21 December 2025
How do you say Cell in German?
Whether it’s a living cell in your body, a prison cell, or a small political group - Germans call it a Zelle. It’s a tiny word for some very tightly contained spaces, both literal and metaphorical.
The noun Zelle means cell, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll see it in biology, technology, politics, and crime shows.
It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Zelle.
Pronunciation
Zelle is pronounced [TSEH-luh].
- The “Z” sounds like “ts”, like in pizza,
- The “e” is short and crisp,
- The stress is on the first syllable: TSEH-luh.
It’s a clean, tight word - just like the small units it describes.
Example sentences:
- Jede Zelle im Körper hat eine bestimmte Funktion.Every cell in the body has a specific function.
- Der Gefangene sitzt in einer Zelle.The prisoner is sitting in a cell.
Nuance and usage tips
Zelle is a core term for small enclosed units - biological, architectural, or organizational. Common uses include:
- Biology
- Blutzelle - blood cell; rote/weiße Blutkörperchen - red/white blood cells
- Hirnzelle - brain cell
- Zellteilung - cell division
- Architecture / prisons
- Gefängniszelle - prison cell
- Einzelzelle - single cell (solitary confinement is Einzelhaft)
- Social or political groups
- Terrorzelle - terrorist cell
- Schläferzelle - sleeper cell
- Widerstandszelle - resistance cell (e.g., WWII)
- Technology / battery cells
- Solarzelle - solar cell
- Batteriezelle - battery cell
Related vocabulary:
- Organismus - organism; Gewebe - tissue (larger biological structures involving cells)
- Freiheit - freedom (a contrast to imprisonment, not an antonym of cell)
- Einzelgänger - loner (a person, not an antonym of a group’s cell)
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:Die Zelle ist unter dem Mikroskop sichtbar.The cell is visible under the microscope.
- Accusative:Er betrat die Zelle vorsichtig.He entered the cell cautiously.
- Dative:Mit der Zelle begann die Forschung.The research began with the cell.
- Genitive:Die Wände der Zelle waren kahl.The walls of the cell were bare.
Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- Zellkern - cell nucleus
- Zellmembran - cell membrane
- Zellstruktur - cell structure (Zellenstruktur is also an understandable compound)
- Solarzelle - solar panel component
- Isolationszelle - isolation cell
- Zellforschung - cell research
- Schläferzelle - sleeper cell (a covert group remaining inactive until called into action)
Fun fact:The German word Zelle has a direct connection to Latin cella, meaning “a small room.” It came into modern usage through both religious (monk’s chamber) and scientific contexts. The English word “cell” shares the exact same root - this one’s an obvious linguistic cousin.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Zelle
🎥 Learn Zelle and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:Watch the 1000 German Nouns video course
Alternate translations note:If you mean a cell in a spreadsheet, Germans use Zelle there, too! For a cell phone, though, they say Handy (yes, really). So if you see Zelle, think: biology, prison, group, or grid-not your smartphone. (The old phone booth, though, is a Telefonzelle.)Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Zuhause means? How about Wunder? Find out!
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