Skip to content

Angriff

attack

noun AN-grif Less Common

Also means

assault

Usage Note

Angriff comes from angreifen ('to attack') and works in both military and sporting contexts. The handy idiom etwas in Angriff nehmen means 'to tackle' or 'set about' a task, with no aggression implied.

Examples

"Der Angriff kam überraschend."

Natural Translation

The attack came as a surprise.

Literal Translation

The attack came surprisingly.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic