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Made of wood, gold or glass: 'aus' + material in German

To say what something is made of, German uses one short word: aus, followed by the material with no article. Der Tisch ist aus Holz. means The table is made of wood. The same pattern works for Gold, Glas, Leder, Plastik, Stein and many more materials.

English speakers often try to translate made of word for word. The results are phrases like gemacht von Holz or von Gold, which sound wrong or unclear. Some learners also add an article, as in aus dem Holz. In German, aus alone already carries the meaning made of, so you rarely need anything else.

Word list
PapiernA1 paper aus Papier = made of paper BronzefA2 bronze aus Bronze = made of bronze EisennA2 iron aus Eisen = made of iron GlasnA2 glass aus Glas = made of glass GoldnA2 gold aus Gold = made of gold HolznA2 wood aus Holz = made of wood LedernA2 leather aus Leder = made of leather MetallnA2 metal aus Metall = made of metal PlastiknA2 plastic aus Plastik = made of plastic SandmA2 sand aus Sand = made of sand SilbernA2 silver aus Silber = made of silver SteinmA2 stone aus Stein = made of stone BacksteinmB1 brick aus Backstein = made of brick SeidefB1 silk aus Seide = made of silk WollefB1 wool aus Wolle = made of wool AluminiumnB2 aluminium aus Aluminium = made of aluminium BaumwollefB2 cotton aus Baumwolle = made of cotton BetonmB2 concrete aus Beton = made of concrete BleinB2 lead aus Blei = made of lead GranitmB2 granite aus Granit = made of granite GummiB2 rubber aus Gummi = made of rubber KeramikfB2 ceramic aus Keramik = made of ceramic KiesmB2 gravel aus Kies = made of gravel KupfernB2 copper aus Kupfer = made of copper MarmormB2 marble aus Marmor = made of marble PappefB2 cardboard aus Pappe = made of cardboard PorzellannB2 porcelain aus Porzellan = made of porcelain StahlmB2 steel aus Stahl = made of steel WachsnB2 wax aus Wachs = made of wax BernsteinmC1 amber aus Bernstein = made of amber EdelmetallnC1 noble metal aus Edelmetall = made of precious metal EdelstahlmC1 stainless steel aus Edelstahl = made of stainless steel ElfenbeinnC1 ivory aus Elfenbein = made of ivory KorkmC1 cork aus Kork = made of cork LeinennC1 linen aus Leinen = made of linen PlatinnC1 platinum aus Platin = made of platinum rostfreier StahlmC1 stainless steel aus rostfreiem Stahl = made of stainless steel SchottermC1 gravel aus Schotter = made of gravel StoffmC1 fabric aus Stoff = made of fabric TonmC1 clay aus Ton = made of clay ZinknC1 zinc aus Zink = made of zinc BienenwachsnC2 beeswax aus Bienenwachs = made of beeswax GipsmC2 plaster aus Gips = made of plaster HarznC2 resin aus Harz = made of resin KalksteinmC2 limestone aus Kalkstein = made of limestone MessingnC2 brass aus Messing = made of brass PergamentnC2 parchment aus Pergament = made of parchment SchrottmC2 scrap metal aus Schrott = made of scrap metal SperrholznC2 plywood aus Sperrholz = made of plywood TitannC2 titanium aus Titan = made of titanium ZinnnC2 tin aus Zinn = made of tin
How it works

The basic pattern is thing + sein + aus + material. Think of aus as out of: the table comes out of wood. Because the material is meant in general, as a substance, it takes no article. The same thing happens in English: you say made of wood, not made of the wood.

Der Tisch ist aus Holz.
(The table is made of wood.)

You don't need a verb like machen. You can also attach aus + material directly to a noun, which is short and very common. It works like English a wooden table or a gold chain.

Ich habe eine Kette aus Gold.
(I have a gold chain.)
Ich suche einen Tisch aus Holz für die Küche.
(I'm looking for a wooden table for the kitchen.)
The words
Everyday materials

Holz, Glas, Plastik, Stein, Papier, Pappe (you'll also hear Karton), Keramik, Porzellan, Ton, Wachs and Gummi all follow the pattern.

Die Flasche ist aus Plastik, nicht aus Glas.
(The bottle is made of plastic, not glass.)
Das alte Haus ist aus Stein.
(The old house is made of stone.)
Die Tassen sind aus Porzellan.
(The cups are made of porcelain.)
Die Kiste ist aus Pappe.
(The box is made of cardboard.)
Metals

Gold, Silber, Eisen, Stahl, Kupfer, Bronze, Messing, Aluminium and the general word Metall behave the same way. For buildings, Beton, Marmor and Granit fit here too.

Mein Ring ist aus Silber.
(My ring is made of silver.)
Die Brücke ist aus Stahl und aus Beton.
(The bridge is made of steel and concrete.)
Clothes and fabrics

Leder, Wolle, Baumwolle, Seide, Leinen and the general word Stoff are the ones you'll see on clothing labels and in shops.

Meine Jacke ist aus Leder.
(My jacket is made of leather.)
Das T-Shirt ist aus Baumwolle, der Pullover aus Wolle.
(The T-shirt is made of cotton, the jumper of wool.)
Watch out
No article is the default, not an absolute rule

When you add an adjective, the adjective takes a dative ending, because aus always takes the dative: aus massivem Holz, aus reinem Gold, aus echter Seide. When you mean one specific material, an article is fine: aus dem Holz einer alten Eiche (from the wood of an old oak).

Der Schrank ist aus massivem Holz.
(The wardrobe is made of solid wood.)
Avoid von

Ein Ring von Gold sounds old-fashioned. Ein Ring von Anna means a ring from Anna or a ring belonging to Anna. Use aus for the material.

Gemacht is possible, but usually unnecessary

Aus Holz gemacht and aus Holz hergestellt are grammatical. They are wordier, though, and hergestellt sounds technical. In everyday speech, ist aus Holz is enough.

Two common alternatives

German often uses compounds: Holztisch, Goldkette, Lederjacke, Plastiktüte. There are also a few material adjectives, such as golden, silbern, hölzern and gläsern. They are useful to recognise, but aus + noun is the safest choice for you.

Double meanings

Some of these nouns also have other meanings. ein Glas is a drinking glass, ein Stein is a single stone, der Ton can also mean sound, der Stoff can also mean substance, and ein Gummi is a rubber band. As materials after aus, they appear without an article.

Summary

To say what something is made of, use aus + the material noun with no article: ist aus Holz, eine Kette aus Gold. Don't translate made of word for word, and avoid von. If you add an adjective, give it a dative ending: aus massivem Holz.