How do you say show in German?

It’s what lights up the stage, fills your screen on Saturday night, or keeps you entertained on a rainy day. In German, it’s die Show. This is your German Word of the Day - flashy, borrowed from English, and widely used in media and pop culture.

The noun Show means show - typically a TV show, stage show, or live entertainment event - and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. Show usually refers to an entertainment format or spectacle. Sendung is the broader word for a TV or radio program; a fictional series is usually a Serie.

It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Show (want to master gender with zero stress? Our video lesson makes it stick for good).

Pronunciation

Show is pronounced [shoh]

• German commonly has a long, steady o, without the glide in American show; English-influenced pronunciations also occur.

• One syllable

• Clear and crisp: Show

Example sentences

• Die Show war wirklich beeindruckend.The show was really impressive.

• Hast du gestern die neue Show im Fernsehen gesehen?Did you see the new show on TV last night?

• Ich liebe solche Shows mit viel Musik und Tanz.I love shows like that with lots of music and dance.

Nuance and usage tips

🎤 Show is typically used for:

• TV entertainment

  • Castingshow - talent show

  • Spielshow - game show

  • Talkshow - talk show

  • Reality-Show - reality show

  • Abendshow - evening entertainment

• Live performances

  • Bühnenshow - stage show

  • Musikshow - music show

  • Lichtshow - light show

  • Lasershow - laser show

📺 More general examples:

• Die Show läuft um 20:15. - The show airs at 8:15 PM.

• Er hat die Show moderiert. - He hosted the show.

• Ich habe die ganze Show aufgenommen. - I recorded the whole show.

🗣️ German speakers adapt the pronunciation but use it with German articles, plurals (Shows), and grammar. Two handy idioms: eine Show abziehen (to put on an act) and jemandem die Show stehlen (to steal the show from someone).