It runs through your veins, carries your DNA, and shows up in horror movies, family metaphors, and dramatic expressions—Germans call it Blut. It’s a word with scientific, symbolic, and emotional weight.
The noun Blut means blood, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll encounter it in biology, medicine, law, literature, and expressions of identity or emotion.
It’s a neuter noun, so we say das Blut.
Pronunciation
Blut is pronounced [bloot], rhyming with “root.”
- The “u” is long and rounded,
- The “t” is firm and final.
It’s a short, strong word—just like the substance it names.
Example sentences:
- Bei dem Unfall verlor er viel Blut.
He lost a lot of blood in the accident. - Blut ist dicker als Wasser.
Blood is thicker than water.
Nuance and usage tips
Blut is used in a wide range of contexts:
- Literal, biological
- Blutspende – blood donation
- Blutdruck – blood pressure
- Blutprobe – blood sample
- Lineage / family / ancestry
- blutsverwandt – related by blood
- königliches Blut – royal blood
- im Blut haben – to have in one's blood (as in talent or instinct)
- Violence / crime / drama
- Blutbad – bloodbath
- blutige Auseinandersetzung – bloody confrontation
Its antonym isn’t literal, but Wasser is often used in contrast when the expression Blut ist dicker als Wasser is involved.
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Das Blut war auf dem Boden sichtbar.
The blood was visible on the floor. - Accusative:
Er verlor das Blut sehr schnell.
He lost the blood very quickly. - Dative:
Mit dem Blut konnte man die DNA bestimmen.
With the blood, they could determine the DNA. - Genitive:
Wegen des Blutes auf seiner Kleidung wurde er verdächtigt.
Because of the blood on his clothes, he was suspected.
Neuter case pattern: das, das, dem, des
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- bluten – to bleed
- Blutspender(in) – blood donor
- Bluttransfusion – blood transfusion
- Blutkreislauf – circulatory system
- Blutgruppe – blood type
- kaltblütig / heißblütig – cold-blooded / hot-blooded
Fun cultural and idiomatic note:
The phrase im Blut haben is very common and means that someone has a skill or quality “in their blood”:
Musik liegt ihm im Blut.
“Music runs in his blood.”
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Blut
🎥 Learn Blut and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Alternate translations note:
There’s no real synonym for Blut, though in figurative speech, words like Herkunft (origin) or Abstammung (descent) sometimes stand in. But when it comes to the literal or symbolic red stuff—Blut is the word.
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Dusche means? How about Drehbuch? Find out!