schön
/ʃøːn/
The German word for beautiful is schön.
schön is a versatile word that describes someone or something as attractive. Beyond physical beauty, it is frequently used to mean 'nice' or 'pleasant' in contexts where an English speaker might use 'beautiful' for a person or object.
Meaning: attractive (adj)
Which one should you use?
Hübsch is often used to mean 'pretty' or 'cute' specifically regarding physical appearance, whereas schön is more profound and can refer to aesthetics, weather or experiences.
How does it change in a sentence?
As an attributive adjective, the form of schön changes based on the noun it precedes. Use the ending -e for feminine or plural nouns, such as eine schöne Frau and the ending -er for masculine nouns in the nominative case, such as ein schöner Tag.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃøːn/
Did you know?
- The word schön is a cognate of the English word 'sheen'. Both derive from an ancient root referring to brightness or brilliance.
- Germans often use schön as an intensifier in phrases like schön langsam, which literally means 'beautifully slow' but actually means 'very slowly' or 'carefully'.
- In German, schön can be used as a sarcastic filler word similar to 'great' or 'lovely' in English. A speaker might say Das ist ja schön to express that something is actually annoying or inconvenient.
Examples in context
- Es war so schön!It was so beautiful.This sentence shows how to use schön to describe an experience in the past.Tatoeba #1907187 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1897734 by CK
- Es ist so schön.It's so beautiful.This sentence shows how to use schön to describe a current state or experience.Tatoeba #4711818 by bonny37, translation #1894562 by CK
- Ich bin so schön.I'm so beautiful.This sentence shows how to use schön to describe oneself.Tatoeba #10248257 by wolfgangth, translation #7855503 by shekitten
- Der Sonnenuntergang in den Alpen ist schön.The sunset in the Alps is beautiful.
- Das Gemälde im Museum ist sehr schön.The painting in the museum is very beautiful.
- Die Landschaft hier ist einfach wunderschön.The landscape here is simply gorgeous.
- Das Schloss ist herrlich.The castle is gorgeous.
- Die Opernaufführung war prachtvoll.The opera performance was splendid.
- Der Strand hier ist megageil.The beach here is super gorgeous.
- Die Wohnung ist echt schick eingerichtet.The apartment is beautifully decorated.
- 1531 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Felix and Julia are walking through a park.
- FelixSchau mal, die Blumen sind sehr schön.Look, the flowers are very beautiful.
- JuliaJa, sie sind wirklich schön.Yes, they are truly beautiful.
- FelixDu siehst heute auch sehr schön aus, Julia.You look very beautiful today too, Julia.
- JuliaDanke, das ist sehr lieb von dir.Thank you, that is very sweet of you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “beautiful” translations and entries schön, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries schön, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
