70 sweet terms of endearment in German for your loved ones
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German names can be long and complicated but don’t worry. With these 70 easy terms of endearment in German, you’ll never have to remember any of them. You can just call everyone by an adorable nickname - from bae to your grandma.
Guess who’s holding the Guinness World Record for the longest last name? A German-born of course! The man went by the proud name of Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr. but I’m sure his friends just called him Hubi.
Whether you know someone with a name like that, or you’re just looking for a short and sweet name for your German love - or your German shepherd dog, we’re here to teach you some cute nicknames in German.
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Terms of endearment in German
There’s an unlimited number of German terms of endearment. If you’re taking an online German class with other fellow German-learners, that’s a great opportunity to test out some of those German nicknames. Turn everyone’s name into a German one or call them by their favorite animal in German. Just have fun with it!
German nicknames for grandmother and grandfather
17% of Americans have German ancestry, so many of them have or had German family members. Maybe your grandma or grandpa is German, too, and you want to know what to call them in German?
We don’t have that many name variations for our grandparents in German but one common way to tell your mom’s parents and your dad’s parents apart is to call them by the place they live in - like “Oma Berlin” or “Opa Ansbach”.
| English | German | IPA |
| Grandma | Oma | [oma] |
| Grandpa | Opa | [ɒˈpa] |
| Granny | Omi | [ˈoːmi] |
| Gramps | Opi | [ˈoːpi] |
| Grandma Berlin (or other residence) | Oma Berlin | [oma bɛɐ̯’li:n] |
| Grandpa Berlin (or other residence) | Opa Berlin | [ɒˈpa bɛɐ̯’li:n] |
German terms of endearment for a boyfriend or husband
If your boyfie is German, it’s obviously anti-climactic to call him by his first name. Here are some good German terms of endearment for a boyfriend or husband. Believe me, he’ll be charmed if you call him any of these names - from handsome to the man of your dreams.
Everyone likes being complimented after all! Our guide on making compliments in German will give you even more inspiration.
| English | German | IPA |
| My sweet one | Mein Süßer | [maɪ̯n ˈzyːsɐ] |
| My prince | Mein Prinz | [maɪ̯n pʁɪnt͡s] |
| My king | Mein König | [maɪ̯n ˈkøːnɪç] |
| Hero | Held | [hɛlt] |
| Big one | Großer | [ˈɡʁoːsɐ] |
| Handsome | Hübscher | [ˈhʏpʃɐ] |
| Loved one | Geliebter | [ɡəˈliːptɐ] |
| Lion | Löwe | [ˈløːvə] |
| Tiger | Tiger | [ˈtiːɡɐ] |
| The man of my dreams | Der Mann meiner Träume | [deːɐ̯ man ˈmaɪ̯nɐ ˈtʁɔɪ̯mə] |
| My man (/husband) | Mein Mann | [maɪ̯n man] |
| My boyfriend | Mein Freund | [maɪ̯n fʁɔɪ̯nt] |
Pet names for a girlfriend or wife in German
Of course your girlfriend can be your lion or your tiger, too, but if you want to be a bit more old school and call her your pearl or your jewel, this list is for you. Or you can call her any one of these beautiful German flowers.
| English | German | IPA |
| My sweet one | Meine Süße | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈzyːsə] |
| My pearl | Meine Perle | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈpɛʁlə] |
| My dove | Meine Taube | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈtaʊ̯bə] |
| My dear | Mein Liebchen | [ˈmaɪ̯n ˈliːpçən] |
| My princess | Meine Prinzessin | [ˈmaɪ̯nə pʁɪnˈt͡sɛsɪn] |
| My queen | Meine Königin | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈkøːnɪɡɪn] |
| Heroine | Heldin | [ˈhɛldɪn] |
| Little one | Kleine | [ˈklaɪ̯nə] |
| Jewel | Schmuckstück | [ˈʃmʊkʃtʏk] |
| Loved one | Geliebte | [ɡəˈliːptə] |
| My most beautiful | Meine Schönste | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈʃøːnstə] |
| The woman of my dreams | Die Frau meiner Träume | [diː fʁaʊ̯ ˈmaɪ̯nɐ ˈtʁɔɪ̯mə] |
| Elf | Elfe | [ˈɛlfə] |
| Little elf | Elfchen | [ˈɛlfçən] |
| Fairy | Fee | [feː] |
| Spell-fairy | Zauberfee | [ˈt͡saʊ̯bɐfeː] |
| My woman (/wife) | Meine Frau | [ˈmaɪ̯nə fʁaʊ̯] |
| My girlfriend | Meine Freundin | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈfʁɔɪ̯ndɪn] |
Gender-neutral names for your partner in German
You can’t go wrong with these general nicknames for your partner. They’ll be happy to hear they’re your treasure or your one and only. And don’t forget to share your emotions. When you’re ready to go all out, find out how to say I love you in German!
