hell
bright
Giving off or receiving a lot of light; not dark.
EXAMPLE
Im Sommer bleibt es abends lange hell.
In summer it stays bright for a long time in the evenings.
hell
bright / light
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Meanings
hell
light
A color that has a high proportion of white and is not intense or dark.
EXAMPLE
Sie hat sich für ein helles Blau für die Wände entschieden.
She chose a light blue for the walls.
hell
high and clear
A tone or voice that sounds high and clear.
EXAMPLE
Das Kind lachte mit einer hellen Stimme.
The child laughed in a high, clear voice.
hell
bright / clever
Colloquial for clever, intelligent, or quick-witted. Often in the expression 'ein heller Kopf' (a bright mind).
EXAMPLE
Er ist wirklich ein heller Junge, er versteht alles sofort.
He is really a bright boy; he understands everything immediately.
Usage tips
False friend
'Hell' means 'licht' (bright) or 'nicht dunkel' (not dark) and has nothing to do with the English word 'hell' ('Hölle' in German). This mix-up is a common mistake among English-speaking learners.
EXAMPLE
Im Sommer sind die Abende angenehm lang und hell.
In summer, the evenings are pleasantly long and bright.
Sentence structure and use
'Hell' can describe a quality (predicative) or the manner of an action (adverbial). Pay attention to the context to recognize its function.
EXAMPLE
Das Zimmer ist sehr hell und freundlich.
The room is very bright and welcoming.
Combination with colors
To describe a lighter shade of color, 'hell' is placed directly before the color and written together with it. This creates new adjectives such as 'hellblau' (light blue) or 'hellgrün' (light green).
EXAMPLE
Für das Babyzimmer haben wir ein zartes Hellgelb gewählt.
For the baby's room, we chose a soft light yellow.
Typical collocations
With tones and sounds, 'hell' is often combined with 'Stimme' (voice), 'Klang' (sound), or 'Lachen' (laughter) to describe a high and clear tone.
EXAMPLE
Die Sopranistin sang die Arie mit einer unglaublich hellen Stimme.
The soprano sang the aria with an incredibly high, clear voice.
Fixed expression
The colloquial meaning 'klug' (clever) is almost always used in the fixed expression 'ein heller Kopf sein' (to be a bright mind) or in combinations like 'ein helles Mädchen' (a bright girl) or 'ein heller Junge' (a bright boy).
EXAMPLE
Sie löst jedes Rätsel, sie ist wirklich ein heller Kopf.
She solves every puzzle; she really is a bright mind.
Compare with
hell vs klar
clear
When describing a voice, klar mainly means that the words sound pure and are easy to understand. Hell, on the other hand, describes a high, light tone of voice. A voice can be both klar and hell; the choice depends on which quality is being emphasized.
hell
Mias Stimme ist hell und klingt besonders hoch und leicht.
Mia’s voice is bright and sounds especially high and light.
klar
Mias Stimme ist klar, sodass man jedes Wort gut versteht.
Mia’s voice is clear, so every word is easy to understand.
In real life
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