Gefreiter

lance corporal (Bundeswehr)

noun geh-FREYE-ter Rare

Usage Note

Gefreiter is the first rank above private (Soldat) in the Bundeswehr, awarded after basic training. The name comes from being 'freed' (freigestellt) from certain fatigues — a tradition going back centuries.

Examples

"Nach drei Monaten wurde er zum Gefreiten befördert."

Natural Translation

After three months he was promoted to lance corporal.

Literal Translation

After three months was he to lance-corporal promoted.

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

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

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

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

German Two-Way Prepositions: Accusative or Dative?

Use accusative for movement into a place (wohin?) and dative for a fixed location (wo?). Master all nine German two-way prepositions with one simple test.

June 9, 2026 6 min read