The first time you walk into a German office as a non-native speaker, the vocabulary hits you all at once: the Kaffeeküche everyone disappears to at ten, the Locher you borrow from a colleague, the Beamer that refuses to connect five minutes before your presentation. Learning german office vocabulary is not about memorizing a dictionary — it is about knowing the exact words people around you actually say every single day, with the right article attached, because in German, der, die, das matters.
This list gives you 50 German office words you will genuinely use daily, from furniture and tech to the people and routines of working life. Each entry has the correct article, a clear English meaning, and a short usage note so you know how the word behaves in real sentences. For a broader look at workplace language, see also our guide to essential German business vocabulary.
50 German Office Vocabulary Words With Articles and Meanings
German nouns always come with a gender — masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das). Learn each word together with its article, the way it appears in the table below, and you will avoid the most common mistake learners make.
Furniture, equipment, and the physical office
| German word | Article & meaning | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| das Büro | neuter — the office | The general word for your workplace: „Ich bin im Büro” (I’m in the office). |
| der Schreibtisch | masculine — the desk | „Leg es auf meinen Schreibtisch” — put it on my desk. Schreibtisch is a compound of schreiben (to write) and Tisch (table). |
| der Bürostuhl | masculine — the office chair | A classic piece of German office culture: the ergonomic Bürostuhl is a serious investment here. |
| der Computer | masculine — the computer | Pronounced roughly like English; often shortened to der Rechner. |
| der Bildschirm | masculine — the monitor/screen | Literally „picture shield”; used for any screen, including your laptop display. |
| die Tastatur | feminine — the keyboard | „Die Tastatur funktioniert nicht” — the keyboard isn’t working. Useful on IT calls. |
| die Maus | feminine — the mouse | Also the animal; context makes it clear. Plural: die Mäuse. |
| der Drucker | masculine — the printer | From drucken (to print). „Der Drucker hat kein Papier” — the printer is out of paper. |
| das Telefon | neuter — the telephone | Often shortened to das Telefon; mobile is das Handy in German, never „mobile phone”. |
| der Aktenschrank | masculine — the filing cabinet | „Die Verträge sind im Aktenschrank” — the contracts are in the filing cabinet. |
| die Schublade | feminine — the drawer | „In der obersten Schublade” — in the top drawer. |
| der Papierkorb | masculine — the wastebasket | Literally „paper basket”. Germans take Mülltrennung (waste separation) seriously — mind the bins. |
| der Beamer | masculine — the projector | The classic false friend trap: in English a beamer is a car; in German it is the projector. „Kannst du den Beamer anmachen?” |
| der Konferenzraum | masculine — the conference room | „Das Meeting ist im Konferenzraum 3″ — the meeting is in conference room 3. |
| die Kaffeeküche | feminine — the office kitchen | The social heart of every German office. „Treffen wir uns in der Kaffeeküche?” — shall we meet in the kitchen? |
| der Kopierer | masculine — the copier | From kopieren (to copy). „Der Kopierer ist kaputt” — the copier is broken; a sentence you will hear weekly. |
| das Faxgerät | neuter — the fax machine | Surprisingly, fax is still alive in German offices, especially with authorities. |
| die Steckdose | feminine — the power outlet | Literally „plug socket”. „Wo ist die nächste Steckdose?” — where is the nearest outlet? |
| die Lampe | feminine — the lamp | „Mach die Lampe an” — turn on the lamp. Anmachen and ausmachen cover on/off for everything. |
| der Kalender | masculine — the calendar | For the wall calendar or your desk planner; the digital one is usually der Terminkalender. |
| der Locher | masculine — the hole punch | From lochen (to punch holes). One of the words you will borrow and forget to return. |
| der Tacker | masculine — the stapler | From the English „tack”; „Gib mir mal den Tacker” — hand me the stapler. |
| die Büroklammer | feminine — the paperclip | „Büroklammer” literally means office clip; a very handy word. |
| das Klebeband | neuter — the tape | Adhesive tape; the brand name Tesa is often used instead, like „Sellotape” in British English. |
| die Pinnwand | feminine — the pinboard | From pinnen (to pin) + Wand (wall). „Häng es an die Pinnwand” — pin it to the board. |
Stationery and everyday supplies
| German word | Article & meaning | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| der Kugelschreiber | masculine — the ballpoint pen | Usually shortened to der Kuli. „Hast du einen Kuli für mich?” — have you got a pen for me? |
| der Bleistift | masculine — the pencil | Literally „lead pencil”. Plural: die Bleistifte. |
| der Textmarker | masculine — the highlighter | „Markier die Stelle mit dem Textmarker” — highlight that spot. |
| die Schere | feminine — the scissors | Plural-only noun: die Scheren. „Wo ist die Schere?” |
| der Ordner | masculine — the folder/binder | The big lever-arch binder: „Alle Belege kommen in den Ordner”. Also the computer folder. |
| das Notizbuch | neuter — the notebook | „Ich habe es in mein Notizbuch geschrieben” — I wrote it in my notebook. |
| der Radiergummi | masculine — the eraser | Literally „rubber gum”; der Radierer is the common short form. |
