Learn Hardcore German: Ich bin heute ganz müde.

Ich bin heute ganz müde. → natural, everyday way to say you’re really/quite tired.
Ich bin ganz fertig. → here ganz is closer to completely / totally.

So in your sentence, think of ganz as weaker than total but stronger than a bit.

Could I also say Ich bin heute sehr müde? What is the difference between ganz and sehr here?

Yes, Ich bin heute sehr müde is perfectly correct.

Nuance:

sehr müde = very tired, neutral and a bit more “standard.”
ganz müde = quite / really tired, can sound a bit more colloquial or softer.

In many everyday contexts, they can be used almost interchangeably.
If you want to be very clear and neutral: use sehr müde.
If you want a more casual, slightly emotional tone: ganz müde is common.

Why is heute in the middle of the sentence? Could I move it to another place?

Yes, heute (today) is movable. All of these are grammatically correct:

Ich bin heute ganz müde. (neutral word order)
Heute bin ich ganz müde. (emphasizes today in contrast to other days)
Ich bin ganz müde heute. (also possible, slightly more spoken-style)

What you cannot do is put heute between ganz and müde:

✗ Ich bin ganz heute müde. → wrong

So: time adverbs like heute are flexible, but you keep ganz directly in front of the word it modifies (müde).

Why is there no word like feel in German, like in I feel tired?

German usually uses sein (to be) with adjectives such as müde:

Ich bin müde. = I am tired / I feel tired.

Using fühlen (to feel) is possible but less common and often more specific:

Ich fühle mich müde.
→ literally I feel myself tired, more like describing your physical/mental state in a slightly more reflective way.

For everyday speech, Ich bin (heute ganz) müde is the normal and most natural choice.

Why is müde not capitalized? I thought German capitalizes a lot more words.

German capitalizes nouns, but adjectives are normally lowercase.

In Ich bin heute ganz müde:

müde is an adjective (describing how you are), so it stays lowercase.
It’s a predicate adjective after sein (bin), similar to tired in I am tired.

You would only capitalize similar words when they are clearly used as nouns, for example:

das Müde (almost never used; just as a grammar example)

So in normal sentences like this, müde is always lowercase.

Why doesn’t müde have an ending like -e, -er, or -en? Shouldn’t German adjectives change?

German adjectives do take endings in front of nouns:

ein müder Mann (a tired man)
eine müde Frau (a tired woman)
mit müden Kindern (with tired children)

But in Ich bin heute ganz müde, müde is:

an adjective after the verb sein (bin),
not directly in front of a noun.

In this predicate position (after sein, werden, bleiben etc.), adjectives do not take endings. So:

Der Mann ist müde.
Die Kinder sind müde.

No extra endings in this position.

Can I leave out ganz and just say Ich bin heute müde? Is that still natural?

Yes, absolutely. Ich bin heute müde is perfectly natural.

Differences in nuance:

Ich bin heute müde. → I’m tired today. (neutral statement)
Ich bin heute ganz müde. → I’m really / quite tired today. (a bit stronger, more emotional or complaining)

So ganz is optional and just adds intensity.

Does ganz always mean quite / really with adjectives like this?

Not always. ganz is versatile and its meaning depends on context and the word it modifies:

With many adjectives/adverbs in everyday speech, it often means quite / really:
- ganz müde – quite / really tired
- ganz nett – quite / really nice
With some adjectives or nouns, it can mean whole / complete:
- das ganze Buch – the whole book
- ganz allein – completely alone
- ganz sicher – absolutely sure

In Ich bin heute ganz müde, speakers normally understand it as quite / really tired, not as literally completely exhausted to the maximum.

Why is the verb bin in second position? Could it come at the end like in some other German sentences?

German main clauses usually follow the verb-second (V2) rule:

The finite verb (here bin) must be the second element in the sentence.

In Ich bin heute ganz müde:

First element: Ich
Second element (finite verb): bin

You cannot move bin to the end in a main clause:

✗ Ich heute ganz müde bin. → wrong as a main clause

At the end of the clause, you typically find verbs in subordinate clauses, introduced by words like weil, dass, etc.:

… weil ich heute ganz müde bin.
→ here bin correctly appears at the end.

Is Ich bin heute ganz müde formal or informal? Can I say this to my boss or teacher?

The sentence itself is neutral and fine in almost any context. It doesn’t depend on du / Sie, because you’re talking about yourself.

You can say Ich bin heute ganz müde:

to friends and family (informal)
at work, to colleagues or even your boss, if the situation is casual enough
to a teacher, if you’re simply explaining how you feel

If you want to sound a bit more neutral and less colloquial, Ich bin heute sehr müde is slightly “safer” in formal situations, but ganz müde is still acceptable.

Can I change the order of ganz and müde? For example: Ich bin heute müde ganz?

No. ganz must come directly before the adjective it modifies:

Ich bin heute ganz müde. → correct
✗ Ich bin heute müde ganz. → incorrect

In German, most adverbial intensifiers like sehr, ganz, ziemlich, extrem stay immediately in front of the adjective:

sehr müde
ganz müde
ziemlich müde

You don’t separate them.

How do I pronounce müde, especially the ü?

müde has two syllables: mü-de.

mü:
- The ü is not like English u.
- Shape your lips as if saying oo in food, but try to say an ee sound inside.
- It’s a front, rounded vowel: somewhere between ee and oo.
de:
- Like English de in denim, but shorter.
- The final e is a weak, unstressed sound (a bit like the a in sofa).

Stress is on the first syllable: MÜ-de.