When you talk about purpose, ambition, or serious tasks — especially ones with high stakes — you'll want to know how to say mission in German. Whether you’re describing a NASA launch, a diplomatic trip, or your goal to learn 1000 German words, this term will carry you far.
The German word is die Mission. It’s feminine, and the plural is die Missionen. If you want to feel more confident about using die correctly, my gender video lesson offers a fast, visual guide.
Mission is one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. While it’s rooted in religion and politics, today it’s just as likely to show up in business, games, and motivational speeches.
Examples in each grammatical case:
Nominative:
Die Mission war erfolgreich.
The mission was successful.
Accusative:
Wir starten die Mission morgen.
We’re starting the mission tomorrow.
Dative:
Sie vertrauen der Mission voll und ganz.
They completely trust the mission.
Genitive:
Der Leiter der Mission spricht um 10 Uhr.
The head of the mission speaks at 10 a.m.
Where you’ll hear Mission:
eine humanitäre Mission – a humanitarian mission
eine diplomatische Mission – a diplomatic assignment
eine geheime Mission – a secret mission
eine Weltraummission – a space mission
die Mission erfüllen – to accomplish the mission
auf Mission gehen – to go on a mission
Verbs that pair well: starten (launch), erfüllen (complete), leiten (lead), scheitern (fail), unterbrechen (pause)
Adjectives: wichtig, klar, gefährlich, geheim, offiziell, erfolgreich
It’s a great word to learn early — it sounds the same as in English, but opens up more complex sentence building in German.
Beginner dialogue using Mission:
A: Was ist dein Ziel für dieses Jahr?
B: Meine Mission ist, jeden Tag ein neues Wort zu lernen.
A: What’s your goal for this year?
B: My mission is to learn a new word every day.
Now it’s your turn. Think of your answer and say it aloud using Mission.
“Welche Mission hast du gerade in deinem Leben — und warum?”
What mission are you currently on in your life — and why?
Speak it out loud. Using Mission in personal context builds both vocabulary and fluency.
German Word of the Day
Now you know how to say mission in German — and how die Mission brings purpose, direction, and ambition into your vocabulary.
Download the free illustrated PDF of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German and keep advancing your vocabulary mission one word at a time.
Ready for more German Words of the Day?
Check out Mist — a funny and useful word for when things go wrong.
Or revisit Mitte — to describe position, timing, and balance.