Fußball

football

noun FOOS-bal Less Common

Also means

soccer

Usage Note

Fußball means both the sport (soccer) and the ball itself, a compound of Fuß ('foot') and Ball. Context distinguishes them; for the round object you may say Fußball or just Ball, and Fußballplatz is the pitch.

Examples

"Die Kinder spielen jeden Tag Fußball."

Natural Translation

The children play football every day.

Literal Translation

The children play every day football.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

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

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German False Friends: 25 Words That Trick You

German false friends like Gift (poison) and bekommen (to receive) trick English speakers daily. Here are 25 words that mean the opposite of what you'd guess.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Word Order: The Verb Rules That Trip You Up

German word order comes down to three verb-position rules: the verb is second in main clauses, last after weil and dass, and time comes before place.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

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 Cases Explained Simply (4 Cases)

German has four cases, and each answers one question: wer, wen, wem, wessen. Learn nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive without drowning in charts.

June 5, 2026 6 min read