List of German expressions in English

List of German expressions in English
The English language has incorporated various loanwords, terms, phrases, or quotations from the German language. A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language without translation. It is distinguished from a calque, or loan translation, where a meaning or idiom from another language is translated into existing words or roots of the host language. Some of the expressions are relatively common (e.g., hamburger), but most are comparatively rare. In many cases, the loanword has assumed a meaning substantially different from its German forebear.
English and German both are West Germanic languages, though their relationship has been obscured by the lexical influence of Old Norse and Norman French (as a consequence of the Norman conquest of England in 1066) on English as well as the High German consonant shift. In recent years, however, many English words have been borrowed directly from German. Typically, English spellings of German loanwords suppress any umlauts (the superscript, double-dot diacritic in Ä, Ö, Ü, ä, ö, and ü) of the original word or replace the umlaut letters with Ae, Oe, Ue, ae, oe, ue, respectively (as is done commonly in German speaking countries when the umlaut is not available; the origin of the umlaut was a superscript E).
German words have been incorporated into English usage for many reasons:
German cultural artifacts, especially foods, have spread to English-speaking nations and often are identified either by their original German names or by German-sounding English names.
Developments and discoveries in German-speaking nations in science, scholarship, and classical music have led to German words for new concepts, which have been adopted into English: for example the words doppelgänger and angst in psychology.
Discussion of German history and culture requires some German words.
Some German words are used in English narrative to identify that the subject expressed is in German, e.g., Frau, Reich.
As languages, English and German descend from the common ancestor language West Germanic and further back to Proto-Germanic; because of this, some English words are essentially identical to their German lexical counterparts, either in spelling (Hand, Sand, Finger) or pronunciation ("fish" = Fisch, "mouse" = Maus), or both (Arm, Ring); these are excluded from this list.
German common nouns fully adopted into English are in general not initially capitalized, and the German letter "ß" is generally changed to "ss".
German terms commonly used in English
Most of these words will be recognized by many English speakers; they are commonly used in English contexts. Some, such as wurst and pumpernickel, retain German connotations, while others, such as lager and hamburger, retain none. Not every word is recognizable outside its relevant context. A number of these expressions are used in American English, under the influence of German immigration, but not in British English.
Food and drink
Altbier—a copper coloured, malt-forward, clean and crisp tasting, lighter-bodied beer with moderate bitterness from Rhineland.
Berliner Weisse (German spelling: Berliner Weiße)—a sour beer often infused with fruit syrup.
Biergarten—an open-air drinking establishment.
Bock—a strong beer.
Braunschweiger—a liverwurst cold-cut (though, in Germany, Braunschweiger describes a smoked ground beef sausage).
Bratwurst (also brat)—a type of frying sausage.
Budweiser—a beer, named after Budweis, the German name of Budějovice, a city in Southern Bohemia.
Bundt cake (from Bundkuchen; in German: a Gug(e)lhupf)—a ring cake.
Delicatessen (German spelling: Delikatessen)—a speciality food retailer; fine foods.
Dunkel (also Dunkles)—a dark beer.
Emmentaler (also Emmental)—a yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, Canton Bern.
Frankfurter (also frank or frankfurt)—a type of sausage.
Gose—a top-fermenting sour beer that originated in Goslar, Germany.
Grätzer—a beer style named after Grätz, the German name of Grodzisk Wielkopolski, a city in Greater Poland
Gugelhupf—a type of cake with a hole in the middle.
Gummi bear (in German: Gummibär, but the product is only known as Gummibärchen (diminutive))—the non-Anglicized spelling of gummy bear.
Hamburger—a sandwich with a meat patty and garnishments.
Hasenpfeffer—a type of rabbit (or hare) stew.
Hefeweizen—an unfiltered wheat beer (containing yeast).
Helles (also Hell)—a pale lager beer.
Jagertee (from Austrian-Bavarian dialects; German spelling: Jägertee)—an alcoholic beverage made by mixing overproof rum with black tea, red wine, plum brandy, orange juice, and various spices.
Kipfel (also kipferl)—a horn-shaped type of pastry.
Kellerbier—a lager beer, which is typically neither clarified nor pasteurised.
Kinder Surprise (also known as a "Kinder Egg")—a chocolate egg containing a small toy, usually requiring assembly (in Germany: Überraschungsei and Kinder-Überraschung). However, despite being a German word, the Kinder chocolate brand is actually of Italian origin.
Kirschwasser—a spirit drink made from cherries (hard liquor / booze).
Knackwurst—a cooked sausage.
Kohlrabi—a type of cabbage (aka "cabbage turnip").
Kölsch—a beer style from Cologne.
Kommissbrot—a dark type of German bread, baked from rye and other flours.
Lager—a beer made with bottom-fermenting yeast and stored for some time before serving (in Germany: an Export).
Leberwurst—a pork-liver sausage.
Liptauer—a spicy cheese spread made with sheep milk cheese, goat cheese, quark, or cottage cheese, after Liptau, the German name of Liptov, a region in northern Slovakia.
Märzen (also Märzenbier)—a medium to full body lager beer.
Maß—a unit of volume used for measuring beer; typically , but probably evolved from the old Bavarian unit of measure (Maßeinheit) called Quartl (quart).
Mozartkugel, (literally "Mozart ball")—a small, round sugar confection made of pistachio marzipan, and nougat, covered with dark chocolate.
Muesli—a breakfast cereal. (Swiss German spelling: Müesli, standard German: Müsli)
Noodle (from German Nudel)—a type of food; a string of pasta.
Pfeffernüsse—peppernuts.
