Roman

novel

noun roh-MAHN Less Common

Origin: from French roman

Usage Note

Roman is a false friend: it means a 'novel' (a long work of fiction), not anything Roman. The colloquial Mach keinen Roman daraus! means 'don't turn it into a saga', i.e. keep it short.

Examples

"Sie liest einen spannenden Roman."

Natural Translation

She is reading an exciting novel.

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 Colors: Names, Shades, and Idioms

German colors are adjectives that take endings — say das rote Auto, not das rot Auto. Get the names, shades, the das-Rot rule, and 14 color idioms.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

Bitte in German: Please, You're Welcome, and More

Bitte means please, you're welcome, here you go, and pardon in German. Learn all the meanings, bitte schön vs bitte sehr, and the danke-bitte rule.

June 5, 2026 5 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

GermanNow

Der, Die, Das: Rules to Guess German Gender

German noun gender rules made simple: check the suffix first, then meaning. Endings like -ung, -chen, and -ling predict der, die, or das with ~90% accuracy.

June 5, 2026 6 min read