129 geography words in German to spark your wanderlust

Germany, Austria and Switzerland all have scenic landscapes to offer, including countless breathtaking lakes and impressive mountain chains - from the beachy coastline of the North Sea to the snowy mountain tops of the Alps.

There’s so much beauty in nature, which makes it a great topic to talk about when you’re learning German. It includes fascinating landscape features including different bodies of water and landforms that will never let you run out of things to talk about in German.

Learning about geography in German can also help you:

• Plan your next camping or hiking trip to a German-speaking country
• Find the most impressive natural landmarks when traveling
• Find your way when the person you’re asking is referring to landmarks as reference points
• Strike a conversation about the landscape with a German-speaker
• Write a pretty nature poem in German

How do you say “landforms” and “water bodies” in German

We’ll teach you some of the most important geography terms, from rivers and oceans to hills and mountains in German.

“Landforms” in German are “Oberflächenformen” [ˈoːbɐˌflɛçn̩ˈfɔʁmən]. If you break down the word, it’s a lot less intimidating:

“Oberfläche” means “surface (literally: upper area) and “Formen” means “shapes”.

The German word for “Water bodies” is even simpler: Gewässer.

The most common landforms and bodies of water in German

When you’re learning the most commonly used landform terms in German, some of the categories may overlap, but we’ll do our best to keep it as logical as possible, starting with coastal and oceanic landforms.

Coastal and oceanic landforms in German

Austria and Switzerland are landlocked countries but a long stretch of Northern Germany borders on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. You may not typically think of Germany as a country with many beaches but the reality looks very different!

You can find a long shoreline and countless beautiful beachy islands in Germany like Föhr, Sylt and Rügen.

English	German	IPA
Archipelago	Der Archipel	[ˌaʁçiˈpeːl]
Coral reef	Das Korallenriff	[koˈʁalənˌʁɪf]
Atoll	Das Atoll	[aˈtɔl]
Natural arch	Das Felsentor	[ˈfɛlzn̩toːɐ̯]
Volcanic arc	Der Vulkanbogen	[vʊlˈkaːnˈboːɡn̩]
Barrier island	Die Barriereinsel	[baˈʁi̯eːʁəˈɪnzl̩]
Beach	Der Strand	[ʃtʁant]
Blowhole	Das Blowhole	[bləʊhɔʊ̯l]
Channel	Der Kanal	[kaˈnaːl]
Cape	Das Kap	[kap]
Cliff	Die Klippe	[ˈklɪpə]
Calanque	Die Calanque	[kaˈlɑ̃k]
Coast	Die Küste	[ˈkʏstə]
Shore	Das Ufer	[ˈuːfɐ]
Bay; Bight	Die Bucht	[bʊxt]
Dune	Die Düne	[ˈdyːnə]
Estuary	Das Ästuar	[ɛstuˈaːɐ̯]
Firth	Der Meeresarm	[ˈmeːʁəsˌʔaʁm]
Fjord	Der Fjord	[fjɔʁt]
Geo	Das Geo	[ˈɡeo]
Gulf	Der Golf	[ɡɔlf]
Inlet	Das Inlet; schmaler Meeresarm oder Flussarm	[ˈɪnlɛt; ˈʃmaːlɐ ˈmeːʁəsˌʔaʁm ˈoːdɐ ˈflʊsˌʔaʁm]
Island	Die Insel	[ˈɪnzl̩]
Islet	Die kleine Insel	[ˈklaɪ̯nə ˈɪnzl̩]
Lagoon	Die Lagune	[ˌlaˈɡuːnə]
Peninsula	Die Halbinsel	[ˈhalpˌʔɪnzl̩]
Sea cave	Die Meereshöhle	[ˈmeːʁəsˈhøːlə]
Sea mount	Der Tiefseeberg	[ˈtiːfˌzeːbɛʁk]
Shoal	Die Sandbank	[ˈzantˌbaŋk]
Spit	Die Nehrung	[ˈneːʁʊŋ]

Erosion landforms in German

Erosion is the process that wears out earthen materials through wind and water. While this process often seems destructive, it’s brought us some of the most beautiful landscape features such as canyons, caves and fjords.

