Biografie

biography; written account of a person's life

noun bee-o-gra-FEE Rare

Origin: from Greek bios (life) + graphein (write)

Usage Note

Biografie (also Biographie) is a non-fiction account of someone's life written by another person. Distinguished from Autobiografie: eine autorisierte Biografie schreiben, die Biografie eines Politikers.

Examples

"Die neue Biografie des Schriftstellers wurde sofort ein Bestseller."

Natural Translation

The new biography of the writer immediately became a bestseller.

Literal Translation

The new biography of the writer became immediately a bestseller.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Compound Words: How to Read Any Long Word

Read any long German word by working right-to-left: the last noun sets the meaning and gender, and the small linking letters are just glue. Here's the drill.

June 9, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

German Modal Particles: doch, mal, ja, eben

German modal particles doch, mal, ja, and eben add attitude, not meaning. Before/after examples show how to use each one so your German stops sounding stiff.

June 9, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

How Long Does It Take to Learn German? Real Timeline

How long to learn German? Conversational B1 takes ~6–12 months, fluent B2 about 1.5–2.5 years part-time. Here's an honest, hours-based timeline by CEFR level.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

Wo, Wohin, Woher: Three Ways to Say Where

German splits where into three: wo (location), wohin (destination), and woher (origin). Learn the wo vs wohin rule, the hin/her logic, and common mistakes.

June 5, 2026 6 min read