Whether it's a flashy commercial, a subtle product placement, or a loud jingle you can’t forget—Germans call it Werbung. It’s the word for anything that tries to sell you something or sway your opinion.
The noun Werbung means advertising, promotion, or publicity, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll encounter it online, on TV, in the street—and probably in your inbox.
It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Werbung.
Pronunciation
Werbung is pronounced [VAIR-boong].
- W is pronounced like a V,
- er rhymes with “care,”
- bung ends in a nasal “oong,”
- Stress is on the first syllable: VAIR-boong
It’s bold and punchy—just like a good marketing slogan.
Example sentences:
- Die Werbung vor dem Video hat mich genervt.
The ad before the video annoyed me. - Coca-Cola macht sehr bekannte Werbung.
Coca-Cola does very well-known advertising.
Nuance and usage tips
Werbung comes from the verb werben, which originally meant “to woo” or “to court.” That romantic origin still echoes: ads are trying to win you over.
- Commercial advertising
- Fernsehwerbung – TV commercials
- Onlinewerbung – online advertising
- Printwerbung – print ads
- Werbebanner / Werbeplakat – ad banner / billboard
- Promotional efforts
- Politische Werbung – political campaign promotion
- Werbestrategie – advertising strategy
- Werbekampagne – ad campaign
- Idiomatic / broader use
- Schleichwerbung – product placement (literally “sneaky advertising”)
- Mundpropaganda ist die beste Werbung.
Word of mouth is the best advertising.
Its antonyms might include:
- Informationsfreiheit (freedom from influence),
- Stille (silence),
- or in tone: Warnung (warning)
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Die Werbung war sehr kreativ gestaltet.
The advertisement was very creatively designed. - Accusative:
Ich habe die Werbung einfach übersprungen.
I just skipped the ad. - Dative:
Mit der Werbung erreicht man viele junge Leute.
With the advertisement, you reach a lot of young people. - Genitive:
Wegen der Werbung wurde das Produkt berühmt.
Because of the advertising, the product became famous.
Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- Werbespot – TV/radio commercial
- Werbeplakat – poster advertisement
- Werbebotschaft – advertising message
- Werbeagentur – ad agency
- Werbeblock – ad break (TV/radio)
- Werbeträger – medium carrying the ad (e.g. magazine, website)
Cultural note:
In Germany, Werbung can only be shown to children under strict rules, and political TV ads are very short and limited. German audiences are often more sensitive to aggressive advertising than, say, in the U.S.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Werbung
🎥 Learn Werbung and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
For advertisement as a countable object, you can also say Anzeige or Werbeanzeige. But when you're talking about advertising as an activity or field, or about ads in general, Werbung is the go-to word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Widerstand means? How about Verdacht? Find out!