English	German	IPA
Canyon	Der Canyon; die Schlucht	[ˈkɛnjən; ʃlʊxt]
Cave	Die Höhle	[ˈhøːlə]
Cliff	Die Klippe	[ˈklɪpə]
Fjord	Der Fjord	[fjɔʁt]
Badlands	Das Ödland	[ˈøːtlant]
Butte	Der Härtling	[ˈhɛʁtlɪŋ]
Erg	Der Erg	[ɛrᵊx]
Gully	Die Erosionsrinne	[eʁoˈzi̯oːnsˈʁɪnə]
Hogback	Die Schichtrippe	[ʃɪçtˈʁɪpə]
Mesa	Der Tafelberg	[taflbɛʁk]
Ridge	Der Gebirgskamm	[ɡəˈbɪʁksˌkam]
Tor	Das Tor	[toːɐ̯]
Valley	Das Tal	[taːl]
Wind gap	Der Strunkpass	[ʃtʁʊŋkpas]

Fluvial landforms

Fluvial landforms are shaped by running water. They dominate many of our landscapes, even those that seem arid today.

English	German	IPA
River	Der Fluss	[flʊs]
River island	Die Flussinsel	[flʊsˈɪnzl̩]
Shoal	Die Sandbank	[ˈzantˌbaŋk]
Spring	Die Quelle	[ˈkvɛlə]
Aid	Der Werder	[ˈvɛʁdɐ]
Bench	Die Schorre; die Brandungsplattform	[ʃɔɐ̯ə; ˈbʁandʊŋsˈplatˌfɔʁm]
Esker	Der Os	[oːs]
Floodplain	Die Flussaue	[flʊsˈaʊ̯ə]
Levee	Der Deich	[daɪ̯ç]
Marsh	Der Sumpf	[zʊmp͡f]
Swamp	Der Bruch	[bʁʊx]
Meander	Der Mäander	[mɛˈandɐ]
Stream	Der Strom	[ʃtʁoːm]
Riffle	Die Stromschnelle	[ˈʃtʁoːmˌʃnɛlə]
Waterfall	Der Wasserfall	[ˈvasɐˌfal]

Impact landforms in German

When a large object hits the earth, this of course impacts its surface. 15 Million years ago for example, an asteroid hit the earth where Bavaria is today and the result is a huge crate called the “Nördlinger Ries” that is still very visible today.

English	German	IPA
Crater	Der Krater	[ˈkʁaːtɐ]
Meteor crater	Der Meteorkrater	[meteˈoːɐ̯ˌkʁaːtɐ]
Impact crater	Der Einschlagkrater	[ˈaɪ̯nˌʃlaːkˈkʁaːtɐ]
Complex crater	Komplexer Krater	[kɔmˈplɛksɐ ˈkʁaːtɐ]
Cratered landscape	Die Kraterlandschaft	[ˈkʁaːtɐˌlantʃaft]
Crater lake	Der Kratersee	[ˈkʁaːtɐˌzeː]

Mountains and glacial landforms in German

Austria, Switzerland and the South of Germany are highly mountainous as Europe’s highest and most extensive mountain range, the Alps, stretches through all three countries. This gives these countries their distinctive look that brings to mind charming little mountain towns, surrounded by the beautiful snowy Alps.

