It’s what a judge delivers, what a person forms, and what society debates. In German, this concept is called das Urteil. This is your German word of the day, and it lives in both the courtroom and everyday conversations.
The noun Urteil means judgment, verdict, or opinion, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it in legal contexts, public discussions, and even when someone’s just expressing what they think about a movie.
It’s a neuter noun, so we say das Urteil (confused about gender? Our fast and friendly video clears it up in minutes: https://deutschable.com/course/lesson-3-3/).
Pronunciation
Urteil is pronounced [OOR-tile].
- The Ur sounds like "oor" (as in “poor”),
- The t is crisp,
- The ei sounds like “eye,”
- Stress is on the first syllable: UR-teil.
The word has a serious, weighty tone—which makes sense, since it often decides fates.
Example sentences:
Das Urteil wird morgen gesprochen.
The verdict will be delivered tomorrow.
Sein Urteil war sehr streng.
His judgment was very harsh.
Nuance and usage tips
Urteil has two main uses:
- Legal decision:
Ein Gerichtsurteil (a court ruling) or ein rechtskräftiges Urteil (a binding judgment) - Personal judgment or opinion:
Ein gutes Urteil haben (to have good judgment) or ein vorschnelles Urteil (a hasty judgment)
Common compounds and phrases include:
- Gerichtsurteil – court verdict
- Fehlurteil – wrongful conviction
- Urteilsvermögen – capacity for judgment
- zum Urteil kommen – to reach a judgment
- ein Urteil fällen – to pass judgment
How does this word come up in real conversations?
In daily life, Urteil often refers to someone’s opinion or evaluation of something—like a person, situation, or event. For example:
“Was ist dein Urteil über den Film?” – What’s your judgment of the film?
or
“Man sollte kein Urteil fällen, ohne die ganze Geschichte zu kennen.” – You shouldn’t judge without knowing the whole story.
Even beginners might hear it in news reports about court cases or in everyday speech when people are sharing opinions.
Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)
Jonas: Hast du das Urteil im Prozess gesehen?
Marie: Ja, der Angeklagte wurde freigesprochen.
Jonas: Das habe ich nicht erwartet.
Marie: Ich auch nicht. Aber das Gericht hatte wohl Zweifel.
Jonas: Did you see the verdict in the trial?
Marie: Yes, the defendant was acquitted.
Jonas: I didn’t expect that.
Marie: Me neither. But the court must have had doubts.
Grammatical case examples:
Nominative:
Das Urteil war gerecht.
The judgment was fair.
Accusative:
Ich akzeptiere das Urteil nicht.
I don’t accept the verdict.
Dative:
Mit dem Urteil bin ich nicht einverstanden.
I don’t agree with the ruling.
Genitive:
Die Folgen des Urteils waren weitreichend.
The consequences of the verdict were far-reaching.
Neuter case pattern: das, das, dem, des
Word variations and language tidbits
Unlike some abstract nouns, Urteil travels smoothly between serious and everyday topics. While legal usage dominates the news, casual use is common in phrases like:
- ein gutes Urteil haben – to have sound judgment
- ein hartes Urteil – a harsh opinion or decision
- sich ein Urteil bilden – to form an opinion
You may also encounter literary uses—Franz Kafka famously titled one of his short stories “Das Urteil.”
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Urteil
🎥 Learn Urteil and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course: https://deutschable.com/nouns/
Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Weg means? How about Weihnachten? Find out!