Every German word with Q contains QU — Q never appears alone — so this list of German words with QU is also the complete working vocabulary of the letter Q. Each entry has its correct article, English meaning, an example sentence with translation, and a usage note. Read them with the [kv] pronunciation (teeth on lip, no English W): our German QU pronunciation guide has the full mouth-position workout, and the 40 German words starting with Q covers the Q-initial set specifically.
Essential German Words with QU
die Quelle — source, spring. Vertraue nur sicheren Quellen. (Trust only reliable sources.) The root of a whole family: Quellcode, Quellensteuer, Quellenangabe, quellen.
die Qualität — quality. Qualität hat ihren Preis. (Quality has its price.) Stress on the last syllable; one of German’s most frequent nouns.
der Quatsch — nonsense. Das ist doch Quatsch! (That’s nonsense!) Colloquial; essential for understanding spoken German.
die Quittung — receipt. Quittung bitte! (Receipt please!) Two syllables: [ˈkvɪtʊŋ] — no helper vowel between K and V.
das Quadrat — square. Berechne die Fläche des Quadrats. (Calculate the area of the square.) Geometry core vocabulary.
quer — across, diagonal. Er ging quer über die Straße. (He walked diagonally across the street.) Adjective/adverb; also in compounds like Querverbindung.
die Qual — torment, agony. Die Hitze war eine Qual. (The heat was agony.) Strong, dramatic noun.
der Quarz — quartz. Die Uhr hat ein Quarzwerk. (The watch has a quartz movement.) Everyday via die Quarzuhr.
die Quantität — quantity. Es kommt auf die Quantität an. (It depends on the quantity.) The classic partner — and opposite — of Qualität.
der Quotient — quotient. Der Quotient ist das Ergebnis der Division. (The quotient is the result of division.) Math vocabulary; pronounced [kvoˈtsi̯ɛnt].
die Quote — quota, rate. Die Frauenquote wird diskutiert. (The women’s quota is being discussed.) Business, media, and politics.
quitt — quits, even. Damit sind wir quitt. (That makes us even.) Idiomatic adjective for settled scores.
die Quarantäne — quarantine. Die Quarantäne dauert zehn Tage. (The quarantine lasts ten days.) French loan; stress on -tä-.
das Quartier — quarters, accommodation; district. Wir suchen ein Quartier für die Nacht. (We’re looking for accommodation for the night.) Also urban: ein neues Quartier (a new district).
der Quereinsteiger — career changer. Quereinsteiger sind willkommen. (Career changers are welcome.) A signature German concept-word.
die Querflöte — transverse flute. Sie übt täglich Querflöte. (She practices the flute daily.) Quer- (cross) distinguishes it from the recorder.
das Quecksilber — mercury. Quecksilber dehnt sich bei Wärme aus. (Mercury expands with heat.) QU [kv] plus X [ks] in one word.
der Quirl — whisk; lively person. Rühre mit dem Quirl um. (Stir with the whisk.) Also ein Quirl for someone constantly in motion.
die Quitte — quince. Quittengelee schmeckt hervorragend. (Quince jelly tastes excellent.) Old orchard fruit, increasingly trendy.
das Quiz — quiz. Das Quiz beginnt um zwanzig Uhr. (The quiz starts at 8 p.m.) [kvɪs]; plural die Quizze.
More German Words with QU to Know
quieken — to squeak. Die Reifen quieken in der Kurve. (The tires squeal in the curve.) Long IE: [ˈkviːkən].
das Quentchen — tiny bit. Ein Quentchen Geduld noch. (A tiny bit more patience.) Usually with ein; charming and slightly old-fashioned.
die Querstraße — cross street. An der Querstraße links abbiegen. (Turn left at the cross street.) Navigation essential.
der Querschnitt — cross-section; representative sample. Der Querschnitt der Bevölkerung wurde befragt. (A cross-section of the population was surveyed.) Both the technical and the statistical sense.
quietschen — to squeak, screech. Die Tür quietscht. (The door squeaks.) Harsher than quieken; think brakes and hinges.
der Quark — curd cheese. Quark mit Leinöl ist typisch deutsch. (Curd cheese with linseed oil is typically German.) The Sorbian-inspired Quarkkeulchen are worth trying.
die Quellensteuer — withholding tax. Die Quellensteuer wird direkt abgezogen. (The withholding tax is deducted directly.) Quellen (sources) + Steuer (tax) — tax at the source.
der Quartalsbericht — quarterly report. Der Quartalsbericht übertrifft die Erwartungen. (The quarterly report beats expectations.) Business German staple.