English	German	IPA
Hill	Der Hügel	[ˈhyːɡl̩]
Mountain	Der Berg	[bɛʁk]
Ridge	Der Kamm	[kam]
Glacier	Der Gletscher	[ˈɡlɛt͡ʃɐ]
Crevasse	Die Gletscherspalte	[ˈɡlɛt͡ʃɐˌʃpaltə]
Glacier cave	Die Höhle	[ˈhøːlə]
Mountain range	Das Gebirge	[ɡəˈbɪʁɡə]
Mountain chain	Die Gebirgskette	[ɡəˈbɪʁksˌkɛtə]
Mountain pass	Der Gebirgspass	[ɡəˈbɪʁksˌpas]
Arête	Der Gebirgsgrat	[ɡəˈbɪʁɡsɡʁaːt]
Cirque	Das Kar	[kaːɐ̯]
Col	Die ​​Scharte	[ˈʃaʁtə]
Cove	Die Einbuchtung	[ˈaɪ̯nˌbʊxtʊŋ]
Dirt cone	Der Sandkegel	[zantˈkeːɡl̩]
Valley	Das Tal	[taːl]
Side valley	Das Seitental	[ˈzaɪ̯tn̩taːl]
Highland	Das Hochland	[ˈhoːxˌlant]
Summit	Der Gipfel	[ˈɡɪp͡fl̩]
Inselberg	Der Inselberg	[ˈɪnzl̩bɛʁk]
Outwash plain	Der Sander	[ˈzandɐ]

Volcanic landforms in German

Did you know there were more than 30 volcanoes in Germany? Don’t worry about them when you’re visiting though. The last one erupted around 11,000 years ago!

English	German	IPA
Geyser	Der Geysir	[ˈɡaɪ̯ziːɐ̯]
Lava	Die Lava	[ˈlaːva]
Magma	Das ​​Magma	[ˈmaɡma]
Volcano	Der Vulkan	[vʊlˈkaːn]
Shield volcano	Der Schildvulkan	[ˈʃɪltvʊlˌkaːn]
Supervolcano	Der Supervulkan	[ˈzuːpɐvʊlˌkaːn]
Caldera	Die Caldera	[kalˈdeːʁa]
Guyot	Die Tiefseekuppe	[ˈtiːfˌzeːˈkʊpə]
Seamount	Der Tiefseeberg	[ˈtiːfˌzeːˈbɛʁk]
Lava dome	Der Lavadom	[ˈlaːvadoːm]
Lava field	Das Lavafeld	[ˈlaːvaˌfɛlt]
Lava lake	Der Lavasee	[ˈlaːvaˌzeː]
Maar	Das Maar	[maːɐ̯]
Volcanic crater lake	Vulkanischer Kratersee	[vʊlˈkaːnɪʃɐ ˈkʁaːtɐˌzeː]

Bodies of water in German

These terms are especially important because they describe most of the wonders we have on our little blue planet as an impressive 71% of the Earth's surface is water-covered.

English	German	IPA
Water mass	Die Wassermasse	[ˈvasɐˌmasə]
Ocean	Der Ozean	[ˈotseaːn]
Sea	Das Meer	[meːɐ̯]
Lake	Der See	[zeː]
River	Der Fluss	[flʊs]
Creek	Der Bach	[bax]
Pond	Der Teich	[taɪ̯ç]
Sea arm	Der Meeresarm	[ˈmeːʁəsˌʔaʁm]
Reservoir	Der Stausee	[ˈʃtaʊ̯ˌzeː]
Bay	Die Bucht	[bʊxt]
Bayou	Der Bayou	[baˈjuː]
Canal	Der Kanal	[kaˈnaːl]
River delta	Das Flussdelta	[flʊsˈdɛlta]
Hot spring	Die Thermalquelle	[tɛʁˈmaːlˌkvɛlə]
Lagoon	Die Lagune	[ˌlaˈɡuːnə]
Loch	Der Loch	[lɔx]
Mangrove	Die Mangrove	[mɑ̃.ɡʁɔv]
Mediterranean sea	Das Mittelmeer	[ˈmɪtl̩meːɐ̯]
Mill pond	Der Mühlenteich	[ˈmyːləntaɪ̯ç]
Puddle	Die Pfütze	[ˈpfʏt͡sə]
Wetland	Das Feuchtgebiet	[ˈfɔɪ̯çtɡəˌbiːt]
Bog	Das Moor	[moːɐ̯]
Port	Der Hafen	[ˈhaːfn]

Phrases or idioms that contain landforms in German

If someone mentions a “silence in the forest” in German (Schweigen im Walde), they’re referring to an awkward silence.

