albern
/ˈalbərn/
The German word for silly is albern.
albern is used to describe someone or something that is foolish or shows a lack of good sense and wisdom, often in a lighthearted or playful manner. To describe a person's behavior as being silly, you can use the construction albern sein (to be silly). If you want to refer to a silly person as a noun, you can use Dummerchen.
Meaning: foolish, showing a lack of good sense and wisdom (adj)
Which one should you use?
albern implies a sense of silliness that is playful or lighthearted. It is distinct from dumm, which specifically means stupid or lacking intelligence.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When using albern as an attributive adjective before a feminine or plural noun, it takes the ending -e, such as in eine alberne Idee (a silly idea). To express the comparative form, such as 'sillier', add -er to the base form to get alberner.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈalbərn/
Did you know?
- The German word albern shares a similar historical evolution with the English word 'nice', as both shifted from meaning 'friendly' or 'simple' to describing a lack of judgment.
- While albern describes the act of being silly, the noun Dummerchen is often used as a term of endearment, similar to calling someone a 'little silly' or 'silly-billy'.
Examples in context
- Bin ich albern genug?Am I being silly enough?This sentence is useful for asking if one is being silly enough using albern.Tatoeba #10183579 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #10183222 by DJ_Saidez
- Das ist einfach albern.That's just silly.This sentence is useful for stating that something is simply silly using albern.Tatoeba #12412617 by Yorwba, translation #9769184 by shekitten
- Dein Hut sieht albern aus.Your hat looks silly.This sentence is useful for describing how an object looks silly using albern.Tatoeba #11780589 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1853762 by Spamster
- Die Entscheidung des Managers war wirklich dumm.The manager's decision was really silly.
- Du hast wirklich was Blödes gesagt!You've really said something silly!
- Bist du gerade doof?Are you being silly right now?
- 22 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Laura and Felix are laughing about a funny mistake.
- LauraDas war eine alberne Idee.That was a silly idea.
- FelixJa, ich war wohl etwas albern.Yes, I was probably a bit silly.
- LauraAber es war sehr lustig.But it was very funny.
- FelixStimmt, du hast recht, Laura.True, you are right, Laura.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “silly” translations and entries albern, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries albern, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
