Whether you’re working at one, founding one, or complaining about one’s customer service—Germans call it a Firma. It’s the everyday word for a business or company, and it shows up in everything from corporate contracts to casual conversation.

The noun Firma means company or business, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It refers to both small and large businesses, especially as recognizable legal or commercial entities.

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

Pronunciation

Firma is pronounced [FEER-mah].

• The “Fir” sounds like “fear,”
• The “ma” is short and soft, like “muh.”
• The stress is on the first syllable: FIR-ma.

It’s clipped, clean, and businesslike—just like the companies it describes.

Example sentences:

• Sie arbeitet in einer großen Firma in Berlin.
  She works at a large company in Berlin.
• Meine eigene Firma wurde letztes Jahr gegründet.
  My own company was founded last year.

Nuance and usage tips

Firma is used in everyday speech to refer to a business organization—from local bakeries to international corporations. It’s often interchangeable with:

• Unternehmen – more formal or neutral term for “enterprise”
• Betrieb – a business operation (especially production-based)
• Gesellschaft – legal/business entity (like GmbH = Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung)

But Firma usually refers to the name and identity of a company, especially in legal terms. In fact, in commercial law, the Firma is the registered business name under which the company operates.

Its antonym isn’t always needed, but in context, Privatperson (private individual) or Selbstständiger (freelancer) might contrast with a formal business entity.

Grammatical case examples:

• Nominative: Die Firma expandiert nach Österreich.
  The company is expanding to Austria.
• Accusative: Ich habe die Firma im Internet gefunden.
  I found the company online.
• Dative: Mit der Firma habe ich gute Erfahrungen gemacht.
  I’ve had good experiences with the company.
• Genitive: Wegen der Firma mussten wir umziehen.
  Because of the company, we had to relocate.

Feminine case pattern: die, die, der, der

Word variations and language tidbits

Variation Station:

• Firmenname – company name
• Firmengebäude – company building
• Firmenchef(in) – company boss / CEO
• Firmensitz – company headquarters
• Firmenwagen – company car
• Firmengründung – founding a company

False friend alert:
The English word “firm” can also mean strict or solid—as in “a firm handshake” or “firm decision.” That’s not what Firma means in German. In German, Firma is only used in the business/company sense.

📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Firma

🎥 Learn Firma and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/

Alternate translations note:
If you're referring to a business more generally or abstractly, Unternehmen is often preferred. For legal language, Gesellschaft may apply (especially in forms like GmbH or AG). But in everyday German, Firma is the friendliest, most natural way to refer to a company or employer.

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