Problem of motivation in German word-formation is discussed in the article. Meaning of simple words or simplexes can't be deduced from the meanings of their constituents, phonemes. Hence they are not motivated. But the meaning of word-building constructions can be motivated. Motives are called the features which are used for naming a process. Three kinds of motivations are distinguished in the German Language: phonetic-phonemic, morphemic and semantic or figurative motivation. These three kinds of motivations are analyzed in the article.