Whether it's a spelling bee, a startup pitch, or a cooking show, Germans call it a Wettbewerb. It’s the go-to word for any structured contest—where people or groups go head-to-head to win.

The noun Wettbewerb means competition, contest, or competitive event, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It appears in economics, education, sports, and pop culture.

It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Wettbewerb.

Pronunciation

Wettbewerb is pronounced [VET-beh-vehrb].

• Wett rhymes with “bet,”
• be is short, like “beh,”
• werb rhymes loosely with “verb,” but with a sharper final b,
• Stress is on the first syllable: VETT-bewerb

It’s long, firm, and official-sounding—just like a proper contest.

Example sentences:

• Sie hat beim Wettbewerb den ersten Platz gewonnen.
  She won first place in the competition.
• Der Wettbewerb unter den Firmen ist sehr hart.
  The competition among the companies is very tough.

Nuance and usage tips

Wettbewerb is made from two parts:

• Wette (bet) + bewerben (to apply/compete)
  Together, it literally suggests “a challenge in which people try to win”—which sums up what competition is all about.

1. Contests / events
   • Schreibwettbewerb – writing contest
   • Musikwettbewerb – music competition
   • Sportwettbewerb – athletic competition
   • Wettbewerbsjury – competition jury
2. Business and economics
   • Wettbewerbsfähigkeit – competitiveness
   • Wettbewerbsvorteil – competitive advantage
   • freier Wettbewerb – free market competition
   • Wettbewerbsrecht – competition law / antitrust law
3. Education / culture
   • Bundeswettbewerb – national competition
   • Jugend musiziert – a famous music competition for youth in Germany

Its antonyms?

• Kooperation (cooperation),
• Monopol (monopoly),
• Stillstand (stagnation)

Grammatical case examples:

• Nominative: Der Wettbewerb beginnt um neun Uhr.
  The competition starts at nine o’clock.
• Accusative: Ich habe den Wettbewerb leider verloren.
  I unfortunately lost the competition.
• Dative: Mit dem Wettbewerb wächst auch der Druck.
  With the competition, the pressure also increases.
• Genitive: Wegen des Wettbewerbs arbeiten wir jetzt am Wochenende.
  Because of the competition, we’re working weekends now.

Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des

Word variations and language tidbits

Variation Station:

• Wettbewerbsteilnehmer – competitor / contestant
• Wettbewerbsbeitrag – competition entry
• Wettbewerbsbedingungen – competition rules
• Wettbewerbsdruck – competitive pressure
• Preiswettbewerb – price competition (economics)
• Wettbewerbsverzerrung – market distortion

Fun idiomatic note:
While Wettbewerb sounds very official, Germans use it in playful contexts too:

„Wer zuerst da ist – kleiner Wettbewerb?“
“Whoever gets there first—a little competition?”

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

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

Alternate translations note:
For rivalry, Germans might say Rivalität. For game or contest, you might hear Spiel or Wettkampf. But for a structured, often judged competition—whether academic, artistic, athletic, or commercial—Wettbewerb is the word you want.

Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Witz means? How about Werbung? Find out!