The German word for rest (as in remainder or leftover) is der Rest.
It refers to what remains after something is used, taken, done, or subtracted. From half-eaten meals to unfinished tasks, Rest shows up in daily speech constantly.

It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German—making it a practical addition to your core vocabulary.

Gender and Pronunciation

It’s a masculine noun: der Rest.
Want a shortcut to guessing gender? Our video lesson explains the patterns that really help.

Pronunciation:
Rest is pronounced [rest]—just like in English, but crisper.

• One syllable: REST

Example sentences

Ich nehme den Rest mit nach Hause.
I’ll take the rest home.

Der Rest der Gruppe kommt später.
The rest of the group is coming later.

Was machen wir mit dem Rest des Geldes?
What are we doing with the rest of the money?

Nuance and usage tips

🥡 Rest is used for food leftovers, leftover time, money, people—really anything that’s not complete or fully used.

📉 It’s often paired with phrases like der Rest von... or den Rest behalten.

📊 In math or logic, it can also mean a remainder (Rest bei der Division = remainder in division).

How does this word come up in real conversations?

"Kann ich den Rest später erledigen?"
Can I finish the rest later?

"Der Rest der Präsentation ist nicht so wichtig."
The rest of the presentation isn’t that important.

"Magst du den Rest der Pizza?"
Want the rest of the pizza?

Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)

Jonas: Hast du alles gegessen?
Lina: Nein, ich nehme den Rest mit.
Jonas: Gute Idee. Wegwerfen wäre schade.
Lina: Genau!

Translation:
Jonas: Did you eat everything?
Lina: No, I’m taking the rest with me.
Jonas: Good idea. Would be a shame to throw it away.
Lina: Exactly!

Grammatical case examples

Nominative:
Der Rest ist im Kühlschrank.
The rest is in the fridge.

Accusative:
Ich esse den Rest morgen.
I’ll eat the rest tomorrow.

Dative:
Mit dem Rest kannst du machen, was du willst.
Do whatever you want with the rest.

Genitive:
Die Farbe des Rests war anders.
The color of the remainder was different.

Other ways to say rest in German

For rest in the sense of relaxing, use Ruhe (quiet) or Pause (break). Rest always refers to “what’s left” rather than “relaxation.” The adjective übrig (remaining) often appears with it: der Rest, der noch übrig ist.

Word variations and tidbits

You'll hear Rest in many everyday phrases:

• Essensreste – food leftovers

• Resturlaub – remaining vacation days

• Restzeit – remaining time

• Restmüll – residual waste

• Restbetrag – remaining amount of money

🧠 Fun fact: Germans love compound nouns, and Rest is often used to cleanly divide what’s complete from what’s leftover—practically and metaphorically.

📘 Duden entry for Rest:
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Rest
🎥 Want to make the most of your vocab without wasting time? Our video course teaches 1000 top German nouns—including every useful Rest.

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