Pilsener (also Pils or Pilsner)—a pale lager beer named after Pilsen, the German name of Plzeň, a city in Western Bohemia; contains higher amounts of hops than usual Lager (or Export) beer, and therefore is a tad more bitter.
Powidl—a spread made from plums.
Pretzel (standard German spelling: Brezel or Breze)—a flour- and yeast-based pastry.
Pumpernickel—a type of sourdough rye bread, strongly flavored, dense, and dark in color.
Quark—a type of fresh cheese (curd).
Radler—a mixture of beer and lemonade.
Rollmops—a rolled, pickled herring fillet.
Saaz—a variety of hops named after Saaz, the German name of Žatec, a city in Northwestern Bohemia.
Sauerkraut (also Kraut, which in German would mean cabbage in general)—fermented cabbage.
Schnapps (German spelling: Schnaps)—a distilled alcoholic drink (hard liquor, booze).
Schwarzbier—a dark lager beer.
Seltzer—carbonated water, a genericized trademark that derives from the German town Selters, which is renowned for its mineral springs.
Spritzer (from spritzen meaning "to spray"; the term is most commonly used in Vienna and its surroundings; in German: (Wein-)Schorle, rarely Gespritzter)—a chilled drink from white wine and soda water.
Stein (from Steingut meaning "earthenware", referring to the material; in German: Steinkrug, literally earthenware jug)—a large drinking mug, usually for beer.
Streusel—a crumb topping on a cake.
Strudel—a filled pastry (e.g., Apfelstrudel, milk-cream strudel).
Süffig—a beverage that is especially light and sweet or palatable; only the latter meaning is connoted with German süffig.
Tafelspitz—boiled veal or beef in broth, served with a mix of minced apples and horseradish.
Weisslacker (also Bierkäse)—a type of cow's milk cheese.
Wiener—a hot dog.
Wiener Schnitzel—a crumbed veal cutlet.
Wurst—a sausage, cold cuts.
Zwieback—a "twice baked" bread; rusk, variants: German hard biscuits; Mennonite double yeast roll
Sports and recreation
Abseil (German spelling: sich abseilen, a reflexive verb, to rope (seil) oneself (sich) down (ab))—the term "abseiling" is used in the UK and Commonwealth countries, "roping (down)" in various English settings, and "rappelling" in the US.
Blitz (from Blitzkrieg (lightning war))—A team defensive play in American or Canadian football in which the defense sends more players than the offense can block. The term Blitzkrieg was originally used in Nazi Germany during World War II, describing a dedicated kind of fast and ferocious attack.
Foosball—Probably from the German word for table football, Tischfußball, although foosball itself is referred to as Kicker or Tischfußball in German. Fußball is the word for soccer in general.
Karabiner (from "Karabinerhaken"; can also mean a Carbine firearm in German)—snaplink, a metal loop with a sprung or screwed gate, used in climbing and mountaineering; translates to "riflehook".
Kutte (literally "frock" or "cowl")—a type of vest made out of denim or leather and traditionally worn by bikers, metalheads, and punks; in German, the word also refers to the clothes of monks.
Kletterschuh—a climbing shoe (mountaineering).
Mannschaft—a German word for a sports team.
Rucksack (more commonly called a backpack in American English)
Schuss—literally a shot (ski) down a slope at high speed.
Turner—a gymnast.
Turnverein—a gymnastics club or society.
Volksmarsch / Volkssport / Volkswanderung—literally people's march / popular sports (competitive) / people migrating.
Animals
Dachshund, a dog breed, literally "badger dog" (usually referred to as Dackel in German usage)
Doberman Pinscher, a dog breed (usually referred to as Dobermann in German)
Hamster, a small rodent often kept as a household pet
Olm, an exclusively cave-dwelling aquatic salamander found in Europe.
Pomeranian, a dog breed
Poodle, a dog breed, from German Pudel
Rottweiler, a dog breed
Schnauzer, a dog breed (though in German, Schnauzer could also be short for Schnauzbart, meaning "moustache")
Siskin, several species of birds (from Sisschen, dialect for Zeisig)
Spitz, a dog breed
Philosophy and history
Antifa, short for "Antifaschistische Aktion" (anti-fascist action)
Lebensraum, literally "living space"; conquered territory, now exclusively associated with the Nazi Party in that historical context. In Germany, the word usually simply means 'habitat'
Nazi, short for Nationalsozialist (National Socialist)
Neanderthal (modern German spelling: Neandertal), for German Neandertaler, meaning "of, from, or pertaining to the Neandertal ("Neander Valley")", the site near Düsseldorf where early Homo neanderthalensis fossils were first found.
Schadenfreude, "joy from pain" (literally "harm joy"); delight at the misfortune of others
Wanderlust, the yearning to travel
Zeitgeist, spirit of the time
Society and culture
Doppelgänger, literally "double-goer", also spelled in English as doppelgaenger; a double or look-alike. However, in English the connotation is that of a ghostly apparition of a duplicate living person.
Dreck, literally "dirt" or "smut", but now meaning trashy, awful (through Yiddish, OED s.v.)
Dummkopf, literally "stupid head"; a stupid, ignorant person, similar to "numbskull" in English
Fest, festival
Fingerspitzengefühl (literally "finger-tip feeling", in German used to mean "empathy", "sensitivity" or "tact")
Gemütlichkeit, coziness
Gesundheit, literally health; an exclamation used in place of "bless you!" after someone has sneezed
Hausfrau, pejorative: frumpy, petty-bourgeois, traditional, pre-emancipation type housewife whose interests centre on the home, or who is even exclusively interested in domestic matters (colloquial, American English only), sometimes humorously used to replace "wife", but with the same mildly derisive connotation. The German word has a neutral connotation.
