Gift
/ɡɪft/neuter
Poison in German is Gift.
The noun Gift refers to a substance that is harmful to a living organism. For specific instances like snake venom, the term Schlangengift is used.
Meaning: substance harmful to a living organism (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Gift is a neuter noun, so it is used with the definite article das (e.g., das Gift). The plural form of the word is Gifte. If you want to describe the action of using poison to kill or paralyze, use the verb vergiften.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɡɪft/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful of the false friend: English speakers often mistake the German word Gift for the English word 'gift' (a present). In German, Gift means poison.
Did you know?
- The German word Gift and the English word 'gift' actually share the same ancestor, meaning 'a thing given'.
Examples in context
- Das ist ebenfalls Gift.That is poison as well.This sentence shows how to state that something is also poison using Gift.Tatoeba #4698758 by tarsier, translation #4698307 by Josefwintzent
- Er trank Gift und starb.He drank poison and died.This sentence describes the act of drinking poison using Gift.Tatoeba #5116976 by Esperantostern, translation #11896111 by tatoebashrek
- Was ist das für ein Gift?What kind of poison is this?This sentence is a way to ask what kind of poison something is using Gift.Tatoeba #13078789 by Waldelfe, translation #12108120 by CK
- In diesem Labor werden gefährliche Giftstoffe untersucht.Dangerous poisons are being studied in this laboratory.
- Lass uns vorsichtig sein, dieses Zeug könnte Gift sein.Let's be careful, this stuff could be poison.
- 45 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sarah and Lukas are cleaning out an old garden shed.
- SarahPass auf, Lukas, das hier ist Gift!Watch out, Lukas, this here is poison!
- LukasWoher kommt dieses Gift?Where did this poison come from?
- SarahEs war hinter den alten Töpfen.It was behind the old pots.
- LukasIch bringe es sofort weg.I will take it away immediately.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “poison” translations and entries Gift, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Gift, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