die Qualitätskontrolle — quality control. Jede Charge passiert die Qualitätskontrolle. (Every batch passes quality control.) Manufacturing essential.
das Quartal — quarter (of a year). Im dritten Quartal steigen die Umsätze. (In the third quarter, revenues rise.) Q1, Q2 work in German business too.
die Qualle — jellyfish. Quallen treiben an den Strand. (Jellyfish are drifting to the beach.) Plural die Quallen.
der Quader — ashlar block; cuboid. Der Quader hat sechs Flächen. (The cuboid has six faces.) Building and geometry.
quengeln — to whine. Das Kind quengelt den ganzen Tag. (The child whines all day.) Wonderfully expressive colloquial verb.
die Quaste — tassel. Die Quasten der Gardine sind golden. (The curtain tassels are golden.) Home-textile vocabulary.
querfeldein — cross-country. Sie ritten querfeldein. (They rode cross-country.) One compact adverb, no article.
der Quertreiber — obstructionist. Der Quertreiber verzögert das Projekt. (The obstructionist is delaying the project.) Someone driving quer (across) everyone else’s plans.
die Quellenangabe — source citation. Ohne Quellenangabe ist die Arbeit ungültig. (Without source citation the paper is invalid.) Student essential.
der Quacksalber — quack, charlatan. Der Quacksalber versprach Heilung. (The quack promised healing.) For historical and modern fraudsters alike.
quasseln — to chatter. Die Nachbarn quasseln über den Zaun. (The neighbors chatter over the fence.) Informal and warm.
quittieren — to acknowledge receipt; to receipt. Bitte quittieren Sie den Empfang. (Please acknowledge receipt.) The formal verb behind die Quittung.
QU Roots That Unlock Dozens of Words
Five roots generate most QU vocabulary. Learn them as families, not flashcards:
QUELL- (source). die Quelle, der Quell, quellen, das Quellwasser, der Quellcode, die Quellensteuer, die Quellenangabe, der Quellfluss, das Quellgebiet. The metaphor stretches from water spring → information source → tax withheld “at the source” → code source. Nine words, one image.
QUER- (across). quer, die Querstraße, der Querschnitt, die Querflöte, die Querverbindung, querfeldein, der Quertreiber. Seven words, all transparent: something going across something else.
QUART- (quarter). das Quartal, der Quartalsbericht, die Quartalszahlen, der Quartalsgewinn, die Quartalsbilanz, die Quartalsdividende. The financial calendar in one root.
QUALIT- (quality, Latin). die Qualität, die Qualitätskontrolle, die Qualitätssicherung, das Qualitätsmanagement, der Qualitätsmanager. Five words — and don’t confuse with die Qual (torment), a different root!
QUITT- (receipt/settled). die Quittung, quittieren, quitt. Three words: the paper, the verb, the idiom.
That’s 29 words from 5 roots. The remaining QU words (Quatsch, Quarz, Quirl, Quitte, Quentchen, Qualle, Quader, Quacksalber…) are the colorful individuals — learn them for their stories.
The Most Confusing QU Pairs
- die Qual vs. die Qualität: torment vs. quality. Different roots, different stress (Qual one syllable, QualiTÄT). Mixing them up produces sentences like “the torment of our products” — memorable but wrong.
- quer vs. die Quere: quer (across, adjective) vs. in die Quere kommen (to get in someone’s way — idiom). “Komm mir nicht in die Quere!” (Don’t get in my way!) is essential idiomatic German.
- der Quark vs. Quatsch: curd cheese vs. nonsense. “Das ist Quark” isn’t standard — it’s Quatsch. But Bavarians do say “so ein Quark” colloquially… regional variation; stick with Quatsch for nonsense.
- quitt vs. die Quittung: quitt (quits/even, adjective) vs. die Quittung (receipt, noun). “Wir sind quitt” (we’re even) vs. “Quittung bitte” (receipt please). Same root, different jobs.
- quieken vs. quietschen: both “squeak,” but quieken is high and thin (mice, toys), quietschen is harsh (brakes, chalk). Match the squeak to the source.
QU Words in German Scrabble
Q is the 10-point tile and must be played as QU — which makes this list a strategy document. The money plays, shortest first: Quiz (15), quer (13), quitt (14), Qual (13), Quote (14), Quell (15), Quark (17), Quelle (17), Quittung (19), Qualität (19), Quarantäne (21), Quantität (21).
