What a form asks for
| German | on the form |
|---|---|
| der Vorname, -n | first name |
| der Familienname, -n | surname, family name |
| die Adresse, -n | address |
| die Postleitzahl, -en | postcode (usually PLZ) |
| der Geburtsort, -e | place of birth |
| My first name is Anna. | Mein Vorname ist Anna. |
der Name is not enough
L12 gave you der Name. A German form almost never asks for that on its own — it asks for Vorname and Familienname separately, and in that order. Familienname is also called Nachname; both are correct.
Marital status
ledig (single, never married) and geschieden (divorced) sit on every form beside verheiratet (married). They are adjectives, and they stand after sein:
Ich bin ledig. — Sie ist geschieden.
männlich / weiblich
These are the words a form uses for sex, and the SAME words German grammar uses for gender: der nouns are männlich, die nouns are weiblich.
| Are you single or divorced? | Sind Sie ledig oder geschieden? |
Spelling it out
buchstabieren is to spell a word aloud, letter by letter — from der Buchstabe (a letter of the alphabet, not a letter you post; that is der Brief). ausfüllen is what you do to a form: fill it in. It is separable — Ich fülle das Formular aus.