Kaffeeklatsch, literally "coffee gossip"; afternoon meeting where people (usually referring to women, particularly Hausfrauen) chitchat while drinking coffee or tea and having cake.
Kindergarten, literally "children's garden"; day-care centre, playschool, preschool
Kitsch, cheap, sentimental, gaudy items of popular culture
Kraut, literally "cabbage"; derogatory term for a German
Lederhosen (short leather pants for men and boys, often worn with suspenders)
Meister, "master", also as a suffix: –meister; in German, Meister typically refers to the highest educational rank of a craftsperson. Note: Meister does not refer to the academic master degree (which is now Master or formerly Magister, Diplom-engineer and so forth); it is considered, at most, to be the equivalent of a bachelor's degree.
Oktoberfest, Bavarian folk festival held annually in Munich during late September and early October
Poltergeist, literally "noisy ghost"; an alleged paranormal phenomenon where objects appear to move of their own accord
Spiel, literally "game"; an attempt to present and explain a point in a way that the presenter has done often before, usually to sell something. A voluble line of often extravagant talk, "pitch"
uber, über, "over"; used to indicate that something or someone is of better or superior magnitude, e.g. Übermensch
Wunderkind, literally "wonder child"; a child prodigy
Technology
–bahn as a suffix, e.g. Infobahn, after Autobahn
Bandsalat, literally "tape salad", refers to a tangle of magnetic tape.
Blücher, a half-boot named after Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742–1819); also a hand in the British card game Napoleon.
Ersatz, replacement; usually implying an artificial and inferior substitute or imitation. In German, the word has a neutral connotation, e.g. Ersatzrad simply means "spare wheel" (not an inferior one).
Flak, Flugabwehrkanone, literally: air-defence cannon, for anti-aircraft artillery or their shells, also used in flak jacket; or in the figurative sense: "drawing flak" = being heavily criticized
Kraft as in kraft paper, a strong paper used to make sacks; Kraft in German just means "strength" or "power"
Plandampf, running a scheduled train service with historic steam locomotives, popular with railway enthusiasts.
Volkswagen, literally "people's car"; brand of automobile
Zeppelin, type of rigid airship, named after its inventor
Other aspects of everyday life
erlaubt, allowed, granted; opposite of verboten.
kaput (German spelling: kaputt), out-of-order, broken, dead
nix, from German nix, dialectal variant of nichts (nothing)
Scheiße, an expression and euphemism meaning "shit", usually as an interjection when something goes amiss
Ur- (German prefix), original or prototypical; e.g. Ursprache, Urtext
verboten, prohibited, forbidden, banned. In English this word has authoritarian connotations.
German terms common in English academic context
German terms sometimes appear in English academic disciplines, e.g. history, psychology, philosophy, music, and the physical sciences; laypeople in a given field may or may not be familiar with a given German term.
Academia
Ansatz, educated guess
Doktorvater, doctoral advisor
Festschrift, book prepared by colleagues to honor a scholar, often on an important birthday such as the sixtieth.
Gedenkschrift, memorial publication
Leitfaden, guideline
Methodenstreit, disagreement on methodology
Privatdozent, in German it describes a lecturer without professorship (typically requires German Habilitation degree).
Professoriat, the entity of all professors of a university
Wissenschaft, scholarship, research and study in general
Architecture
Abwurfdach
Angstloch, literally "fear hole", a small hole in the floor of a medieval castle or fortress through which a basement room (popularly described as a "dungeon") can be accessed
Bauhaus, a German style of architecture begun by Walter Gropius in 1918
Bergfried, a tall tower typical of Central European medieval castles
Biedermeier, of or relating to a style of furniture developed in Germany in the 19th century; in German, it might also derogatively describe a certain old-fashioned, ultra-conservative interior styling. It also describes a certain type of literature in the beginning of the industrialization that represents a longing for the traditional life at that time, with themes of nature and calmness, untouched by the modern world.
Burgwall
Hügelgrab, in archeology, burial mound
Jugendstil, art nouveau
Passivhaus, house built to eco-friendly standards, ultra-low energy buildings which need little fuel for heating or cooling
Pfostenschlitzmauer, in archeology, a method of construction typical of prehistoric Celtic hillforts of the Iron Age
Plattenbau, building made from prefabricated slabs; a typical building style of the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, particularly associated with East Germany.
Schwedenschanze
Sondergotik, a Late Gothic architectural style found in Central Europe between 1350 and 1550
Stolperstein, literally "stumbling stone", metaphorically a "stumbling block" or a stone to "stumble upon", a cobblestone-size concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution
Viereckschanze, in archaeology, a Celtic fortification of the Iron Age
Arts
Gesamtkunstwerk, "the whole of a work of art", also "total work of art" or "complete artwork"
Gestalt (lit. "shape, figure"), a collection of entities that creates a unified concept (where "the whole is more than the sum of its parts")
Heraldry
Seeblatt
Schwurhand
Music
Affektenlehre, the doctrine of the affections in Baroque music theory
Almglocken, tuned cowbells
Alphorn, a wind instrument
Augenmusik, eye music
Ausmultiplikation, a musical technique described by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Blockwerk, medieval type of church organ featuring only labial pipes
Crumhorn, from German Krummhorn, a type of woodwind instrument
Fach, method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, by the range, weight, and color of their voices
Fackeltanz, a kind of polonaise associated with German royal wedding celebrations
Fife, from Pfeife, a small transverse flute often used in military and marching bands
Flatterzunge (literally "flutter tongue"), playing technique for wind instruments
Flugelhorn (German spelling: Flügelhorn), a type of brass musical instrument
Glockenspiel, a percussion instrument
Heldentenor, "heroic tenor"
Hammerklavier, "hammer-keyboard", an archaic term for piano or the name of a specific kind of piano, the fortepiano; most commonly used in English to refer to Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata
Hosenrolle, a term for male character, literally "trousers' role"
Kapellmeister, "music director"
Katzenjammer, hubbub or uproar; in German, the term Katzenjammer could also mean hangover.
