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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.
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 that are originally German. It should be noted that some words in this list (hamburger, kindergarten) are more common than others (ersatz, wanderlust).
[edit]Food and drink
- Bierkeller
- Beergarden (German spelling: Biergarten)
- Bratwurst
- Delicatessen (German spelling: Delikatessen; abbv. deli)
- Frankfurter
- Gasthaus
- Hamburger
- Kaffeeklatsch
- Knackwurst
- Kraut
- Lager (beer)
- Leberwurst
- Lebkuchen
- Muesli (German spelling: Müsli)
- Pils, Pilsner, Pilsener
- Pretzel (German spelling: Brezel)
- Pumpernickel
- Punch (German spelling: Punsch; several fruit juices, possibly with alcohol)
- Rathskeller (modern German spelling: Ratskeller)
- Rollmops
- Reinheitsgebot, purity law regulating beer
- Sauerbraten
- Sauerkraut
- Schnapps (German spelling: Schnaps)
- Schnitzel
- Spritzer
- Strudel
- Waldmeister (woodruff)
- Wiener (abbreviated from Wiener Würstchen)
- Wurst
- Zwieback
Sports and recreation
- Abseil (German spelling: abseilen, a verb)
- Foosball (German spelling: Fußball)
- Rucksack (backpack)
- Schuss
- Zugzwang
- Zwischenzug
Other aspects of everyday life
- Angst (though the meaning is much more specific in English.)
- Dachshund (a word that Germans never use;they say 'dackel')
- Doberman pinscher (German spelling: Dobermannpinscher)
- Doppelganger (German spelling: Doppelgänger)
- Ersatz, "replacement"
- wiktionary:Fest
- Flak (Flugabwehrkanone )
- Flügtag (German spelling: Flugtag)
- Hinterland
- Gesundheit (in US English, an exclamation used after somebody has sneezed)
- Jägers (German spelling: Jäger for singular and plural)
- Kaput (German spelling: kaputt)
- Kindergarten/Kindergarden (German spelling: Kindergarten)
- Kitsch (probably via Yiddish)
- Kraut, generally as a derogatory word for a German person.
- LSD
- -meister (primarily satirical usage)
- Oktoberfest
- Poltergeist
- Uber- (German spelling: Über-)
- Volkswagen (proper name in English; pronounced folksvagon, people's car)
- Wanderlust, the yearning to travel
- Wunderkind, "wonder child", a prodigy
- 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.
[edit]Architecture
[edit]Economics
[edit]History
(Some terms are listed in multiple categories, if they are important to each.)
[edit]Das Dritte Reich (The Third Reich)
See Glossary of the Weimar Republic and Glossary of the Third Reich.
[edit]Other historical periods
- 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
[edit]Military ranks
- General
- Leutnant
- Oberst, "colonel"
- Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-Colonel)
- Soldat
Linguistics
- Ablaut
- Dreimorengesetz, "three-mora law", the rule for placing stress in Latin
- Grenzsignal, "boundary signal"
- Umlaut
Literature
- Bildungsroman
- Künstlerroman
- Sturm und Drang, "storm and stress", a literary movement
- Urtext, "original text"
- Wahlverwandtschaft (pronounced with a v) (from Goethe's Die Wahlverwandschaften)
- Zeitgeist "spirit of the times"
Mathematics and formal logic
- "Eigen-" words such as eigenfunction, eigenvector, eigenvalue
- Entscheidungsproblem
Music
- Biedermeier, era in early 19th century Vienna
- Glockenspiel, a percussion instrument
- Heldentenor, "heroic tenor"
- Hammerklavier, "hammer-keyboard", a now seldom-used term for piano
- Kapellmeister, "music director"
- Leitmotif (German spelling: Leitmotiv)
- Lied (pronounced "leet"), "song"; specifically in English, "art song"
- Lieder ohne Worte, "songs without words"
- Minnesinger (German spelling: 'Minnesänger')
- Rosenkavalier, "cavalier of the rose", an opera by Richard Strauss
- 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)"
Philosophy
[edit]Physical sciences
- Aufbau principle (physical chemistry)
- Bremsstrahlung
- Gedanken experiment (German spelling: Gedankenexperiment; more commonly referred to as a "thought experiment" in English.)
- Gerade and its opposite ungerade (quantum mechanics)
- Mischmetall
- Umpolung (organic chemistry)
Psychology
- Gestalt (psychology; much narrower meaning than in German.)
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 -- "attention"
- 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 just means Mountain Guide
- 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.)
- 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.
- Jawohl
- Kommandant -- officer or person in command, especially of a military camp or U-Boot. (Applies regardless of military rank, in distinction to the English "commander".)
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.
- Ansatz
- Autobahn
- Fahrvergnugen (German spelling: Fahrvergnügen, literally pleasure of driving. Caused widespread puzzlement in America when used in a Volkswagen advertising campaign. Actually a german native speaker would prefer "Fahrspaß" because of the easier pronunciation.)
- Feinschmecker
- Gemütlichkeit
- Katzenjammer
- Kinderfeindlichkeit
- Kobold
- Kriegspiel
- Kursaal
- Luftmensch
- Putzfrau
- Schadenfreude
- Schmutz
- Sexualpolitik
- Sitz im Leben
- Spitz
- ... 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-")
- Verboten
- Waldsterben
- Weltpolitik
- Zweihander (German spelling: Zweihänder)
Gruß BarCode