“Oben und Unten” — Up and Down Song in German for Kids
In “Oben und Unten” (Up and Down), kids sing key German words like oben, unten, rein and raus, going back and forth between English and German, so the meaning is never a mystery. It's a early-learner (A1) song from Unit 23: Opposites, 2:20 long, made for ages 2–8.
- 🇩🇪 German
- Level: A1
- Unit 23 · Gegenteile
- ⏱ 2:20
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“Oben und Unten” lyrics with English translation
Every line as it's sung, with its meaning beside it. German is shown in teal.
| Sung | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Up, reach up, stretch up high! | Nach oben, streck dich ganz hoch! |
| Oben, oben, bis zum Himmel! | Up, up, all the way to the sky! |
| Down, crouch down, touch your toes! | Runter, duck dich, fass die Zehen an! |
| Unten, unten, tief hinunter! | Down, down, way down low! |
| Jump in, jump in, here we go! | Spring rein, spring rein, los geht’s! |
| Rein, rein, spring hinein! | In, in, jump inside! |
| Now jump out, give room to grow! | Jetzt spring raus, mach Platz zum Wachsen! |
| Raus, raus, spring heraus! | Out, out, jump outside! |
| Up! | Oben! |
| Oben! | Up! |
| Down! | Unten! |
| Unten! | Down! |
| In! | Rein! |
| Rein! | In! |
| Out! | Raus! |
| Raus! | Out! |
| Up and down, in and out, | Oben und unten, rein und raus, |
| Say the words and move about! | Sag die Wörter und beweg dich! |
| Oben, unten, rein und raus— | Up, down, in and out — |
| Come on, friends, let’s sing them loud! | Kommt, Freunde, singen wir sie laut! |
| Come near, come near, stand by me! | Komm nah, komm nah, stell dich zu mir! |
| Nah, ganz nah—now count to three! | |
| Run far away, then come back near! | Lauf weit weg, dann komm wieder nah! |
| Weit weg, dann nah—come back right here! | |
| Go fast, go fast, then take it slow! | Schnell, schnell, dann ganz langsam! |
| Schnell, schnell, langsam—los, los, los! | Fast, fast, slow — go, go, go! |
| Freeze on stop, now hold your pose! | Bei Halt erstarr, bleib ganz still stehn! |
| Halt! Ganz still! And when I say go— | |
| Go! | Los! Los! Los! |
| Los! Los! Los! | Go! Go! Go! |
| Up! | Oben! |
| Oben! | Up! |
| Down! | Unten! |
| Unten! | Down! |
| In! | Rein! |
| Rein! | In! |
| Out! | Raus! |
| Raus! | Out! |
| Up and down, in and out, | Oben und unten, rein und raus, |
| Say the words and move about! | Sag die Wörter und beweg dich! |
| Oben, unten, rein und raus— | Up, down, in and out — |
| Come on, friends, let’s sing them loud! | Kommt, Freunde, singen wir sie laut! |
| Schnell or langsam? Pick the pace! | |
| Schnell is fast—we race, we race! | |
| And langsam means slow, nice and easy! | |
| Nah means near; weit weg is far! | |
| Halt means stop—freeze where you are! | |
| Los means go! Come on, hooray! | |
| We know our words—let’s play, let’s play! | Wir kennen unsere Wörter — spielen wir, spielen wir! |
| Up! | Oben! |
| Oben! | Up! |
| Down! | Unten! |
| Unten! | Down! |
| In! | Rein! |
| Rein! | In! |
| Out! | Raus! |
| Raus! | Out! |
| Up and down, in and out, | Oben und unten, rein und raus, |
| Say the words and move about! | Sag die Wörter und beweg dich! |
| Oben, unten, rein und raus— | Up, down, in and out — |
| Come on, friends, let’s sing them loud! | Kommt, Freunde, singen wir sie laut! |
| Fast! | Schnell! |
| Schnell! | Fast! |
| Slow! | Langsam! |
| Langsam! | Slow! |
| Stop! | Halt! |
| Halt! | Stop! |
| Go! | Los! |
| Los! | Go! |
| Up and down, in and out— | Oben und unten, rein und raus — |
| We can say them, sing them, shout! | Wir können sie sagen, singen, rufen! |
| Bis bald! | See you soon! |
| See you soon! | Bis bald! |
| Oben, unten—move and sing! | |
Key German words in this song
The 10 words and phrases this song is built around.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| oben | up |
| unten | down |
| rein | in |
| raus | out |
| nah | near |
| weit weg | far |
| schnell | fast |
| langsam | slow |
| halt | stop |
| los | go |
How to use this song with your child
- 1
Listen for “oben”
“oben” (up) is sung on 8 lines of this song. Ask your child to clap or raise a hand every time they hear it; by the end they will be saying it with the song.
- 2
Split the parts
Once the song is familiar, you sing the English lines and your child sings the German ones, then swap. It turns listening into speaking.
- 3
Make it a routine
At 2:20, play it once a day at the same moment for a week. Hold toys up high and down low as the song sings up and down.
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