groß
/ɡʁoːs/
The German word for big is groß.
groß describes something of a great size. While it refers to physical dimensions, it is also used to describe a person's height. Do not confuse it with the related word großartig, which is used in an abstract sense to mean great or wonderful.
Meaning: of a great size (adj)
Which one should you use?
In English, you use different words for physical size (big) and height (tall), but in German, groß is used for both. For example, a tall person is described as groß.
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, groß changes its ending depending on the gender and case of the noun it modifies. For example, große is used for feminine singular nominative or accusative nouns, while großen is used for masculine singular accusative or plural dative nouns. To form the comparative 'bigger', add -er and change the vowel to an umlaut to get größer. The superlative 'biggest' is typically expressed as am größten when used as a predicate.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡʁoːs/
Did you know?
- The phrase groß schreiben refers to the act of capitalizing a word, because German nouns always start with a capital letter.
- The German alphabet uses the letter ß (eszett), which appears in groß, and it represents a double 's' sound.
- The English word 'great' and the German word groß share a common linguistic ancestor, meaning they are distant 'cousins' in the Germanic language family.
Examples in context
- Es ist so groß!It's so big!This sentence shows how to express that something is very big using groß.Tatoeba #1349744 by Esperantostern, translation #707129 by papabear
- Ist es zu groß?Is it too big?This sentence is useful for asking if something is too big using groß.Tatoeba #1687907 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1658057 by Spamster
- Das ist zu groß.This is too big.This sentence shows how to state that something is too big using groß.Tatoeba #635636 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #55535 by CK
- Das Gebäude ist großThe building is big
- Der Erfolg war enormThe success was big
- Der Berg ist riesigThe mountain is big
- Das Schnitzel ist großThe schnitzel is big
- Die Party gestern war riesigThe party yesterday was big
- Die Konferenzräume sind groß genug für hundert PersonenThe conference rooms are big enough for a hundred people
- Das Auto hat einen riesigen KofferraumThe car has a big trunk
- 1429 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Felix and Hannah are looking at a new house.
- FelixDas Haus ist wirklich groß.The house is really big.
- HannahJa, es ist sehr groß.Yes, it is very big.
- FelixDer Garten ist auch groß.The garden is also big.
- HannahFelix, das ist perfekt!Felix, that is perfect!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “big” translations and entries groß, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries groß, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
