How do you say Ear in German?

From listening to music to catching what someone just whispered, your ears are involved in everyday life - and so is the word ear in German. It’s one of those basic body part nouns you’ll hear early and often, especially in health, habits, or casual phrases.

The word for ear in German is das Ohr. It’s neuter, and the plural is die Ohren. You’ll use it to talk about health, body parts, sensations, or even idioms about listening. If gender and articles still feel tricky, my gender video lesson helps make sense of the system fast.

Ohr is one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German, and mastering it will help you describe people, symptoms, reactions - or just how loud the music is.

Here’s how Ohr appears across the four German cases:

Nominative:Das Ohr tut weh.The ear hurts.

Accusative:Ich habe mir das Ohr verbrannt.I burned my ear.

Dative:Er trägt einen Ring im Ohr.He wears a ring in his ear.

Genitive:Die Form des Ohrs ist ganz besonders.The shape of the ear is quite unique.

In daily German, you’ll hear verbs like hören (to hear), zuhören (to listen), flüstern in (to whisper into), reinigen (to clean), or sich entzünden (to become inflamed) used with Ohr. Medical visits, parenting, and even dating conversations might involve this word.

Adjectives include laut (loud), offen (open), empfindlich (sensitive), verstopft (clogged), or gesund (healthy). The plural Ohren is especially useful when talking about appearance (große Ohren - big ears), discomfort (Schmerzen in den Ohren - ear pain), or attention (die Ohren spitzen - to prick up your ears).