German · A1 · Family moment
Getting dressed in German
Practise everyday German for getting dressed with your child, including clothing names and ways to say “my” and “your.” Use the informal du forms when speaking to one child.
What you'll learn
- Name common clothes in German.
- Use mein and dein to talk about whose clothes they are.
- Give simple instructions while helping your child get dressed.
- Ask about clothing choices and offer encouragement.
German phrases for getting dressed
Wo sind deine Socken?
Where are your socks?
Use deine with plural clothes such as Socken.
Zieh deine Schuhe an.
Put on your shoes.
Anziehen means “to put on.” In this instruction, an goes at the end.
Das ist deine Jacke.
This is your jacket.
Jacke is feminine, so use deine.
Arme hoch!
Arms up!
A short, natural instruction when helping a child put on a top.
Welches T-Shirt möchtest du?
Which t-shirt do you want?
Möchtest du is a gentle way to ask what your child would like.
Es ist heute kalt.
It is cold today.
Use es ist to describe the weather.
Du siehst toll aus.
You look great.
A friendly compliment. Aussehen means “to look” in the sense of appearance.
Wir sind fast fertig.
We are almost ready.
Fast means “almost”; fertig means “ready” or “finished.”
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
die Socke / die Socken
sock / socks
Usually used in the plural when getting dressed.
der Schuh / die Schuhe
shoe / shoes
The plural adds -e.
die Jacke
jacket
A feminine noun: meine Jacke, deine Jacke.
das T-Shirt
T-shirt
A neuter noun: mein T-Shirt, dein T-Shirt.
der Arm / die Arme
arm / arms
Use the plural in Arme hoch!
anziehen
to put on
Used for clothing; the prefix an separates in simple instructions.
kalt
cold
Useful for explaining why warm clothes are needed.
fertig
ready; finished
Wir sind fertig can mean you have finished getting dressed.
Possessives: my and your
Mein means “my”; dein means “your” when speaking to one child. The ending matches the clothing noun, not the person who owns it. These forms apply when naming the owner with das ist or asking where something is.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | mein / dein | Das ist mein Schuh. — This is my shoe. |
| Neuter singular | mein / dein | Wo ist dein T-Shirt? — Where is your T-shirt? |
| Feminine singular | meine / deine | Das ist deine Jacke. — This is your jacket. |
| Plural | meine / deine | Wo sind meine Socken? — Where are my socks? |
Simple dressing instructions
For a direct instruction to one child, use the informal command without du. With anziehen, put zieh first and an last. Feminine and plural possessives stay meine or deine when they are the object of this command.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Put on one item | Zieh + deine Jacke + an. | Zieh deine Jacke an. — Put on your jacket. |
| Put on plural items | Zieh + deine Schuhe + an. | Zieh deine Schuhe an. — Put on your shoes. |
| Add please | Zieh bitte … an. | Zieh bitte deine Socken an. — Please put on your socks. |
More examples
Wo ist meine Jacke?
Where is my jacket?
Use ist for one item and meine with the feminine noun Jacke.
Das ist dein T-Shirt.
This is your T-shirt.
Use dein with the neuter noun T-Shirt.
Wo sind meine Schuhe?
Where are my shoes?
Use sind and meine with plural Schuhe.
Zieh bitte deine Jacke an.
Please put on your jacket.
Bitte makes the instruction more polite.
Bist du fertig?
Are you ready?
Put bist before du to ask a yes-or-no question.