The German word for fun, enjoyment, or a joke is der Spaß.
Spaß in German shows up in casual conversations, jokes, invitations, and anything involving pleasure or play. Whether you’re laughing with friends or just enjoying your day, this is the word you’ll want at the ready.

It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German (grab the free illustrated PDF to explore the full list).

Gender and Pronunciation

It’s a masculine noun: der Spaß.
Need help nailing down noun genders once and for all? This video lesson walks you through it with memorable patterns.

Pronunciation:
Spaß is pronounced [shpahss]

• “shpah” rhymes with “spa”

• Ends in a sharp “ss” sound
  One syllable: SHPAHSS

Example sentences

Ich hatte viel Spaß gestern Abend.

I had a lot of fun last night.

Macht's euch Spaß?

Are you having fun?

Das war nur ein Spaß.

That was just a joke.

How does this word come up in real conversations?

"Wir hatten so viel Spaß im Urlaub!"

We had so much fun on vacation!

"Kein Spaß – das ist echt passiert."

No joke—this really happened.

"Ich finde das nicht lustig. Das ist kein Spaß."

I don’t find that funny. That’s not a joke.

Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)

Lena: Wie war die Party gestern?
Tom: Super! Wir hatten richtig Spaß.
Lena: Schön. Wer war alles da?
Tom: Fast alle aus der Klasse – sogar Frau Meier!

Translation:
Lena: How was the party yesterday?
Tom: Great! We had a lot of fun.
Lena: Nice. Who was there?
Tom: Almost everyone from the class—even Ms. Meier!

Grammatical case examples

Nominative:
Der Spaß steht im Vordergrund.

Fun is the main focus.

Accusative:
Wir hatten großen Spaß im Schnee.

We had great fun in the snow.

Dative:
Mit dem Spaß hört der Ernst des Lebens oft auf.

With fun, seriousness often takes a break.

Genitive:
Die Grenzen des Spaßes sind individuell.

The limits of fun are personal.

Other ways to say fun in German

While Spaß is the go-to word for fun in German, you might also hear Vergnügen in more formal or polite contexts—like Es war mir ein Vergnügen (“It was a pleasure”). Lustig is often used to mean “funny” rather than “fun,” and Freude means joy or delight, especially in deeper emotional contexts. Still, when you’re talking about general enjoyment, laughter, and a good time, Spaß is the word you want.

Word variations and tidbits

You’ll often see Spaß in phrases like Viel Spaß! (“Have fun!”), Spaß machen (“to be fun”), or aus Spaß (“for fun”). There's also Spaßvogel (literally “fun bird”), meaning jokester or clown, and Spaßbremse (fun brake) for someone who ruins the fun. The verb sich amüsieren is related and means “to enjoy oneself” in a more refined or elegant way, but Spaß haben remains the gold standard for expressing plain, joyful fun.

📘 Duden entry for Spaß
🎥 Want to bring more Spaß to your German learning? Our free video course teaches the top 1000 German nouns—with grammar, usage tips, and a printable illustrated PDF for fun, structured learning.

Ready for more German Words of the Day?
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