German · Emotions & Descriptions

"Tall" in German: groß

groß

Say it: grohsadjective/ɡʁoːs/

Tall in German is groß. Say Du bist groß or Er ist größer als ich. Groß also means big, so height talk often adds groß gewachsen or mentions meters.

Sports team

Unser neuer Spieler ist richtig groß.
Our new player is really tall.
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How to pronounce groß

Say it

grohs

/ɡʁoːs/

grohs. Long o. Soft ß like ss.

"Tall" in German: quick reference

GermanEnglish
großtall / big

Default adjective.

größertaller / bigger

Comparative.

Wie groß bist du?How tall are you?

Height question.

groß gewachsentall (grown)

Clearer height sense.

How to use groß in real life

  1. 1Sports team

    Unser neuer Spieler ist richtig groß.

    Our new player is really tall.

    Groß for height.

  2. 2Family photo

    Du bist größer als dein Bruder.

    You are taller than your brother.

    Größer comparative.

  3. 3Clothes

    Für so große Menschen brauchen wir längere Hosen.

    For such tall people we need longer pants.

    Große attributive form.

Mistakes English speakers make with groß

Incorrect: Ich bin tall.

Correct: Ich bin groß.

Use groß, not English tall.

Incorrect: hoher for a person's height (usually)

Correct: groß for people

People's height uses groß; hoch is more for objects.

Good to know

Asking Wie groß bist du? is normal among friends. Groß can mean important or big too—add context when you mean height.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Picking seats at a concert

  1. ChatPal

    Bist du zu groß für die zweite Reihe?

    Are you too tall for the second row?

  2. You

    Vielleicht. Ich bin ziemlich groß.

    Maybe. I'm fairly tall.

  3. ChatPal

    Dann setzen wir uns weiter hinten. Dort bist du nicht zu groß.

    Then we'll sit farther back. There you won't be too tall.

  4. You

    Danke. Als Großer blockiere ich sonst die Sicht.

    Thanks. As a tall person I otherwise block the view.

This is a sample. In ChatPal you have this conversation out loud and get feedback on what you say.

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"Tall" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Tall" in German

How do you say tall?

Groß.

How tall are you?

Wie groß bist du?

Taller?

Größer.

Tall vs big?

Groß covers both; context or groß gewachsen clarifies height.

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