German · Greetings & Essentials

"Very" in German: sehr

sehr

Say it: ZAIRadverb/zeːɐ̯/

Very in German is sehr. Say sehr gut, sehr müde, or sehr gerne. It sits before adjectives and adverbs in everyday speech.

Weather

Heute ist es sehr kalt draußen.
It's very cold outside today.
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How to pronounce sehr

Say it

ZAIR

/zeːɐ̯/

ZAIR. Soft s as z. Long e-like vowel, soft r.

"Very" in German: quick reference

GermanEnglish
sehrvery

Default intensifier.

sehr gutvery good

Praise / grades.

sehr gernevery gladly / I'd love to

Polite yes.

total / echttotally / really

Stronger casual intensifiers.

How to use sehr in real life

  1. 1Weather

    Heute ist es sehr kalt draußen.

    It's very cold outside today.

    Sehr kalt.

  2. 2Thanking someone

    Danke, das hilft mir sehr.

    Thanks, that helps me a lot.

    Hilft mir sehr.

  3. 3Food review

    Die Suppe schmeckt sehr gut.

    The soup tastes very good.

    Sehr gut.

Mistakes English speakers make with sehr

Incorrect: Das ist very gut.

Correct: Das ist sehr gut.

Use sehr, not English very.

Incorrect: Ich bin sehr. (alone)

Correct: Ich bin sehr müde. / Das freut mich sehr.

Sehr needs something to intensify.

Good to know

Sehr is polite and safe everywhere. Among friends, echt, total, or richtig often sound more natural than stacking sehr.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

After a long hike

  1. ChatPal

    Bist du sehr müde oder noch fit?

    Are you very tired or still fine?

  2. You

    Sehr müde, ehrlich. Die Steigung war hart.

    Very tired, honestly. The climb was hard.

  3. ChatPal

    Dann Pause. Wasser hilft sehr.

    Then a break. Water helps a lot.

  4. You

    Ja. Ich bin sehr dankbar für den Schatten.

    Yes. I'm very grateful for the shade.

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

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"Very" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Very" in German

How do you say very?

Sehr.

Very good?

Sehr gut.

I'd love to?

Sehr gerne.

Stronger than sehr?

Try echt, total, or richtig in casual talk.

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