Katzenklavier, cat organ, a conjectural instrument employing live cats
Kinderklavier, piano for children
Klangfarbenmelodie, a term coined by Arnold Schönberg regarding harmonic theory
Konzertmeister, concert master
Kuhreihen, song originally used for gathering cows for milking
Leitmotif (German spelling: Leitmotiv) a musical phrase that associates with a specific person, thing, or idea
Lied (pronounced "leet"), "song"; specifically in English, "art song"
Lieder ohne Worte, "songs without words"
Liederhandschrift, a manuscript containing medieval songs
Liederkranz, (originally male) singing club
Liedermacher, singer-songwriter
Marktsackpfeife, a type of bagpipes
Meistersinger, Master-singer
Mensurstrich, barline that is drawn between staves
Minnesang, medieval love poetry
Musikalisches Würfelspiel, a composing technique featuring the use of random number generators, i.e. dice (Würfel)
Ohrwurm, catchy tune
Orgelbewegung, a movement of organ building featuring a more baroque sound and organ architecture
Rauschpfeife, a type of woodwind instrument.
Rückpositiv (also rendered as Ruckpositiv)
Sängerfest, a Central European tradition of music festivals that also spread to North America
Schlager, "a hit" (German schlagen, to hit or beat)
Schottische, literally "Scottish", a folk dance
Schuhplattler, a regional dance from Upper Bavaria and Austria
Singspiel, German musical drama with spoken dialogue
Sitzprobe, rehearsal of a musical stage work where singers are sitting and without costumes
Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme, forms of musical delivery between speech and singing
Strohbass
Sturm und Drang, "storm and stress", a brief aesthetic movement in German literature, just before Weimar Classicism
Urtext, "original text" (of the composer)
Volksmusik, traditional German music
Walzer (Waltz)
Zukunftsmusik, music of the future
Genres
Kosmische Musik: a Krautrock-associated genre of electronic music pioneered by Popol Vuh
Krautrock: German-like English name for a variety of German rock
Neue Deutsche Härte (NDH): "New German Hardness"; a genre of German rock that mixes traditional hard rock with dance-like keyboard parts. Recently it has begun to appear in English.
Neue Deutsche Todeskunst: "New German Death Art": a movement within the darkwave and gothic rock scenes
Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW): "New German Wave". A genre of German music originally derived from punk rock and new wave music.
Neue Slowenische Kunst: "New Slovenian Art". An art collective dating back to the 1980s, when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. Most prominently associated with the band Laibach, named after the German name for Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana.
Romantische Oper: genre of early nineteenth-century German opera
Selected works in classical music
Johann Sebastian Bach's Das wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier); Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring)
Brahms's Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny)
Kreisler's Liebesleid (Pain of Love), Liebesfreud (Joy of Love)
Liszt's Liebesträume (Dreams of Love)
Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Serenade); Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder (Songs on Dead Children)
Schubert's Winterreise (Winter Journey)
Schumann's Dichterliebe (The Poet's Love)
Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier (Cavalier of the Rose); Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra); "Vier letzte Lieder" (Four last songs)
Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus (The Bat); An der schönen blauen Donau (On The Beautiful Blue Danube)
Richard Wagner's Die Walküre (The Valkyrie); Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods); both from his opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (The Ring of the Nibelung)
Carols
Stille Nacht: "Silent Night"
O Tannenbaum: "O Christmas Tree"
Modern songs
99 Luftballons: "99 Balloons" (English title: "99 Red Balloons") by Nena
Schrei nach Liebe: "Scream for love" by Die Ärzte
Feuer frei!: "Fire at will" (literally, "fire freely!") by Rammstein
Der Kommissar: "The Commissioner" by Falco
Theatre
Theaterpädagogik, "theatre pedagogy", the use of theatre as a means for teaching and learning in non-theatrical areas of study
Verfremdungseffekt, effect of disassociation or alienation
Typography
Fraktur, a style of blackletter typeface
Schwabacher, a style of blackletter typeface, from the Franconian town of Schwabach
Biology
Ahnenreihe, line of ancestors
Ahnenschwund, pedigree collapse
Ahnentafel, line of ancestors
Anlage in genetics; also used in the sense of primordium in embryology and temperament in psychology; literal meaning "disposition" or "rudiment"
Aufwuchs, growth
Aurochs (Modern German: Auerochse), urus
Bauplan, body plan of animals
Bereitschaftspotential, readiness potential
Edelweiss, German spelling Edelweiß, Leontopodium alpinum
Einkorn, Triticum boeoticum or Triticum monococcum, a type of wheat
Krummholz, crooked or bent wood due to growth conditions of trees and bushes
Lagerstätte, repository; sedimentary deposit rich in fossils
Lammergeier or lammergeyer (German: Lämmergeier, also Bartgeier), the bearded vulture
Lampenflora, autotrophic lifeforms (algae) present in caves associated with permanently installed lighting
Marmorkrebs, the marbled crayfish
Molosser, a type of dog, literally "Molossian", from Molossus, the name of an ancient dog breed which the modern molossers descend from