To save you from any of those awkward silences in the forest, we’ll make sure you never run out of things to say in German. That’s why we always teach you plenty of idioms that you can use in a conversation.

German	Literal translation	Meaning	IPA
Berge versetzen können	To be able to move mountains	To do something so difficult it’s almost impossible	[ˈbɛʁɡə fɛɐ̯ˈzɛt͡sn̩ ˌkœnən]
Wie ein Strich in der Landschaft	Like a line in the landscape	Extremely skinny	[viː aɪ̯n ʃtʁɪç ɪn deːɐ̯ ˈlantʃaft]
Wie Sand am Meer	Like sand by the sea	A dime a dozen	[viː ˈzant am ˈmeːɐ̯]
Nah am Wasser gebaut sein	To be built close to the water	To cry easily	[naː am ˈvasɐ ɡəˈbaʊ̯t zaɪ̯n]
Ins kalte Wasser springen	To jump into the cold water	To jump in at the deep end	[ ɪns kaltɛ ˈvasɐ ˈʃpʁɪŋən]
Den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht sehen	To not see the forest from so many trees	Can't see the forest for the trees	[deːn valt foːɐ̯ ˈlaʊ̯tɐ ˈbɔɪ̯mən nɪçt ˈzeːən]
Es herrscht Schweigen im Walde	There’s silence in the forest	There’s an awkward silence	[ɛs hɛʁʃt ˈʃvaɪ̯ɡn̩ ɪm valt]

Scenic highlights of German-speaking countries

If you ever get to travel to a German-speaking country, you can look forward to some impressive natural landmarks.

Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland are filled with forested hills and some larger mountains like the Alps. In the North, Germany flattens out all the way to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which offer lovely sandy beaches.

These are some of the scenic highlights that these countries have to offer:

The Black Forest

Despite its name, the Black Forest is a lush green woodland area with an abundance of wildlife and wild plants. What makes it so special is how pure and wild it is: Some areas have been purposefully left untouched by humans for more than 100 years.

This makes it the ideal habitat for a number of rare and endangered birds like the fastest bird in the world, the peregrine falcon, and Europe’s smallest owl, the pygmy owl.

Vulkanland

The Styrian Volcanic Land in Austria gets its name from the remains of volcanoes that are millions of years old and still visible as hills in the region. Today, the area is a popular wine-growing area, so make sure you also try a local German wine when you’re there!

Ostseebäder

Germany has a number of so-called “Ostseebäder” (Baltic Sea Baths) like the Ostseebad Travemünde or Sellin on the island of Rügen. These little gems by the Baltic Sea are places with beautiful sandy beaches and a distinct beach culture.

The Alps

Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany are all Alpine countries, so don’t forget your hiking boots when you’re visiting! If you love nature and especially the mountains, you won’t wanna miss out on this stunning mountain chain!

Lakes Constance

Lake Constance, the so-called “Bodensee” is where Germany, Austria and Switzerland meet. As Germany’s largest lake and the third biggest lake in Europe, it’s a popular tourist destination, with deep blue water and a scenic view of the Alps in the background.

Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva is on the French-Swiss border and offers fancy spa resorts as well as beautiful hiking trails through flowery patches of nature.

Lake Hallstatt

This lake is beautifully situated in Austria’s Salzkammergut region and surrounded by a number of little villages that could be straight from a storybook.

Plan your dream vacation

When you go to bed tonight, you’re probably dreaming of scenic landscapes and counting sheep-shaped clouds above the Alps before you fall asleep. Whether you’ve decided to visit the sandy beaches of the Ostsee or the sleepy towns in the Swiss Alps, your dream vacation is waiting - and the best way to prepare for a trip to a German-speaking country is with a German class of course.

There’s just no better way to experience a country than by chatting to the locals and getting all the insider tips that tourists miss out on. You’ll be fluent in no time because remember, with enough motivation and endurance, you can move mountains!

Whatever it is you want to talk to a German-speaker about, we’ve probably covered it in our extensive German language blog. So make sure to check it out and brush up on your German vocab before you hop on that plane!