Tactical notes: quer and quitt are the workhorses — four and five letters, playable anywhere. Quiz is the classic premium-square play (the Z adds 3 in German, not 10 — don’t overvalue it). The umlaut play quälen (Ä = 6 points in German Scrabble) outscores its plain cousins. And because every QU word needs a U from somewhere, watch the board for U’s your opponent plays — each one is a potential invitation. Full tactics in our German Scrabble Q, X, Y strategy guide and the tile values chart.
More QU Roots: The Extended Families
Beyond the big five roots, smaller QU families are worth knowing:
QUAD- (square, Latin quadr-). das Quadrat, quadratisch (square-shaped — “quadratisch, praktisch, gut”), die Quadratur (squaring — as in die Quadratur des Kreises, “squaring the circle,” the idiom for an impossible task).
QUOT- (how many, Latin). der Quotient, die Quote, die Quotenregelung (quota regulation), quotieren (to quote, stock market — bonus verb: “Die Aktie wird mit 50 Euro quotiert”).
QUAR- (forty/fourth, Latin). das Quartal, der Quartalsbericht, die Quarantäne (forty days — the original Venetian quarantena!), das Quartier (originally a fourth part, now quarters/district), das Quartett (quartet — bonus word).
QUINT- (fifth). die Quinte (musical fifth — bonus), das Quintett (quintet — bonus). Rare in daily life, but musicians meet them.
QUIRL- (swirl). der Quirl, quirlen (to whisk — bonus verb), der Quirlbesen… keep to quirlen. Small family, vivid image.
The loners with stories: der Quacksalber (from Quack + Salber — the quack who salves), die Qualle (possibly from quellen, welling up like a jellyfish moves), der Quader (Latin quadrus, square stone), das Quecksilber (queck = lively in old German + Silber = silver — “lively silver,” the liquid metal!), die Quitte (Latin cydonia via old French). Each loner has an etymology worth the detour — Quecksilber as “lively silver” is the kind of fact that makes vocabulary unforgettable.
QU in German Idioms
- Quatsch mit Soße! — “Nonsense with sauce!” Playful northern dismissal.
- Das ist doch Quark! — regional (Bavarian) for “that’s nonsense!” — the dairy path to dismissal.
- Sich quälen — to struggle through something. “Er quält sich durch das Buch.”
- Die Qual der Wahl — the agony of choice.
- In die Quere kommen — to get in the way.
- Querfeldein used adverbially in sports: “querfeldein laufen” (to run cross-country).
- Quitt sein — to be even/quits. “Damit sind wir quitt.”
Seven idioms, and QU-words move from the vocabulary list into your active speech. That’s the real goal — not recognizing quengeln in a text, but saying “hör auf zu quengeln” to a whining child with perfect native confidence.
QU Across the German-Speaking World
Standard [kv] holds everywhere, but local color exists:
Austria: slightly softer [k] onset in QU; Quark is everyday vocabulary (Topfen is the Austrian word for curd — der Topfen replaces der Quark in Austrian kitchens, a famous regional difference). Austrian business German uses the same Quartals- and Qualitäts- families.
Switzerland: crisp, strong [kv] — the Swiss are famously precise with clusters. Die Quittung keeps full vowel quality where Germans might reduce. Swiss German dialect (Mundart) keeps QU as [kv] too; it’s one of the stable sounds across the dialect-standard divide.
South Tyrol, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein: standard [kv] throughout. Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch) also uses QU as [kv], a shared Germanic trait.
The takeaway: learn one [kv] and travel freely. QU is among the most geographically stable sounds in German — unlike the R or the CH, which vary dramatically by region.
The QU Spelling Alphabet and Dictation
In the German spelling alphabet: Q wie Quelle. When dictating names or addresses on the phone (“Q wie Quelle, U wie Ulrich”), Quelle is the expected word — using anything else confuses people. Related: X is Xanthippe, Y is Ypsilon. The three rarest letters have the three most distinctive spelling words, which is precisely why they’re memorable.
Dictation drill: have someone read QU-words while you write them. The classic errors — kw for qu, missing the second T in Quittung, Quality with English Y — all reveal English interference. Ten minutes of dictation fixes spelling faster than an hour of reading, because writing forces the QU pattern into motor memory.
Key Takeaways
These German words with QU cover the letter’s full range — from the breakfast table (der Quark) to the boardroom (der Quartalsbericht, die Qualitätskontrolle) to the complaint department (quengeln, der Quertreiber). Because Q never appears without U in German, learning the QU set means learning Q completely. Drill them with the [kv] sound from our German QU pronunciation guide, expand to the 40 German words starting with Q, and deploy the rarest ones in the German Scrabble Q, X, Y strategy guide — Q is worth 10 points and must be played as QU.