Questions & Answers about Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank.
German uses the verb sein (ich bin) with adjectives that describe a state or condition, like krank (ill), müde (tired), hungrig (hungry):
- Ich bin krank. – I am sick.
- Ich bin müde. – I am tired.
You do not say Ich habe krank in German.
So this is directly parallel to English I am sick, not I have sick.
In German, time expressions like heute often go:
subject – verb – time – (other information)
So:
- Ich (subject)
- bin (verb)
- heute (time)
- ein bisschen krank (how I am)
This is a very natural, neutral word order. You could also move heute to the beginning for emphasis (see next question), but you generally don’t place it at the very end in a short sentence like this.
Yes, that is fully correct:
- Heute bin ich ein bisschen krank.
The difference is in emphasis:
- Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank. – neutral; just giving information.
- Heute bin ich ein bisschen krank. – puts extra focus on today, like “As for today, I’m a bit sick” (implying maybe yesterday I wasn’t, or tomorrow I won’t be).
Both are good everyday German.
Ein bisschen literally means “a little bit / a bit” and softens the statement:
- Ich bin krank. – I am sick (plain statement; could sound more serious).
- Ich bin ein bisschen krank. – I’m a little bit sick / not feeling great, but it doesn’t sound very dramatic.
It suggests a mild condition or that you don’t want to exaggerate how bad it is.
All three can mean “a little / somewhat”, but they differ in tone and frequency:
ein bisschen
- Most common in everyday speech.
- Very natural and informal‑neutral.
- Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank. – I’m a bit sick today.
ein wenig
- Slightly more formal or “bookish” in many contexts.
- Still used in speech, but less often than ein bisschen.
- Ich bin heute ein wenig krank. – I’m a little unwell today (sounds a bit more careful or polite).
etwas (in this meaning)
- Sounds more neutral or formal; often used in writing.
- Can mean “somewhat / rather”.
- Ich bin heute etwas krank. – I’m somewhat sick today / I’m feeling a bit ill.
All three are grammatically correct in this sentence; ein bisschen is the most everyday choice.
In standard German, the normal phrase is ein bisschen.
- Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank. ✅ (standard)
- Ich bin heute bisschen krank. ⚠️ sounds dialectal/colloquial and is often felt as “sloppy” in standard German.
In some regions and in very casual speech people drop ein, but if you’re learning German, always use ein bisschen to sound correct and neutral.
Historically bisschen comes from ein wenig Biss (a little bite), but in modern German, ein bisschen functions as a fixed adverbial expression meaning “a bit / a little”.
Because of that:
- It’s written lowercase: bisschen, not Bisschen.
- You don’t treat it like a normal noun; you don’t change its form or put an article in front of it other than ein.
So in Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank, ein bisschen works together as an adverbial phrase modifying krank (“a bit sick”), not as a regular noun.
Krank here is used predicatively with the verb sein:
- Ich bin krank. – I am sick.
Predicative adjectives in German (after sein, werden, bleiben, etc.) are used in their basic form, without extra endings:
- Das Kind ist müde. – The child is tired.
- Der Mann ist alt. – The man is old.
- Wir sind glücklich. – We are happy.
You only add endings when the adjective stands before a noun (attributive):
- ein kranker Mann – a sick man
- eine kranke Frau – a sick woman
So krank in Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank has no ending because it is not directly describing a noun; it’s just saying how “I” am.
Yes, quite a few. Some common ones:
- Ich bin krank. – I am sick.
- Ich bin heute nicht so fit. – I’m not so fit today (mild, often used).
- Ich fühle mich nicht so gut. – I don’t feel so well.
- Mir geht es nicht so gut. – I’m not doing so well / I don’t feel so well.
- Mir ist nicht so gut. – I don’t feel so well (colloquial).
- Ich fühle mich krank. – I feel sick/ill.
Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank is very clear and straightforward; the others vary in how direct or soft they sound.
They describe different kinds of feeling unwell:
Ich bin krank.
- “I’m sick / ill” in a general sense.
- Could be a cold, flu, Covid, etc.
- You have a disease or infection, or feel unwell overall.
Mir ist schlecht.
- Literally “To me it is bad,” but idiomatically: “I feel sick / I feel nauseous.”
- Used especially when your stomach feels bad, like seasickness, food poisoning, motion sickness.
So:
- flu → Ich bin krank.
- about to throw up → Mir ist schlecht.
Yes, both are grammatically correct and understandable:
Ich bin heute ein wenig krank.
- Sounds slightly more formal or restrained.
- Often used if you want to be polite or understate it.
Ich bin heute etwas krank.
- Also correct; can sound like “I’m somewhat sick / rather sick”.
- In speech, many people still prefer ein bisschen.
In everyday spoken German, Ich bin heute ein bisschen krank is the most common and neutral. The other two are fine, just a bit less colloquial.
Two common options:
To negate the adjective (the state of being sick):
- Ich bin heute nicht krank. – I am not sick today.
To negate the time (I’m not sick today, but maybe on other days):
- Ich bin nicht heute krank. – It’s not today that I am sick.
This is less common and usually used only with a special emphasis on heute.
- Ich bin nicht heute krank. – It’s not today that I am sick.
For the normal meaning “I’m not sick today,” use:
- Ich bin heute nicht (ein bisschen) krank.