Oberhäutchen (often written oberhautchen in newer literature), the outermost layer of reptile skin; literally "small top skin" (Häutchen is the diminutive of Haut, the German word for "skin")
Schreckstoff (lit. "scare stuff"), a chemical alarm signal emitted by fish
Spitzenkörper, structure important in hyphal growth
Spreite, laminae found in trace fossils, going back to animal burrows
Unkenreflex, a defensive posture adopted by several branches of the amphibian class
Waldsterben, forest dieback
Zeitgeber (chronobiology), external clue that helps to synchronize the internal body clock
Zugunruhe (ornithology), pre-migration anxiety in birds and other migratory animals
Chemistry
Aufbau principle (physical chemistry) (German spelling: Aufbauprinzip)
Bismuth
Darmstadtium
Einsteinium
Entgegen and its opposite zusammen (organic chemistry)
Gemisch (chemistry: a randomized mixture of components)
Gerade and its opposite ungerade (quantum mechanics)
Knallgas Reaction
Kugelrohr, distillation apparatus
Meitnerium
Mischmetall (lit. "mixed metal"), alloy
Roentgenium
Umpolung (organic chemistry)
Wolfram
Zwitterion
Chess
Allumwandlung
Blitz chess, from German Blitzschach, literally "lightning chess", also known as Fast chess
Fingerfehler: slip of the finger
Kibitz, from German Kiebitzer, a spectator making comments on the game that can be heard by the players
Luft
Patzer
Sitzfleisch: patience during slow play
Zeitnot
Zugzwang
Zwischenschach
Zwischenzug
Economics
Dollar (German Thaler), from Joachimsthal, name for the silver coin minted in Bohemia in the 16th century in Joachimsthal (through Dutch (Rijks)daalder)
Energiewende, stands for Energy transition
Freigeld
Freiwirtschaft
Hacksilber, a type of commodity money
Heller (German also Häller), from Hall am Kocher, name for the coin
K: In economics, the letter K, from the German word Kapital, is used to denote Capital
Lumpenproletariat
Mittelstand
Takt
Wirtschaftswunder
Geography
Dunkelflaute, time period of neither sunlight nor wind
Hinterland
Inselberg
Knickpoint (German Knickpunkt, from knicken "to bend sharply, fold, kink"), a point where the slope of a river changes suddenly
Massenerhebung effect
Mitteleuropa
Mittelgebirge
Schlatt (also Flatt; from Low German)
Steilhang (steep slope or face)
Thalweg (written "Talweg" in modern German)
Geology
Aufeis, sheets of layered ice formed from groundwater discharge or upwelling of river water behind ice dams during freezing temperatures
Bergschrund
Dreikanter
Druse, an incrustation of small crystals on the surface of a rock or mineral
Fenster, also known as a window, a geologic structure formed by erosion or normal faulting on a thrust system
Firn
Flysch
Gneiss (German Gneis)
Graben
Horst
Karst
Loess
Randkluft, gap between the rock face and the side of the glacier
Rille (German: "groove"), a type of feature of the surface of the Moon
Sturzstrom
Urstrom, a large glacial age river in Northern Europe
Urstromtal
Minerals including:
Feldspar (German Feldspat)
Hornblende
Meerschaum
Moldavite (German Moldavit), from Moldau
Quartz (German Quarz)
Wolframite (German Wolframit)
Zinnwaldite (German Zinnwaldit), from Zinnwald (Czech: Cínovec)
History
(Some terms are listed in multiple categories if they are important to each.)
The Third Reich
Other historical periods
Alltagsgeschichte, literally "everyday history" a type of microhistory
Aufklarung, in German: Aufklärung, "enlightenment", short for Zeitalter der Aufklärung, "age of enlightenment"
Biedermeier, era in early 19th century Germany
Chaoskampf (mythology)
Diktat
Gründerzeit, the period in German history of great artistic and economic developments
Junker
Kaiser, "emperor" (derived from the title "Caesar")
Kleinstaaterei, the territorial fragmentation of Germany in the early modern period
Kulturgeschichte
Kulturkampf, literally the 'struggle for culture'; Otto von Bismarck's campaign for secularity which mostly went against Catholics in the newly formed German state, ostensibly a result of Bismarck's suspicion of Catholic loyalty
Kulturkreis, a theory in anthropology and ethnology
Kulturkugel, literally "culture bullet" or "cultural bullet", a neologism coined by archaeologist J. P. Mallory for his model of cultural diffusion
Landflucht
Landnahme
Nordpolitik
Ostflucht
Ostpolitik
Ostalgie (nostalgia for the former Eastern Bloc, specifically for the GDR)
Perserschutt, "Persian rubble", sculptures that were damaged by the invading Persian army on the Acropolis of Athens in 480 BC
Quellenforschung, "research of sources", the study of the sources of, or influences upon, a literary work
Regenbogenschüsselchen, a type of prehistoric gold coin of the Celtic Iron Age
Realpolitik (political science: "real politics"); usually implies the way politics really works, i.e. via the influence of power and money, rather than a principled approach that the public might expect to be aligned with a party's or nation's values, or rather than a political party's given interpretation.
Reichstag (Imperial Diet; see Reichstag building, Imperial Diet, Reichstag, and the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic)
Sammlungspolitik
Sippe, an ancient Germanic clan
Urmonotheismus
Urreligion
Völkerschlacht – the "Battle of the Nations" (that is, the Battle of Leipzig, 1813)
Völkerwanderung – the migration (and invasions) of the Germanic peoples in the 4th century
Weltpolitik – the politics of global domination; contemporarily, "the current climate in global politics".