| das Lineal | neuter — the ruler | „Zieh eine Linie mit dem Lineal” — draw a line with the ruler. |
| der Stempel | masculine — the stamp | The rubber stamp for documents; the postage stamp is die Briefmarke. |
| die Ablage | feminine — the filing tray | From ablegen (to file away). „Leg es in die Ablage” — put it in the in-tray. |
| der Posteingang | masculine — the inbox | Used for email inboxes too: „Schau in deinen Posteingang” — check your inbox. |
| das Heft | neuter — the notebook/exercise book | Thinner than a Notizbuch; „das Protokollheft” is the minutes book. |
People, places, and routines
| German word | Article & meaning | Usage note |
|---|---|---|
| der Chef | masculine — the boss | „Der Chef will dich sprechen” — the boss wants to see you. The female form is die Chefin. |
| die Chefin | feminine — the female boss | Always use the correct form: „Unsere Chefin ist im Urlaub” — our boss is on holiday. |
| der Kollege | masculine — the (male) colleague | „Mein Kollege hilft mir” — my colleague is helping me. Female: die Kollegin. |
| die Kollegin | feminine — the (female) colleague | Germans often say Kolleginnen und Kollegen in announcements to include everyone. |
| der Praktikant | masculine — the intern | Female: die Praktikantin. „Der neue Praktikant fängt heute an” — the new intern starts today. |
| die Mittagspause | feminine — the lunch break | Sacred in Germany. „Ich mache Mittagspause” — I’m taking my lunch break. |
| der Feierabend | masculine — quitting time | The beloved end of the workday: „Endlich Feierabend!” — finally, work’s over! |
| der Arbeitsplatz | masculine — the workstation | Both the physical desk and the job position: „Mein Arbeitsplatz ist am Fenster”. |
| die Bürotür | feminine — the office door | „Die Bürotür ist abgeschlossen” — the office door is locked. |
| die Büroetage | feminine — the office floor | „Wir sitzen in der dritten Büroetage” — we’re on the third office floor. |
| das Großraumbüro | neuter — the open-plan office | Very common in German companies: Großraum means large space. |
| der Empfang | masculine — the reception | „Melden Sie sich bitte am Empfang” — please check in at reception. |
| die Klimaanlage | feminine — the air conditioning | Often just die Klimaanlage; debates about office temperature are a German pastime. |
How to Remember der, die, das With German Office Vocabulary
The article is half the word in German, and guessing it in a meeting sounds noticeably off. A few patterns in this list are worth learning. Words ending in -er that describe a person or a device are almost always masculine: der Drucker, der Kopierer, der Locher, der Tacker, der Chef, der Kollege. Words ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, or -e tend to be feminine: die Tastatur, die Maus, die Lampe, die Schublade, die Ablage, die Mittagspause. And many -o and -ment loanwords are neuter: das Büro, das Telefon, das Konto.
The rest you simply have to learn — which is exactly why the table above pairs every word with its article. Flashcards work well here: put the article on the front of the card with the noun, so you always learn them as a pair. Say the word out loud with its article whenever you touch the object: der Tacker, die Schublade, das Klebeband. Within a week, german office vocabulary with correct articles will feel automatic.
One more trick: learn the plural together with the article. Many office words form their plural with an umlaut plus -e (der Stuhl → die Stühle, der Schrank → die Schränke), while words ending in -er often keep the same form in the plural (der Computer → die Computer, der Tacker → die Tacker). Knowing the plural saves you from awkward pauses in meetings, and it is a small detail that makes your German sound noticeably more confident. If you want the bigger picture of workplace German, our business German for beginners guide covers the grammar behind these patterns.
Everyday German Office Phrases to Pair With Your Vocabulary
Words stick better in sentences. Here are a few natural phrases that combine several words from this list:
- „Kannst du mir den Locher und den Tacker leihen?” — Can you lend me the hole punch and the stapler? Perfect for borrowing supplies.
- „Der Beamer im Konferenzraum funktioniert nicht.” — The projector in the conference room isn’t working. You will say this more than you expect.
- „Ich lege die Rechnung in deine Ablage.” — I’ll put the invoice in your in-tray.
- „Treffen wir uns nach der Mittagspause in der Kaffeeküche?” — Shall we meet in the kitchen after lunch break?
- „Mein Bildschirm ist zu dunkel.” — My screen is too dark. Useful for IT support calls.
Learning the vocabulary together with these sentence frames turns passive knowledge into something you can actually use at 9 a.m. on a Monday. For the tone and small talk around these phrases, our guide to German business etiquette rules is worth a read.
Key Takeaways
- These 50 german office vocabulary words cover the objects, people, and routines you will meet every day in a German workplace — learn each one together with its der, die, das.
- Watch the patterns: -er device nouns are masculine, -ung and -e nouns are usually feminine, and loanwords are often neuter.
- Pair the words with the ready-made phrases above so you can use them immediately, from borrowing the Tacker to meeting in the Kaffeeküche.
- Keep going: combine this list with German idioms for work and business and our guide on how to write a business email in German to round out your workplace German.