Lesson 23: Capitalization Rules in German

Capitalization Rules in German – A1 Grammar

In German, capitalization is very important. Here are the main rules:

  • The first letter of every noun is always capitalized, even in the middle of a sentence. Proper nouns like Ali, Teheran, Peter also begin with a capital letter.
  • The first word of every sentence also begins with a capital letter.
  • Verbs, articles, and adjectives are written in lowercase.

Examples:

  • Ich spiele Basketball. — I play basketball. (Basketball is a noun and capitalized.)
  • Heute komme ich. — Today I come. (Heute is the first word of the sentence, so it’s capitalized.)
  • Ich spreche Italienisch sehr gut. — I speak Italian very well. (Italienisch is a language and is capitalized as a noun; gut is an adjective and lowercase.)