Wunderkammer, a cabinet of curiosities
Military terms
Blitzkrieg (literally "lightning war")
Flak (Flugabwehrkanone), anti-aircraft gun (for derived meanings see under Other aspects of everyday life)
Fliegerhorst, another word for a military airport (Horst = predator bird's nest)
Karabiner, a carbine (a firearm). For the climbing hardware, see carabiner above
Kriegsspiel, in English also written Kriegspiel, war game (different meanings)
Luftwaffe, air force (since WW II, with East Germany and the earlier German Empire using the term Luftstreitkräfte instead for their air services)
Panzer refers to tanks and other armored military vehicles, or formations of such vehicles
Panzerfaust, "tank fist": anti-tank weapon, a small one-man launcher and projectile.
Strafe, punishment, extracted from the slogan Gott strafe England (May God punish England)
U-Boot (abbreviated form of Unterseeboot – submarine, but commonly called U-Boot in Germany as well)
Vernichtungsgedanke (thought of annihilation)
Linguistics
Ablaut
Abstandsprache
Aktionsart
Ausbausprache
Dachsprache
Dreimorengesetz, "three-mora law", the rule for placing stress in Latin
Grammatischer Wechsel, "grammatical alternation", a pattern of consonant alternations found in Germanic strong verbs and also in Germanic nouns
Junggrammatiker, literally "Young Grammarians", a formative German school of linguists in the late 19th century
Lallname, a pet name based on baby talk, especially in ancient languages of Asia Minor
Loanword (ironically not a loanword but rather a calque from German Lehnwort)
Mischsprache, mixed language
Primärberührung, "primary contact", the development of certain consonant clusters (stop consonant + /t/) in Proto-Germanic
Rückumlaut, "reverse umlaut", a regular pattern of vowel alternation (of independent origin from usual ablaut patterns) in a small number of Germanic weak verbs
Sitz im Leben (Biblical linguistics mainly; the study of pragmatics has a similar approach)
Sprachbund, "speech bond" or"language union", a sociolinguistic term for a group of languages that have become similar because of geographical proximity
, the intuitive sense of what is appropriate in a language
Sprachraum
Stammbaumtheorie, the tree model of descendance in historical linguistics; also Stammbaum alone, for a phylogenetical tree of languages
Suffixaufnahme
Umlaut
Urheimat, "original homeland", the area originally inhabited by speakers of a (reconstructed) proto-language
Ursprache, "proto-language"
Verschärfung, "sharpening", several analogous phonetic changes in Gothic, North Germanic and modern Faroese
Wanderwort, "migratory term/word", a word which spreads from its original language into several others
Winkelhaken, a basic element in the ancient cuneiform script
Literature
Bildungsroman, a form of coming-of-age story
Chaoskampf, "struggle against chaos", a recurring motif in myth and legend
Knittelvers, a form of poetry using rhyming couplets
Künstlerroman, a novel about an artist's growth to maturity
Leitmotiv, a recurring theme
Leitwortstil, a phrase repeated to reinforce a theme
Nihilartikel, a fake entry in a reference work
Sammelband, a set of manuscripts later bound together
Quellenkritik, source criticism
Sturm und Drang, an 18th-century literary movement; "storm and stress" in English, although the literal translation is closer to "storm and urge".
Urtext, "original text"
Vorlage, original or mastercopy of a text on which derivates are based
Q, abbreviation for Quelle ("source"), a postulated lost document in Biblical criticism
Mathematics and formal logic
Ansatz (lit. "set down", roughly equivalent to "approach" or "where to begin", a starting assumption) – one of the most-used German loan words in the English-speaking world of science.
"Eigen-" in composita such as eigenfunction, eigenvector, eigenvalue, eigenform; in English "self-" or "own-". They are related concepts in the fields of linear algebra and functional analysis.
Entscheidungsproblem
Grossencharakter (German spelling: Größencharakter)
Hauptmodul (the generator of a modular curve of genus 0)
Hauptvermutung
Hilbert's Nullstellensatz (without apostrophe in German)
Ideal (originally ideale Zahlen, defined by Ernst Kummer)
Krull's Hauptidealsatz (without apostrophe in German)
Möbius band (German: Möbiusband)
Positivstellensatz
quadratfrei
Vierergruppe (also known as Klein four-group)
from (ganze) Zahlen ((whole) numbers), the integers
from Körper ("field"), used for one of the two basic fields or not specifying which one
Medicine
Anwesenheit
Diener, autopsy assistant
Entgleisen
Gedankenlautwerden
Gegenhalten
Kernicterus (German spelling: Kernikterus)
Kleeblattschädel
LSD, German abbreviation of "Lysergsäurediethylamid"
Mitgehen
Mitmachen
Mittelschmerz ("middle pain", used to refer to ovulation pain)
Pfropfschizophrenie
Rinderpest
Schnauzkrampf
Sensitiver Beziehungswahn
Sitz bath
Spinnbarkeit
Verstimmung
Vorbeigehen
Vorbeireden
Wahneinfall
Witzelsucht
Wurgstimme
Philosophy
An sich, "in itself"
Dasein
Ding an sich, "thing in itself" from Kant
Geist, mind, spirit or ghost
Gott ist tot!, a popular phrase from Nietzsche; more commonly rendered "God is dead!" in English.
Übermensch, also from Nietzsche; the ideal of a Superhuman or Overman.
Weltanschauung, calqued into English as "world view"; a comprehensive view or personal philosophy of human life and the universe
Welträtsel, "world riddle", a term associated with Nietzsche and biologist Ernst Haeckel concerning the nature of the universe and the meaning of life
Wille zur Macht, "the will to power", central concept of Nietzsche's philosophy
Physical sciences
Ansatz, an assumption for a function that is not based on an underlying theory
Antiblockiersystem
Bremsstrahlung literally, "brake radiation", electromagnetic radiation emitted from charge particles stopping suddenly
Dunkelflaute, a period of time in which little to no energy can be generated with the use of wind and solar power.
