List of German expressions in English
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Below is a list of German expressions used in English. Some are relatively common (such as hamburger or gestalt), but most are comparatively rare. In many cases, the German borrowing in English has assumed a substantially different meaning than its German forebear.
Although the English language was originally based on an Anglo-Saxon variant of the German language similar to Dutch before the Norman Conquest of England by Norman-speaking peoples in 1066 (see Old English), many modern German words have been borrowed into modern English in more recent years. Typically English spellings of German loanwords suppress any umlauts (the accent over Ä, Ö, Ü, ä, ö and ü) of the original artifact.
German words have been incorporated into English usage for various reasons. Common cultural items, especially foods, have spread to English-speaking nations and are often identified by their German names. The history of excellence among German-speaking nations in science, scholarship, and classical music has led to many German words being adopted by academics for use in English contexts. Discussion of German history and culture requires use of German words. Lastly, some German words are used simply to a fictional passage by implying that the thing being expressed is German, as in Frau or Reich, although sometimes the use of German terms has no German implication, as in doppelganger or angst.
English and German are descended from the same common ancestor, called Proto-Germanic. Because of this, a number of English words are identical to their German counterparts either in spelling (Hand, Finger) or in pronunciation (Fish = Fisch). These words are excluded from this list.
German terms commonly used in English
Words in this category will be recognized by most English speakers and are commonly used in English. A few, such as delicatessen and hinterland, are often used without awareness that they are originally German. It should be noted that some words in this list (hamburger, kindergarten) are more common than others (ersatz, wanderlust).
Food and drink
- Beergarden (German spelling: Biergarten)
- Bratwurst
- Delicatessen (German spelling: Delikatessen; abbv. deli)
- Frankfurter
- Hamburger
- Kraut
- Lager (beer)
- Muesli (German spelling: Müsli, Swiss German Müesli)
- Pils, Pilsner, Pilsener
- Pretzel (German spelling: Brezel)
- Pumpernickel
- Sauerkraut
- Schnapps (German spelling: Schnaps)
- Schnitzel
- Spritzer
- Strudel (e. g. Apfelstrudel)
- Wiener (abbreviated from Wiener Würstchen)
- Wurst
- Zwieback
Sports and recreation
- Abseil (German spelling: abseilen, a verb)
- Foosball (German spelling: Fußball, which refers to the game called soccer in the United States) - in US English, foosball refers exclusively to the tabletop soccer games found in bars and pubs, which are called Tischfußball, Wuzzler or Kicker in German, and simply table football in the UK.
- Rucksack (more commonly called a backpack in US English)
- Zugzwang
- Zwischenzug
Other aspects of everyday life
- Angst (though the meaning is much more specific in English.)
- Dachshund (a word that Germans rarely use; they say 'Dackel')
- Doberman Pinscher (German spelling: Dobermannpinscher)
- Doppelganger (German spelling: Doppelgänger)
- Ersatz, "substitute", derogatory
- Fest
- Flak (Flugzeugabwehrkanone), in the figurative sense: "drawing flak" = being criticized
- Hinterland
- Gesundheit (in US English, only used as an exclamation used after somebody has sneezed)
- Kaput (German spelling: kaputt)
- Kindergarten, extremely common
- Kitsch (also used in Yiddish, but derivative of German)
- Kraut, as a derogatory racial slur for a German person. Uncommon nowadays, but current during World War I and World War II.
- -meister (primarily satirical usage)
- Oktoberfest
- Poltergeist
- Schadenfreude
- Schnauzer (a dog of a German breed with a close wiry coat and heavy whiskers round the muzzle)
- Spitz
- Verboten, usually used for humorous effect
- Volkswagen proper name in English; usually read with English phonetics (i.e. initial sound as an English v rather than an f; w as an English w, rather than a v)
- Wanderlust, the yearning to travel
- Wunderkind, "wonder child", a prodigy
- Zeitgeist "spirit of the times"
- Zeppelin, type of airship named after its inventor
German terms commonly used in academic contexts in English
German terms frequently appear in several academic disciplines in English, notably in history, psychology, philosophy, music and the physical sciences. Non-specialists in a given field may or may not be familiar with a given German term.
General academic language
- Ansatz, basic approach
- Leitfaden, illustration of the interdependence between chapters of a book.
- Methodenstreit, disagreement on methodology
Architecture
Economics
Geography
History
(Some terms are listed in multiple categories, if they are important to each.)
Das Dritte Reich (The Third Reich)
See Glossary of the Weimar Republic and Glossary of the Third Reich.
Other historical periods
- Dorfwüstung, used to describe the return of wilderness to towns after the Black Death
- Junker
- Kaiser, "emperor"
- Kulturkampf
- Landflucht
- Ostflucht
- Ostpolitik
- Realpolitik (also political science)
- Reichstag (Imperial Diet; see Reichstag (building) and Reichstag (institution))
- Völkerwanderung (pronounced folkervanderung)
Noble titles
- Freiherr, roughly equivalent to an English baron, the lowest rank of nobility
- Fürst, "prince", but see entry for notes and qualifications: in German use refers to leader of a principality, not an heir to a throne
- Graf, "count"
- Junker
- Kaiser, "emperor"
- Landgraf, count with princely (sovereign) powers, see entry for relation to "Graf"
General military terms
- Blitzkrieg
- Flak (Flugabwehrkanone), anti-aircraft gun
- Karabiner
- Kriegspiel
- Luftwaffe
- Panzer (abbreviated form of Panzerkampfwagen)
- U-Boot (abbreviated form of Unterseeboot)
- Vernichtungsgedanken
Military ranks
- Soldat
- Gefreiter
- Feldwebel (Sergeant)
- Fähnrich (Ensign)
- Leutnant
- Hauptmann (Captain)
- Major
- Oberst (Colonel)
- Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-Colonel)
- General
Linguistics
- Ablaut
- Dreimorengesetz, "three-mora law", the rule for placing stress in Latin
- Grenzsignal, "boundary signal"
- Leitmotiv, a recurring theme
- Sitz im Leben (Biblical linguistics mainly; the study of Pragmatics has a similar approach)
- Umlaut
Literature
- Bildungsroman
- Künstlerroman
- Nihilartikel, a deliberately fictitious article in an encyclopedia or dictionary
- Sturm und Drang, "storm and stress", a literary movement
- Urtext, "original text"
- Wahlverwandtschaft (pronounced with a v) (from Goethe's Die Wahlverwandschaften)
Mathematics and formal logic
- "Eigen-" words such as eigenfunction, eigenvector, eigenvalue
- Entscheidungsproblem
- Hilbert's Nullstellensatz
- Ideal (originally "ideale Zahlen", defined by Ernst Kummer)
- Ansatz (roughly equivalent to "approach")
Music
- Biedermeier, era in early 19th century Vienna
- Glockenspiel, a percussion instrument
- Heldentenor, "heroic tenor"
- Hammerklavier, "hammer-keyboard", an archaic term for piano or the name of a specific kind of piano
- Kapellmeister, "music director"
- Leitmotif (German spelling: Leitmotiv)
- Lied (pronounced "leet"), "song"; specifically in English, "art song"
- Lieder ohne Worte, "songs without words"
- Liedermacher
- Meistersinger
- Minnesinger (German spelling: 'Minnesänger') "Love poet"
- Rosenkavalier, "cavalier of the rose", an opera by Richard Strauss
- Schlager
- schmaltz (German spelling: 'Schmalz'; sentimentality, esp. in music and drama; schmaltzier, schmaltziest)
- Schuhplattler
- Sprechgesang, form of musical delivery between speech and singing
- Sturm und Drang, "storm and stress", a brief esthetic movement during the Classical period
- Urtext, "original text (of the composer)"
- Volksmusic (German spelling: Volksmusik)
- Waltz (German spelling: Walzer)
Philosophy
- Gott ist tot!, a popular phrase from Nietzsche; more commonly rendered "God is dead!" in English.
- Übermensch, also from Nietzsche; the ideal of a Superman or Overman.
- Weltanschauung, Worldview or View of the world
- Weltschmerz, World-weariness, angst; despair with the World (often used ironically in German)
- Wille zur Macht, a central concept of Nietzsche's philosophy; it means "the Will to Power."
Physical sciences
- Ansatz, an assumed for for a function that is not based on an underlying theory
- Aufbau principle (physical chemistry)
- Bauplan = body plan of animals
- Bremsstrahlung
- Gedanken experiment (German spelling: Gedankenexperiment; more commonly referred to as a "thought experiment" in English.)
