It’s what you see on the cover of a book, hear before a champion’s name, or aim for in a tournament. In German, it’s der Titel. This is your German Word of the Day—flexible, formal, and everywhere from academia to entertainment.
The noun Titel means title, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. You’ll hear it in sports, books, job applications, and even everyday introductions.
It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Titel (struggling with noun gender? Our video lesson helps you remember the patterns easily).
Pronunciation
Titel is pronounced [TEE-tel]
Ti like “tea”
tel like “tell”
Stress on the first syllable: TIEtel
Example sentences
Kennst du den Titel dieses Songs?
Do you know the title of this song?Sie hat den Titel verteidigt.
She defended the title.Welcher Titel steht auf dem Buchcover?
What title is on the book cover?
Nuance and usage tips
Titel is used across many contexts:
📚 Books, films, music
Buchtitel – book title
Filmtitel – movie title
Songtitel – song title
Titelliste – track list / table of contents
🏆 Competitions and sports
einen Titel gewinnen – to win a title
den Titel verteidigen – to defend the title
Titelträger(in) – title holder (champion)
🎓 Professional and academic contexts
Doktortitel – doctorate title
Adelstitel – noble title
Titel und Anrede – titles and forms of address
offizieller Titel – official job title
🎤 Media
Titelblatt – front page or title page
Titelstory – cover story
How does this word come up in real conversations?
"Was ist der Titel des neuen Albums?"
What’s the title of the new album?"Er trägt den Titel seit 2018."
He’s held the title since 2018."Welchen Titel darf ich in das Formular eintragen?"
What title should I enter in the form?
Sample Dialogue (Beginner Level)
Lea: Wie heißt der Film nochmal?
Jannik: Ich hab den Titel vergessen! Irgendwas mit Liebe…
Lea: Hm… “Liebe in Paris”?
Jannik: Ja! Genau der!
Translation:
Lea: What’s the name of the movie again?
Jannik: I forgot the title! Something with “love”…
Lea: Hmm… “Love in Paris”?
Jannik: Yes! That’s the one!
Grammatical case examples
Nominative:
Der Titel gefällt mir.
I like the title.
Accusative:
Ich habe den Titel vergessen.
I forgot the title.
Dative:
Mit dem Titel konnte ich nichts anfangen.
I didn’t know what to make of the title.
Genitive:
Die Bedeutung des Titels ist unklar.
The meaning of the title is unclear.
Word variations and language tidbits
Titelbild – cover image
Titelrolle – title role (in film/theater)
Titelmelodie – theme song
Arbeitstitel – working title
Ehrentitel – honorary title
Kampftitel – combat title (e.g. in martial arts)
🏆 Fun fact: In Germany, academic and professional titles (like Dr., Prof., or Ing.) are often used in everyday speech and on doorbells—it’s a tradition that many other countries don’t follow quite as formally.
📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Titel
🎥 Want to earn the title of German vocabulary champ? Our free video course teaches the top 1000 German nouns with examples, pronunciation help, and context that makes it all stick.
Ready for more German Words of the Day?
Do you know what Tochter means? She might be the one choosing the Titel of her next favorite book.
And what about Tor? Some Titel are won by scoring one!