Durchmusterung, the search for celestial objects, especially a survey of stars
Farbzentrum (Solid-state physics)
Foehn wind, also "foehn" (German spelling Föhn), a warm wind which sometimes appears on the northern side of the Alps in south Germany and Austria
Fusel alcohol (German: Fuselalkohol), from German Fusel, which refers to low-quality liquor
Gedanken experiment (German spelling: Gedankenexperiment); more commonly referred to as a "thought experiment" in English
Gegenschein, a faint brightening of the night sky in the region of the antisolar point
Gerade and its opposite ungerade (quantum mechanics)
Graupel, a form of precipitation
Heiligenschein (lit. "halo")
Hohlraum, a radiation cavity used in thermonuclear weapons design
Kirchweger-Kondensationseinrichtung
Kugelblitz (the German term for ball lightning), in theoretical physics: a concentration of light so intense that it forms an event horizon and becomes self-trapped
Rocks and minerals like Quartz (German spelling: Quarz), Gneiss and Feldspar (originally Gneis and Feldspat respectively), Meerschaum
Reststrahlen (lit. "residual rays")
Schiefspiegler, special type of telescope
Schlieren (from German Schliere for "streak"), inhomogeneities in transparent material
Sollbruchstelle, predetermined breaking point
Spiegeleisen
Trommel
Umklapp process (German spelling: Umklappprozess)
Vierbein, and variations such as vielbein, in general relativity
Zitterbewegung
Politics
Befehl ist Befehl
Berufsverbot
Kritik, a type of argument in policy debates
Lumpenproletariat
Machtpolitik, power politics
Putsch, overthrow of those in power by a small group, coup d'état. (Although commonly understood and used in contemporary High German, too, the word putsch originates from Swiss German and is etymologically related to English "push".)
Realpolitik, "politics of reality": foreign politics based on practical concerns rather than ideology or ethics.
Rechtsstaat, concept of a state based on law and human rights
Siegerjustiz
Überfremdung
Vergangenheitsbewältigung
Psychology
Aha-Erlebnis (lit. "aha experience"), a sudden insight or epiphany, compare eureka
Angst, feeling of fear, but more deeply and without concrete object
Eigengrau (lit. "intrinsic grey") or also Eigenlicht (lit. "intrinsic light"), the colour seen by the eye in perfect darkness
Einstellung effect, from Einstellung, which means "attitude" here
Ganzfeld effect, from German Ganzfeld (lit. "complete field"), a phenomenon of visual perception
Gestalt psychology (German spelling: Gestaltpsychologie), holistic psychology
Gestaltzerfall (lit. "shape decomposition"), a kind of visual agnosia where a complex, holistic shape (Gestalt) dissolves into its parts for the perceiver
Haltlose personality disorder, from haltlos (lit. "without grip"), aimless
Merkwelt, "way of viewing the world", "peculiar individual consciousness"
Schadenfreude, gloating, a malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others
Sehnsucht, a yearning for an ideal alternative
Sorge, a state of worry, but (like Angst) in a less concrete, more general sense, worry about the world, one's future, etc.
Umwelt, environment, literally: "surrounding world"; in semiotics, "self-centred world"
Völkerpsychologie (lit. "folk psychology"), a 19th-20th century cultural-social psychology framework associated with Wilhelm Wundt
Weltschmerz (lit. "world-pain"), a deep feeling of sadness experienced by someone who believes that physical reality can never satisfy the demands of the mind
Wunderkind (lit. "wonder child"), child prodigy
Zeitgeber (lit. "time-giver"), something that resets the circadian clock found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus
Sociology
Gemeinschaft, community
Gesellschaft, society
Herrschaft, reign
Männerbund, elite male society
Verstehen, lit. "understanding", interpretive or participatory examination of social phenomena
Zeitgeist, spirit of the times or age
Theology
Gattung, genre
Kunstprosa, artistic prose
Sitz im Leben (setting in life, context)
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:
Autobahn – particularly common in British English and American English referring specifically to German motorways.
Achtung – lit. "attention"
Frau and Fräulein – woman and young woman or girl, respectively, in English. Indicating marital state, with Frau – Mrs. and Fräulein – Miss; in Germany, however, the diminutive Fräulein lapsed from common usage in the late 1960s. Regardless of marital status, a woman is now commonly referred to as Frau, because from 1972 the term Fräulein has been officially phased out for being politically incorrect and should only be used if expressly authorized by the woman concerned.
Führer (umlaut is usually dropped in English) – always used in 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 or guide (e.g. Bergführer: mountain guide, Stadtführer: city guide [book], Führerschein: driving licence, Geschäftsführer: managing director, Flugzeugführer: Pilot in command)
Gott mit uns – meaning "God be with us", the motto of the Prussian king was used as a morale slogan amongst soldiers in both World Wars. It was bastardized as "Got mittens" by American and British soldiers, and is usually used nowadays, because of the German defeat in both wars, derisively to mean that wars are not won on religious grounds.
Hände hoch – "hands up"
Herr – in modern German either the equivalent of Mr. (Mister), to address an adult man, or "master" over something or someone (e.g. Sein eigener Herr sein: to be his own master). Derived from the adjective hehr, meaning "honourable" or "senior", it was historically a nobleman's title, equivalent to "Lord". (Herr der Fliegen is the German title of Lord of the Flies.) In a religious context it refers to God.
Ich bin ein Berliner – famous quotation by John F. Kennedy
Leitmotif (German spelling: Leitmotiv) – any sort of recurring theme, whether in music, literature, or the life of a fictional character or a real person.
