Gämse

chamois

noun GEM-ze Rare

Usage Note

Gämse (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a nimble mountain goat-antelope of the Alps and Carpathians. Chamois leather (Gämsleder) was traditionally used for cleaning purposes. Plural: die Gämsen.

Examples

"Die Gämse sprang von Fels zu Fels mit bewundernswerter Leichtigkeit."

Natural Translation

The chamois leapt from rock to rock with admirable ease.

Literal Translation

The chamois sprang from rock to rock with admirable lightness.

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 Body Parts: Vocabulary + How to Say It Hurts

Learn German body parts with der/die/das and plurals, plus the two ways to say something hurts: Mir tut der Kopf weh and Ich habe Kopfschmerzen.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Adjective Endings Made Simple

German adjective endings come down to one question, not three tables: does the article already show gender and case? If yes, the adjective stays lazy.

June 5, 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

Weil vs Denn vs Da: "Because" in German

Weil and da send the verb to the end; denn keeps it in second position. Here's how to pick the right German "because" and place the verb correctly.

June 5, 2026 6 min read