Verboten Cartoon Electrical Experimenter Feb 1919

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 (German spelling: ''Brezel'')—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.
*Wursts.
* 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 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, 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

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases