Reported are the syntheses, crystal structures, and magnetic susceptibilities of two series of closely related rare-earth metal-lithium gerinanides RE2Li2Ge3 and RE3Li4Ge4 (RE = La-Nd, Sm). All title compounds have been synthesized by reactions of the corresponding elements at high temperatures, and their structures have been established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. RE2Li2Ge3 phases crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Cmcm (No. 63) with the Ce2Li2Ge3 structure type, while the RE3Li4Ge4 phases crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Immm (No. 71) with the Zr3Cu4Si4 structure type, respectively. Both of their structures can be recognized as the intergrowths of MgAl2Cu- and AlB2-like slabs, and these traits of the crystal chemistry are discussed. Temperature-dependent direct-current magnetization measurements indicate Curie Weiss paramagnetism in the high-temperature regime for RE2Li2Ge3 and RE3Li4Ge4 (RE = Ce, Pr, Nd), while Sm2Li2Ge3 and Sm3Li4Ge4 exhibit Van Vleck-type paramagnetism. The data are consistent with the local-moment magnetism expected for RE3+ ground states. At temperatures below ca. 20 K, magnetic ordering transitions have been observed. The experimental results have been complemented by tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital electronic-band-structure calculations.