Get the appGet the app
German frequency list

No. 1,279 in German

ernst

Serious.

In a sentence

  • Das ist ein ernstes Thema, das wir besprechen sollten.

    This is a serious topic that we should discuss.

    In this sentence, 'ernst' (serious) is used as an adjective to describe the nature of the topic that requires thoughtful consideration.

  • Ich bin sehr ernst, wenn es um unsere Zukunft geht.

    I am very serious when it comes to our future.

    Here, 'ernst' functions as an adjective to describe the speaker’s demeanor and attitude towards the subject of the future.

  • Meinst du das wirklich ernst?

    Do you really mean that seriously?

    In this case, 'ernst' is used as an adverb to question the sincerity or gravity of the statement being made.

Hear it in real podcasts

The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “ernst” in actual German podcasts.

Find “ernst” in podcasts

Learn it from shows you like

LangTurbo plays German podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

Learning English?

LangTurbo plays real English podcasts with every line translated into Deutsch, and tells you what any word means in that sentence. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

German books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).