The German word for snake or queue is die Schlange.
As a snake, it’s the reptile. As a queue, it refers to a line of people or vehicles—often with some grumbling and waiting involved.

It’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German and comes up in everything from zoos to supermarkets.

Gender and Pronunciation

It’s a feminine noun: die Schlange.
Want to predict gender with more confidence? Our video lesson helps you get the hang of it.

Pronunciation:
Schlange is pronounced [SHLAHNG-uh]

• “SHLAHNG” rhymes with long

• “uh” as in sofa
  Two syllables: SHLAHNG-uh

Example sentences

Ich hasse es, in der Schlange zu stehen.
I hate standing in line.

Im Zoo haben wir eine riesige Schlange gesehen.
We saw a huge snake at the zoo.

Da vorne ist schon wieder eine lange Schlange.
There’s another long queue up ahead.

Nuance and usage tips

🐍 Schlange means snake in any biological or symbolic sense.

🧍 Schlange stehen is a common expression for “to wait in line.” It’s the standard term for a physical queue of people.

🚗 You’ll also hear it in traffic contexts: Autoschlange = line of cars.

📚 It can be metaphorical too: eine Schlange von Problemen = a string of problems.

How does this word come up in real conversations?

"Ich habe eine Schlange in der Küche gesehen!"
I saw a snake in the kitchen!

"Wir mussten eine halbe Stunde Schlange stehen."
We had to wait in line for half an hour.

"Die Schlange bewegt sich kaum."
The queue isn’t moving at all.

Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)

Lena: Warum dauert das so lange?
Jonas: Schau dir die Schlange an!
Lena: Oh wow, das sind mindestens 20 Leute.
Jonas: Willkommen im Supermarkt am Samstag.

Translation:
Lena: Why is it taking so long?
Jonas: Just look at that line!
Lena: Oh wow, that’s at least 20 people.
Jonas: Welcome to the Saturday supermarket.

Grammatical case examples

Nominative:
Die Schlange ist giftig.
The snake is venomous.

Accusative:
Ich habe die Schlange fotografiert.
I photographed the snake.

Dative:
In der Schlange haben wir geplaudert.
We chatted in the queue.

Genitive:
Die Farbe der Schlange war auffällig.
The color of the snake was striking.

Other ways to say snake or queue in German

For snake, die Natter is used in biology for certain species. For queue, there’s no better word than Schlange. Germans don’t say “eine Reihe von Menschen” when they mean a line—they say Schlange.

Word variations and tidbits

You’ll see Schlange in:

• Warteschlange – waiting line

• Stauschlange – traffic jam line

• Königskobra ist eine Schlange – the king cobra is a snake

• Schlangenmensch – contortionist (literally "snake person")

🧠 Fun fact: The phrase sich wie eine Schlange winden (to wind like a snake) is used metaphorically for someone being sneaky, evasive, or tricky.

📘 Duden entry for Schlange:
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Schlange
🎥 Want to avoid standing in line with your vocab? Our video course helps you master 1000 essential German nouns—quickly and clearly.

Ready for more German Words of the Day?
Do you know what Schluck means? After a long Schlange, you’ll want one.
And what about Schloss? Some have snakes carved into the gates.