All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| interessant | interesting; worth attention | a course, idea or person | interessanter; am interessantesten |
| interessiert | interested; showing interest | a person’s attention or interest | interessiert an + dative |
interessant
Meaning and usage: Interessant means attracting attention or being worth knowing about. It is not restricted to things: an interesting person can be interessant too. The assessment depends on the speaker and context. Sometimes interessant also means relevant to the topic under discussion.
Grammar: Adjective: ein interessanter Artikel, eine interessante Person. Predicative interessant stays uninflected. Comparative interessanter; superlative am interessantesten. Für + accusative can identify who finds something interesting.
Der Vortrag über Dialekte war für mich besonders interessant.
The talk about dialects was particularly interesting to me.
interessiert
Meaning and usage: Interessiert describes having or showing interest. Someone can be interessiert an a course, a proposal or another person. It does not imply that they enroll, agree or take action. A noun can identify the subject area directly, as in politisch interessiert.
Grammar: Adjective/participle: ein interessierter Teilnehmer. Predicative pattern: interessiert an etwas sein, with an + dative. Related reflexive verb: sich für etwas interessieren, with accusative sich and für + accusative. Do not mix the two preposition patterns.
Ich bin an dem Abendkurs interessiert und möchte mehr darüber erfahren.
I am interested in the evening course and would like to learn more about it.
Overlap and context
Die Teilnehmer sind interessant says that other people may find them interesting. Die Teilnehmer sind interessiert says they show or have interest themselves. An interesting speaker can also be interested in the audience’s questions. The English -ing/-ed comparison helps here, but avoid turning it into a universal rule for all German adjective endings. These are specific words with their own constructions. The verb phrase Der Kurs interessiert mich makes the course the subject and mich the accusative person affected.
Common mistakes
- For your interest in a subject, avoid Ich bin interessant. Use Ich bin interessiert.
- Avoid Ich bin interessiert für den Kurs as the default adjective construction. Use an dem Kurs interessiert.
- With the reflexive verb, use Ich interessiere mich für den Kurs, not the adjective’s an-pattern.
Memory aid: Interessant attracts interest; interessiert has interest. Keep an interested person together with an + dative.
Try it
Complete: Ich bin ___ deutscher Geschichte interessiert.
Show the answer
an
The adjective construction takes an + dative: an deutscher Geschichte.