German · A1 · Family moment
Arts and crafts in German
Simple German for painting and crafting with your child, from choosing colours to praising and displaying their work.
What you'll learn
- Give short, friendly instructions during arts and crafts.
- Ask about colours and praise a child's picture.
- Say what you like doing using a verb with gern.
German phrases for arts and crafts
Lass uns ein Bild malen.
Let's paint a picture.
Lass uns … is a friendly way to suggest doing something together.
Welche Farbe brauchst du?
Which colour do you need?
Use du when speaking to one child.
Zeichne eine Sonne.
Draw a sun.
Zeichne is the instruction form of zeichnen (to draw) for one child.
Schneide vorsichtig.
Cut carefully.
Vorsichtig means carefully.
Hier ist der Kleber.
Here is the glue.
Der Kleber is the usual word for glue in a crafting activity.
Was für ein schönes Bild!
What a beautiful picture!
A warm way to praise your child's work.
Mal nicht den Tisch an.
Don't paint the table.
Anmalen means to put paint or colour on something. In this instruction, an goes at the end.
Lass es uns aufhängen.
Let's hang it up.
Es refers to das Bild (the picture).
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
das Bild
picture
Plural: die Bilder.
die Farbe
colour; paint
Plural: die Farben. In Welche Farbe brauchst du?, it means colour.
die Sonne
sun
Plural: die Sonnen.
der Kleber
glue
Plural: die Kleber. Usually singular when talking about glue as a material.
der Tisch
table
Plural: die Tische.
malen
to paint; to draw
Often used for children's picture-making, with either paints or crayons.
zeichnen
to draw
Used for drawing lines and shapes, usually with a pencil or pen.
schneiden
to cut
For one child, say Schneide …
aufhängen
to hang up
A separable verb: Ich hänge das Bild auf. (I hang up the picture.)
Saying “I like doing something”
Use ich with a conjugated verb and gern. Gern means that you enjoy the activity. You can also say gerne; the meaning is the same.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I like painting | Ich + verb + gern. | Ich male gern. — I like painting. |
| I like drawing | Ich + verb + gern. | Ich zeichne gern. — I like drawing. |
| Adding what you paint | Ich + verb + gern + object. | Ich male gern Bilder. — I like painting pictures. |
| Asking a child | Verb + du + gern? | Malst du gern? — Do you like painting? |
Friendly instructions and suggestions
Use the du command form when giving an instruction to one child; leave out du. Add nicht for “don't”. Use Lass uns with an infinitive to suggest a shared activity.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Instruction | Command + object | Zeichne eine Sonne. — Draw a sun. |
| Negative instruction | Command + nicht | Mal nicht den Tisch an. — Don't paint the table. |
| Shared activity | Lass uns + object + infinitive. | Lass uns ein Bild malen. — Let's paint a picture. |
More examples
Ich male gern mit dir.
I like painting with you.
Mit dir means with you when speaking to one child.
Ich zeichne gern Sonnen.
I like drawing suns.
Sonnen is the plural of die Sonne.
Welche Farbe brauchst du? Blau?
Which colour do you need? Blue?
Offer a colour to help your child answer.
Was für ein schönes Bild! Lass es uns aufhängen.
What a beautiful picture! Let's hang it up.
Combine praise with a suggestion to display the picture.