There is a famous German children's song you might have heard of that goes: Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken, Drei Ecken hat mein Hut (my hat, it has three corners, three corners has my hat). What does this have to do with shapes, you ask? Interestingly, the word Ecke (corner) is used in several shape words. For example, Dreieck (triangle) literally means three corners and Viereck (square) literally means four corners. Look for the eck in the following shape words. It also helps to know your numbers.
Basic Shapes
Here are your most basic of shapes - the ones we first learned, colored, and practiced drawing as young children:
der Kreis (pronounced: kreyes): circle
das Viereck (pronounced: FEER-ek): square
das Quadrat (pronounced: kwah-draht): square
das Dreieck (pronounced: DREYE-ek): triangle
das Oval (pronounced: ofahl): oval
das Rechteck (pronounced: RESHT-ek): rectangle
Notice that there are two words for square, Viereck and Quadrat. Viereck can also be used for a rectangle, as it merely indicates that it is a shape with four corners, although it often refers to a square. Quadrat specifies that all sides have equal lengths.
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More Complex Shapes
The following shapes are a little more creative and distinctive:
der Halbkreis (pronounced: HALP-kreyes): semicircle
der Punkt (pronounced: poonkt): dot, point
der Rhombus (pronounced: RUHM-boos): rhombus, diamond
der Stern (pronounced: shtairn): star
das Herz (pronounced: hairts): heart
das Fünf*ck (pronounced: FUHNF-ek): pentagon
das Sechseck (pronounced: ZEX-ek): hexagon
das Achteck (pronounced: AHKT-ek): octagon
das Zickzack (pronounced: TSIK-tsahk): zigzag
die Spirale (pronounced: shpee-RAHL-uh): spiral
Three-Dimensional Shapes
3D shapes bring us to another level of being able to describe objects:
der Kegel (pronounced: KAY-gul): cone
der Würfel (pronounced: VUHR-ful): cube
der Zylinder (pronounced: tsee-LIN-dair): cylinder
die Halbkugel (pronounced: HALP-kuh-gul): hemisphere
die Kugel (pronounced: KUH-gul): sphere
die Pyramide (pronounced: pehw-rah-MEE-duh): pyramid
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Conversation
In the following conversation, a mother (Mutti) practices the shapes with her son (Sohn):
Mutti: Jetzt üben wir die Formen. Welche Form hat ein Teller? (Now we will practice the shapes. What shape does a plate have?)
Sohn: Kreis. (Circle.)
Mutti: Sehr gut. Und das Buch? (Very good. And the book?)
Sohn: Rechteck. (Rectangle.)
Mutti: Wunderbar! Und der Ball? (Wonderful. And the ball?)
Sohn: Kreis. (Circle.)
Mutti: Nicht genau. Ein Kreis is flach. Der Ball ist nicht flach. Er ist eine Kugel. (Not exactly. A circle is flat. The ball is not flat. It is a sphere.)
Sohn: Kugel. (Sphere.)
Mutti: Jawohl! (Right on!)
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