Mozart. Einstein. A child who solves a Rubik’s Cube in twelve seconds. Germans call that level of brilliance a Genie. Not to be confused with a Dschinn, the wish-granting spirit (Dschinni in Aladdin).
The noun Genie means genius, and it's used for people of exceptional talent, especially in intellectual or creative fields. It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German, so this is a great one to know from the start.
It’s a neuter noun, so we say das Genie.
Pronunciation
Genie is pronounced [zhuh-NEE]—not like “genie in a bottle” but more like the French original, with the stress on the second part of the word.
- The “Ge” sounds like the “s” in “measure” or the “g” in “genre.”
- The “nie” rhymes with “knee,”.
It’s a sleek, elegant-sounding word—just as a word for “genius” should be.
Example sentences:
- Albert Einstein war ein Genie.
Albert Einstein was a genius. - Sie ist ein musikalisches Genie.
She is a musical genius.
Nuance and usage tips
Genie is almost always a compliment—used for someone with extraordinary intellectual, artistic, or creative powers. It’s not restricted to IQ; it can describe vision, insight, or originality:
- technisches Genie – technical genius
- geniales Genie – redundant but emphatic: “brilliant genius”
- verkanntes Genie – misunderstood genius
Grammatical case examples:
- Nominative:
Das Genie erkennt Muster, die andere übersehen.
The genius sees patterns others miss. - Accusative:
Sie bewunderten das Genie für seine Erfindung.
They admired the genius for his invention. - Dative:
Mit dem Genie kam auch das Chaos.
With the genius came chaos as well. - Genitive:
Wegen des Genies konnte das Projekt gerettet werden.
Because of the genius, the project was saved.
Neuter case pattern: das, das, dem, des
Word variations and language tidbits
Variation Station:
- genial – brilliant (not to be confused with English “genial” meaning friendly!)
eine geniale Idee – a brilliant idea - verkanntes Genie – misunderstood genius
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Genie
🎥 Learn Genie and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Craving more German words of the day? How about the word "Güte"? Any idea what that means? Or how about "Hintern"?