Halloween Vocabulary in German
Halloween is celebrated every year on October 31st. Children and adults dress up in costumes, carve pumpkins and go trick-or-treating. While Halloween is especially popular in the USA, it has also become more common in Germany. You can now find Halloween parties, pumpkin decorations and even children saying "Süßes oder Saures!" in German neighborhoods.
For German learners Halloween is the perfect opportunity to discover fun new words and phrases! In this article you’ll learn:
The most useful Halloween words in German (Halloween-Vokabular) with English translations.
A practical dialogue in German (with translations) to help you practice real communication.
A short Halloween quiz to test your knowledge.
Let’s start!
🕷️ Useful Halloween Words in German
Here is a list of must-know Halloween vocabulary:
der Kürbis – pumpkin 🎃
die Kerze – candle 🕯️
das Kostüm – costume 👗
die Maske – mask 😷
das Gespenst – ghost 👻
die Hexe – witch 🧙♀️
der Zauberer – wizard 🧙♂️
der Vampir – vampire 🧛
der Zombie – zombie 🧟
die Spinne – spider 🕷️
das Skelett – skeleton 💀
die Süßigkeiten – candies 🍬
Süßes oder Saures! – Trick or treat!
Ich habe Angst! – I’m scared! 😱
Fröhliches Halloween! – Happy Halloween! 🎃
👉 Learning tip: Try grouping words together (for example: "scary creatures", "things you wear", "things you eat"). This helps you remember them more easily.
🗣️ Example Halloween Dialogue in German (with Translation)
Below is a longer dialogue that could happen on Halloween night. Read it aloud and practice with a friend.
German | English |
|---|---|
Kinder: Süßes oder Saures! 🎃 | Children: Trick or treat! |
Herr Müller: Hallo Kinder! Eure Kostüme sind fantastisch. 👻 | Mr. Müller: Hello children! Your costumes are fantastic. |
Kind Peter: Danke! Ich bin ein Vampir. 🧛 | Child Peter: Thank you! I’m a vampire. |
Kind Maria: Und ich bin eine Hexe. 🧙♀️ | Child Maria: And I’m a witch. |
Herr Müller: Habt ihr Lust auf ein paar Süßigkeiten? 🍬 | Mr. Müller: Do you want some candies? |
Kinder: Ja, bitte! Vielen Dank! 🙏 | Children: Yes, please! Thank you very much! |
Herr Müller: Fröhliches Halloween und viel Spaß heute Abend! 🎃 | Mr. Müller: Happy Halloween and have fun tonight! |
Kinder: Fröhliches Halloween! 👻 | Children: Happy Halloween! |
👉 Practice idea: Swap roles with a friend and repeat the dialogue. Try changing the words Hexe (witch) and Vampir (vampire) with other costumes from the vocabulary list.
✍️ Mini Halloween Quiz in German
Choose the correct answer for each question:
1. What does der Kürbis mean?
a) the ghost
b) the pumpkin
c) the witch
2. How do you say “Trick or treat!” in German?
a) Fröhliches Halloween!
b) Ich habe Angst!
c) Süßes oder Saures!
3. Which German word means “witch”?
a) die Hexe
b) der Zombie
c) die Kerze
4. What does die Süßigkeiten mean?
a) costumes
b) candies
c) candles
5. In the dialogue, what costume did the child wear?
a) A ghost (das Gespenst)
b) A vampire (der Vampir)
c) A spider (die Spinne)
6. What is das Kostüm in English?
a) the costume
b) the skeleton
c) the candle
7. Translate into English: “Fröhliches Halloween!”
a) Scary Halloween!
b) Happy Halloween!
c) Spooky night!
8. Which word means “skeleton”?
a) die Maske
b) das Skelett
c) der Zauberer
9. Complete the phrase: “Ich habe ____!” (I’m scared!)
a) Angst
b) Hexe
c) Süßigkeiten
10. Which German word means “ghost”?
a) das Gespenst
b) der Kürbis
c) die Kerze
✅ Answers to Halloween Quiz
1b, 2c, 3a, 4b, 5b, 6a, 7b, 8b, 9a, 10a