| English | German | IPA |
| My treasure | Mein Schatz | [maɪ̯n ʃat͡s] |
| My little treasure | Mein Schätzelein | [maɪ̯n ʃɛt͡səlaɪ̯n] |
| My darling | Mein Liebling | [maɪ̯n ˈliːplɪŋ] |
| My baby | Mein Baby | [maɪ̯n ˈbeːbi] |
| My heart | Mein Herz | [maɪ̯n hɛʁt͡s] |
| My angel | Mein Engel | [maɪ̯n ˈeŋɡel] |
| My better half | Meine bessere Hälfte | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˌbɛsəʁə ˈhɛlftə] |
| Sugar | Zucker | [ˈtsʊkɐ] |
| My one and only | Mein ein und alles | [maɪ̯n aɪ̯n ʊnt ˈaləs] |
| Moon of my life | Mond meines Lebens | [mo:nt ‘maɪ̯nəs ‘le:bəns] |
| My sun and stars | Meine Sonne und Sterne | [maɪ̯nə ‘zɔnə ʊnt ‘ʃtɛɐ̯nə] |
| Sunshine | Sonnenschein | [ˈzɔnənˌʃaɪ̯n] |
| Love of my life | Liebe meines Lebens | [ˈliːbə ˈmaɪ̯nəs ˈleːbns] |
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Cute nicknames in German
Have you ever called someone a sugar mouth, a heart leaf or a leg of a mouse? All these cute nicknames are very commonly used in German. They work for little kids, close friends, lovers or actual pets.
| English | German | IPA |
| Rabbit | Hase | [ˈhaːzə] |
| Bunny | Häschen | [ˈhɛːsçən] |
| Little bear | Bärchen | [bɛ:ɐ̯çən] |
| Little mouse | Mausi | [maʊ̯zi:] |
| Mouse’s leg | Mausebein | [ˈmaʊ̯zəbaɪ̯n] |
| Heart leaf | Herzblatt | [ˈhɛʁt͡sˌblat] |
| Little treasure | Schatzi | [ʃat͡si:] |
| Shmoopy | Schnucki | [‘ʃnʊki:] |
| Shmoopy-boo | Schnuckiputz | [‘ʃnʊkɪpʊt͡s] |
| - | Purzel | [pʊɐ̯t͡səl] |
| My little flower | Mein Blümchen | [maɪ̯n ˈblyːmçən] |
| My sugar mouth | Meine Zuckerschnute | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈtsʊkɐˈʃnuːtə] |
German nicknames for friends
Whether you call every single one of your friends Bunny like the girls clique in Mona Awad’s novel of the same name - or you lovingly name all of them individually, here are some cool German nicknames for your friends.
| English | German | Relationship | IPA |
| My best one | Mein Bester | Male best friend | [maɪ̯n ˈbɛstɐ] |
| My best one | Meine Beste | Female best friend | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈbɛstə] |
| Darling | Schatz | General nickname for both romantic relationships and close friends | [ʃat͡s] |
| Rabbit | Hase | Playful nickname for both romantic relationships and close friends | [ˈhaːzə] |
| Mouse | Maus | Playful nickname for both romantic relationships and close friends | [maʊ̯s] |
| Snail | Schnecke | Playful nickname for female friends | [ˈʃnɛkə] |
| My love (male) | Mein Lieber | Common nickname for male friends | [maɪ̯n ˈliːbɐ] |
| My love (female) | Meine Liebe | Common nickname for female friends | [ˈmaɪ̯nə ˈliːbə] |
| Boo-boo | Bubu | Great name for pets, jokingly used for friends | [bu:bʊ] |
How to create a German nickname
If none of these German terms of endearment and nicknames are good enough for your friends and family, you can just come up with your own nicknames. You know how in English, a name can be easily turned into a nickname by adding an “i”- sound at the end (i.e., Anne → Annie, Fred → Freddy)?
In German, nicknames are “Spitznamen” and there are four easy ways to create them:
- Add an “i” to the name (Sara → Sari, Klaus → Klausi)
- Add a “chen” to the name (Marie → Mariechen, Paul → Paulchen)
- Add a “lein” to the name (Cora → Coralein, Niko → Nikolein)
- Repeat the first syllable of their name, especially for girl names (Johanna → Jojo, Miriam → Mimi)
Of course not all of these will work for every name. Just test out what sounds best and get a little creative!
Bis bald, Schatz!
Ready for some more helpful language learning tips? Check out our fun German language blog!
Your German colleagues, friends or loved ones will definitely appreciate how much effort you’re putting into learning German.
Soon enough you’ll grow so close that you’ll be calling every single one of them Schatzi or Hase - and you’ll never have to say a name like “Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff” ever again!