Meister – used as a suffix to mean expert (Maurermeister) or master; in Germany it means also champion in sports (Weltmeister, Europameister, Landesmeister)
Nein – no
Raus – meaning Out! – shortened (colloquial) (depending on where the speaker is, if on the inside "get out!" = hinaus, if on the outside "come out!" = heraus). It is the imperative form of the German verb hinausgehen (getting out (of a room/house/etc.)) as in the imperative gehen Sie raus!).
Reich – from the Middle High German rich, as a noun it means "empire" or "realm", cf. the English word bishopric. In titles as part of a compound noun, for example Deutsche Reichsbahn, it is equivalent to the English word "national" or possibly federal (the words "Reich" and "Bund" are somewhat exchangeable in recent history, with the exception of the Nazi state which continued to call itself Reich despite abolishing states). For instance Reichsbahn ([German] National/Federal Railway), or Reichspost (National/Federal Postal Service), specifically indicating in either case that the respective institutions were organised by central authority (called the German Reich at the time), not the states. To some English – and German – speakers, Reich in English strongly connotes Nazism and is sometimes used to suggest fascism or authoritarianism, e.g. "Herr Reichsminister" used as a title for a disliked politician.
Ja – yes
Jawohl – a German term that connotes an emphatic yes – "Yes, indeed!" in English. It is often equated to "yes, sir" in Anglo-American military films, since it is also a term typically used as an acknowledgement for military commands in the German military.
Schnell! – "Quick!" or "Quickly!"
Kommandant – commander (in the sense of person in command or commanding officer, regardless of military rank), used often in the military in general (Standortkommandant: base commander), on battleships and U-boats (Schiffskommandant or U-Boot-Kommandant), sometimes used on civilian ships and aircraft.
Wunderbar – wonderful
Terms rarely used in English
Ampelmännchen
Besserwisser – someone who always "knows better"
Bockmist, lit. "billy goat's dung", meaning "nonsense" or "rubbish"
Eierlegende Wollmilchsau – literally "egg-laying wool-milk-sow", a hypothetical solution, object or person fulfilling unrealistically many different demands; also referring sometimes to a (really existing) object, concept or person like this, for example a multi-tool or exceptionally versatile person (jack of all trades)
Fahrvergnügen – "driving pleasure"; introduced in a Volkswagen advertising campaign
Fremdscham, "vicarious shame", the shame felt for the behavior of someone else
Gastarbeiter – "guest worker", foreign-born worker
Geisterfahrer – "ghost driver", a wrong-way driver; one who drives in the direction opposite to that prescribed for the given lane.
Götterdämmerung – "Twilight of the Gods", a disastrous conclusion of events (also a music drama by Richard Wagner)
Kobold – small mischievous fairy creature, traditionally translated as "goblin", "hobgoblin" or "imp"
Ordnung muss sein – "There must be order." This proverbial phrase illustrates the importance that German culture places upon order.
Schmutz – smut, dirt, filth
... über alles – "above all", originally from "Deutschland über alles", the first line of Hoffmann von Fallersleben's poem "Das Lied der Deutschen" (The Song of the Germans); see also Über alles (disambiguation).
Verschlimmbessern – to make something worse in an honest but failed attempt to improve it
Vorsprung durch Technik – "competitive edge through technology", used in an advertising campaign by Audi
Zweihänder – two-handed sword
German quotations used in English
Some famous English quotations are translations from German. On rare occasions an author will quote the original German as a sign of erudition.
Muss es sein? Es muss sein!: "Must it be? It must be!" – Beethoven
Der Krieg ist eine bloße Fortsetzung der Politik mit anderen Mitteln: "War is politics by other means" (literally: "War is a mere continuation of politics by other means") – Clausewitz: "Vom Kriege", Book I, Chapter 1, Section 24
Ein Gespenst geht um in Europa – das Gespenst des Kommunismus: "A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism" – The Communist Manifesto
Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt euch!: "Workers of the world, unite!" – The Communist Manifesto
Gott würfelt nicht: "God does not play dice" – Einstein
Raffiniert ist der Herrgott, aber boshaft ist er nicht: "Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not" – Einstein
Wir müssen wissen, wir werden wissen: "We must know, we will know" – David Hilbert
Was kann ich wissen? Was soll ich tun? Was darf ich hoffen? Was ist der Mensch?: "What can I know? What shall I do? What may I hope? What is Man?" – Kant: Kritik der praktischen Vernunft
Die ganzen Zahlen hat der liebe Gott gemacht, alles andere ist Menschenwerk: "God made the integers, all the rest is the work of man" – Leopold Kronecker
Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen!: "Here I stand, I cannot do differently. God help me. Amen!" – attributed to Martin Luther
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent" – Wittgenstein
Einmal ist keinmal: "What happens once might as well never have happened." literally "once is never" – a common German phrase and the theme of The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Es lebe die Freiheit: "Long live freedom" – Hans Scholl
Arbeit macht frei: "Labour creates freedom" literally "work makes (you) free" – A phrase written over the entranceway of extermination camps in the Holocaust.
See also
Germanism (linguistics)
List of pseudo-German words adapted to English
List of English words of Dutch origin
List of English words of Yiddish origin
Anglish
Denglisch
Yinglish
References
Further reading
J. Alan Pfeffer, Garland Cannon, German Loanwords in English: An Historical Dictionary, Cambridge University Press. 1994.
External links
Dictionary of Germanisms
User-generated collection of Germanisms, including images of spottings.
Mathematical Words: Origins and Sources (John Aldrich, University of Southampton) See Section on Contribution of German.
High German loanwords in English
English Expressions
English Expressions
German
English