefixes and suffixes:

Word	Meaning	Logic
die Stelle	place, position, job	where something is put
bestellen / die Bestellung	to order / order	be- + put: place an order
vorstellen / die Vorstellung	introduce, imagine / idea, performance	put in front (of someone, of your mind)
einstellen / die Einstellung	hire, adjust / attitude, setting	put in (a company, a machine, your mind)
darstellen / die Darstellung	represent / representation	put there, visibly
herstellen / die Herstellung	produce / production	put here, into existence
feststellen / die Feststellung	establish, notice / finding	put firmly
ausstellen / die Ausstellung	exhibit, issue / exhibition	put out
zustellen	deliver (post)	put to someone
die Fragestellung	research question	how a question is put

The same exercise works for setzen, legen, nehmen, ziehen, halten, schlagen, sprechen, kommen. Each family is worth an afternoon.

Suffixes that change word class

Suffix	Makes	Example
-ung	Feminine noun from a verb: process or result	erklären → die Erklärung
-heit, -keit	Feminine noun from an adjective: quality	frei → die Freiheit; möglich → die Möglichkeit
-schaft	Feminine noun: group or state	Freund → die Freundschaft
-er	Masculine noun: person or tool doing the verb	lehren → der Lehrer; rechnen → der Rechner
infinitive as noun	Neuter noun: the activity	lernen → das Lernen
-bar	Adjective: can be done	machen → machbar
-lich, -ig	Adjective	Freund → freundlich; Lust → lustig
-los, -voll	Adjective: without, full of	arbeitslos, sinnvoll
-isch	Adjective, often origin or field	Technik → technisch
-ieren	Verb from Latin or French roots	analysieren, programmieren
un-	Negates adjectives and some nouns	unmöglich, die Unruhe

English as a bridge: regular sound correspondences

German and English split from the same ancestor, and a sound shift in German created regular correspondences. Knowing them turns many “new” words into old ones.

English	German	Examples
t	z, ss, s	ten → zehn, tongue → Zunge, water → Wasser, eat → essen, what → was
p	pf, f	apple → Apfel, pound → Pfund, ship → Schiff, sleep → schlafen
k (after a vowel)	ch	make → machen, book → Buch, week → Woche
d	t	day → Tag, drink → trinken, bed → Bett
th	d	thank → danken, three → drei, thing → Ding, through → durch
v, f (inside a word)	b	have → haben, give → geben, over → über
y	g	day → Tag, way → Weg, yellow → gelb

Watch for false friends: bekommen (receive), also (so, therefore), aktuell (current), eventuell (possibly), Gift (poison), Chef (boss), sensibel (sensitive), Rat (advice, council), Art (kind, type), spenden (donate).

Collocations: the C1 layer

At C1, knowing a word is not enough; you need the verbs and adjectives it combines with. German has many fixed noun-verb phrases (Funktionsverbgefüge) that replace a simple verb in formal language:

Phrase	Means roughly	Simple verb
eine Entscheidung treffen	make a decision	entscheiden
eine Frage stellen	ask a question	fragen
einen Antrag stellen	submit an application	beantragen
Kritik üben an + Dat	criticise	kritisieren
zur Verfügung stehen / stellen	be / make available	verfügbar sein
in Frage kommen	be an option	möglich sein
Rücksicht nehmen auf + Akk	be considerate of	berücksichtigen
in Anspruch nehmen	make use of, take up	nutzen
Bescheid geben / sagen	let someone know	informieren
zum Ausdruck bringen	express	ausdrücken

When you learn a noun, also save the verb it goes with: eine Rolle spielen, einen Beitrag leisten, ein Ziel erreichen, Erfahrungen sammeln.