How do you say Cloud in German?

That fluffy shape in the sky or stormy shadow on the horizon is a Wolke. For cloud computing, German usually uses the borrowed noun die Cloud. It’s a word that floats through weather reports, poems, and tech lingo alike.

The noun Wolke means cloud, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it in daily conversation, weather forecasts, romantic metaphors, and computer terminology.

It’s a feminine noun, so we say die Wolke.

Pronunciation

Wolke is pronounced [VOL-kuh].

• The “W” is pronounced like a V,
• The o is a short open vowel; American “off” is only an accent-dependent approximation,
• The “ke” is a soft “kuh,”
• Stress is on the first syllable: VOL-ke

It’s round and light - just like the thing it describes.

Example sentences:

• Am Himmel schwebt nur eine einzige Wolke.Only a single cloud is drifting in the sky.
• Plötzlich zog eine dunkle Wolke auf.Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared.

Nuance and usage tips

Wolke is mostly literal, but also has several figurative and modern uses:

1. Literal clouds in the sky
   • Regenwolke - rain cloud
   • Gewitterwolke - thundercloud
   • Wolkenbruch - torrential rain (literally “cloud break”)
2. Metaphorical or emotional clouds
   • eine Wolke aus Traurigkeit - a cloud of sadness
   • auf Wolke sieben sein - to be on cloud nine (Germans say cloud seven!)
3. Technology: Germans usually just say die Cloud
   • Daten in der Cloud speichern - to store data in the cloud
   • Wolkenservice - cloud service (less common, but understandable)

Related contrast: klarer Himmel means clear sky. Sonne means sun; clouds and the sun can appear together, so Sonne is not an antonym of Wolke.