müde
tired
Müde (tired) is the everyday German adjective for being sleepy or worn out. You'll use it in ich bin müde (I am tired), müde Augen (tired eyes), and todmüde (dead tired). The spelling has an umlaut on the "u": it is müde, not mude. If you can't type the umlaut, the accepted workaround is muede, never plain mude.
The comparative is müder (more tired) and the superlative is am müdesten (most tired). Like most short German adjectives, müde also works as an adverb without changing form. When it describes a noun, it takes regular adjective endings: der müde Mann (the tired man), ein müdes Kind (a tired child).
A very common pattern is müde werden (to get tired) and müde sein (to be tired). Germans also say ich werde müde when they feel sleep coming on. The phrase jemanden müde machen means "to wear someone out".
Two related words help round out the meaning. Erschöpft is stronger and means exhausted or drained, beyond ordinary tiredness. Schläfrig specifically means drowsy or sleepy, closer to nodding off. Müde sits comfortably in the middle and is the word you reach for most often.
Pronunciation: "MÜ-de", with stress on the first syllable. The "ü" is the rounded front vowel, made by saying "ee" while rounding your lips. The final "e" is a short schwa, almost "MÜ-duh".
English
tired
Positive
müde
Comparative
müder
Superlative
am müdesten
Synonyms
Antonyms
müde appears in the following vocabulary collections:
Ich bin heute sehr müde.
I am very tired today.
Predicative adjective follows 'sein'.
Bist du auch müde?
Are you also tired?
In yes/no questions, the verb comes first.
Der müde Hund schläft im Garten.
The tired dog sleeps in the garden.
Attributive adjective needs an ending.
- What does müde mean in German?
- Müde means "tired" in German, in the sense of being sleepy or worn out. You use it in everyday phrases like ich bin müde (I am tired). It can also work as an adverb without changing form.
- Is it spelled mude or müde?
- The correct spelling is müde, with an umlaut on the "u". The form mude without the dots is a misspelling. If your keyboard has no umlaut, the standard substitute is muede, writing the umlaut as "ue".
- What is the comparative of müde?
- The comparative is müder (more tired) and the superlative is am müdesten (most tired). Both follow the regular pattern: add -er for the comparative and am ___sten for the superlative.
- How do you say "I am tired" in German?
- Ich bin müde. To say you are getting tired, use ich werde müde (I am getting tired). For very tired, Germans often say ich bin todmüde (dead tired) or ich bin erschöpft (exhausted).
- How do you pronounce müde?
- Müde is pronounced "MÜ-de", with stress on the first syllable. The "ü" is a rounded front vowel: say "ee" while rounding your lips. The final "e" is a soft schwa, not a long "ee" sound.