viele
/ˈfiːlə/
The English word "many" is translated into German as viele.
viele is used to describe an indefinite large number of things. If you want to say "a lot of", you can use the informal shortened form 'ne Menge. You can also use the informal term Haufenweise to mean "heaps of".
Meaning: an indefinite large number of (det)
Which one should you use?
Use viele when referring to things you can count, such as people or books. For things that cannot be counted, such as water or time, use viel instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form viele is used as an adjective or determiner for plural countable nouns. For uncountable nouns, use viel (without the -e ending) to mean "much".
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈfiːlə/
Did you know?
- German uses the word viel in the idiom viel Glück, which is the standard way to say 'good luck', despite viel literally meaning 'much'.
- In very old German texts or poetry, you might see manch used instead of viele to mean 'many a', which suggests a selective or representative group rather than a total count.
- In German, the word viel is an adjective that refuses to take an ending when used with uncountable nouns, unlike most other adjectives that change based on the noun's gender or case.
Examples in context
- Es sind zu viele!There are too many of them.This sentence is useful for saying "There are too many of them" using viele.Tatoeba #1791480 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1790759 by Spamster
- Es sind zu viele.There are too many.Tatoeba #7726689 by brauchinet, translation #13529412 by frpzzd
- Iß nicht zu viele!Don't eat too many.This sentence is useful for saying "Don't eat too many" using viele.Tatoeba #14042676 by Waldelfe, translation #11934551 by CK
- Es gibt viele Bücher in der Bibliothek.There are many books in the library.
- Viele Menschen sind heute gekommen.Many people have come today.
- Es gibt eine Menge Arbeit zu erledigen.There is a lot of work to be done.
- Wir haben viele Bücher im Regal.We have many books on the shelf.
- Du hast 'ne Menge Talent.You have a lot of talent.
- Er hat haufenweise Ideen.He has heaps of ideas.
- Viele MenschenMany people
- Oans, zwoa, vuiOne, two, many
- 4480 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julia and Lukas are looking at a photo album.
- JuliaHast du viele Fotos gemacht?Did you take many photos?
- LukasJa, ich habe viele Bilder von dem Urlaub.Yes, I have many pictures from the vacation.
- JuliaIch möchte viele davon sehen.I want to see many of them.
- LukasDann schauen wir sie uns jetzt an.Then let's look at them now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry viele, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