- Gerade and its opposite ungerade (quantum mechanics)
- Lagerstätten
- Mischmetall
- minerals like Quartz (German spelling: Quarz), Gneiss and Feldspar (originally "Gneis" respectively "Feldspat")
- Spiegeleisen
- Umpolung (organic chemistry)
- Vierbein, and variations such as vielbein
- Zitterbewegung
Psychology
- Gestalt (psychology; much narrower meaning than in German.)
- Zeitgeber (lit. tide-giver; something that resets the circadian clock produced by the SCN.)
Sociology
- Gemeinschaft (sociology; community.)
- Gesellschaft (sociology; society.)
Academic culture
- Festschrift, book prepared by colleagues to honor a scholar
- Privatdozent
German terms mostly used for literary effect
There are a few terms which are recognised by many English speakers but are usually only used to deliberately evoke a German context:
- Achtung
- Frau and Fräulein
- Führer (umlaut is usually dropped in English) — always used in (American) English to denote Hitler or to connote a Fascistic leader — never used, as is possible in German, simply and unironically to denote a (non-Fascist) leader, (i.e. Bergführer = Mountain Guide, Stadtführer = City Guide etc.)
- Hände hoch — "hands up"
- Herr — evokes German context; but used with military titles ("Herr Oberst"), immediately connotes Nazi era to (American) English listeners.
- Lederhosen (Singular Lederhose in German denotes one pair of leathery trousers. The original Bavarian word is Lederhosn, which is both singular and plural.)
- Meister — used as a suffix to mean expert, or master
- Nein, "no"
- Reich — to (American) English speakers, "Reich" does not denote its literal meaning, "empire", but strongly connotes Naziism and is often used to suggest Fascism or authoritarianism, e.g., "Herr Reichsminister" used as a title for a disliked politician. German "reich" as an adjective means "rich", as a noun it means "empire" and "realm".
- Jawohl has no literal translation in English, but is often equated to "yes sir".
- Schnell! — Fast!
- Kommandant — officer or person in command, especially of a military camp or U-Boat. (Applies regardless of military rank, in distinction to the English "commander".)
- Schweinhund (German spelling: Schweinehund)
German terms rarely used in English
This is the unsorted, original list. If a term is common in a particular academic discipline, and there is no more commonly used English equivalent, then please move it to the list above.
- Autobahn — particularly common in British English referring specifically to German motorways which have no speed limit
- Fahrvergnugen (German spelling: Fahrvergnügen, literally pleasure of driving. Coined for a Volkswagen advertising campaign; caused widespread puzzlement in America when it was used in television commercials with no explanation.
- Kobold
- Schmutz
- ... Über Alles (originally "Deutschland über Alles"; now used by extension in other cases, as in the Dead Kennedys song "California Über Alles")
- Ur- (as a prefix to mean "proto-")
- Weltpolitik
- Zweihander (German spelling: Zweihänder)
Music
For terms used in music, see above.
Meanings of German band names
- Einstürzende Neubauten = "collapsing new buildings". For the band this evokes the image of buildings built during the postwar era, which were very hastily erected, hence supposedly prone to collapse.
- Böhse Onkelz = (correct German spelling: böse Onkels) evil uncles. The wrong spelling is done to "harden" its appearance (h in this context amplifies the ö; z sounds sharper than s).
- Kraftwerk = power plant
- Rammstein = named after Ramstein Air Base, but could mean "ramming stone" (literal) or "battering ram" (figurative).
- Die Toten Hosen = literally dead trousers. A slang expression for a boring place to be (only used in certain regions). It can also refer to impotence.
- Die Ärzte = (medical) doctors, a German rock band.
See also: Krautrock: "Kraut (= cabbage) rock". A German-like English name for a varietey of German rock music.
Classical Music Works
- Liebestraum, plural Liebesträume: "love dream" or "dream of love"
- Kreisler's "Liebesleid": "pain of love"
- Kreisler's "Liebesfreud": "joy of love"
- Mozart's Nachtmusik: "night music" (serenade)
Related topics
- Germish (English loanwords in German)
- List of French phrases
- List of French proverbs
- List of Latin words with English derivatives
- List of Latin phrases
- List of Latin proverbs
- List of Greek phrases
- List of German words and phrases
- List of French phrases used by English speakers
- List of Spanish expressions in common English
External Links
Dictionary of Germanisms (http://www.germanenglishwords.com)de:Liste_deutscher_Wörter_in_anderen_Sprachen