List of German words and phrases
This page lists English translations of German words and phrases used in English texts and presumed to be commonly understood by the English reader.
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A
- Achtung!
- Attention!
- Alles in Ordnung.
- Everthing in its proper order/place.
- Also sprach Zarathustra
- Thus Spake Zarathustra - a book by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Also a a symphonic poem by Richard Strauss, best known for its use in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey
- angst
- fear or anxiety. It is used in English to describe a more intense feeling of internal emotional strife.
- Anschluss
- refers to the inclusion of Austria in a "Greater Germany" in 1938
- "Arbeit macht frei."
- "Work brings freedom." - notoriously inscribed over the gates of the Auschwitz concentration/death camp.
- "Atomkraft? - Nein danke!"
- Nuclear power? - No thanks!
- Autobahn
- motorway
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B
- Bildungsroman
- a type of novel that shows the personal development of the character
- Bitte
- "Please", or interogatively "Pardon?", or "What?"
- Blitz
- literally "Lightning", but used in British English to refer to the German ariel bombing campaign against London during the Second World War. An incorrect contraction of "Blitzkrieg"
- Blitzkrieg
- literally "Lightning War" - used to describe the tactics of a well-coordinated fast attack used by the German army in the Second World War.
- Brot/Brötchen
- bread/bread rolls. -chen is a diminutive, so is literally "little breads"
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C
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D
- dachshund
- literally "badger dog" - a particular type of hunting dog with a long body, short legs and a sleek coat, used for flushing hunted animals from tunnels/burrows.
- Danke
- Thank-you
- der/die/das
- the
- Deutschland
- Germany
- dirndl
- a style of woman's dress, most famously worn by Julie Andrews at the opening of the Sound of Music
- Doktor
- Doctor, not necessarily of medicine.
- doppelgänger
- a ghostly double of a living person
- dummkopf
- idiot (literally dumb-head)
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E
- ersatz
- substitute, not the real thing
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F
- fest
- celebration, party - sometimes used in English as a suffix (-fest).
- flugelhorn
- a type of brass musical instrument
- föhn
- foehn, a warm wind which sometimes appears on the northern side of the alps in south germany (also the german word for a hair dryer). When Föhn occurs, the distance view is very large and somewhat changed, mountains that are a hundred miles aways seems to be quite near.
- fräulein
- an unmarried woman. Mostly out of use today.
- führer
- leader
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G
- gastarbeiter
- "guest worker" - immigrant worker. The term may be regarded as insulting.
- gauleiter
- "regional head/leader" - A Gauleiter was a leader of a local branch of the NSDAP (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) or the head of a Reichsgau (an administrative division of the state). To accuse someone of being a gauleiter is a pejoritive term in English.
- gemütlichkeit
- a warm, comfortable, convivial atmosphere, often associated with drinking.
- gestalt
- literally "shape" - In English gestalt refers to the concept where an entity's properties cannot be discovered from the total properties of its parts.
- Geschicklichkeitsfahren
- "ability driving"
- Gesundheit!
- Bless you! - usually said after someone sneezes. Literally - Health!
- gewürztraminer
- a grape variety
- Götterdämmerung
- Twilight of the gods - the last of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner, which is based on an old german legend.
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H
- Hanswurst
- (i. e. Jack Pudding), a pantomimic character in comic performances on the German stage; a great favourite at one time with the vulgar; distinguished for his awkwardness, his gluttonous appetite, and his rotundity.
- hausfrau
- housewife
- Heil!
- difficult to translate adequately. It does not mean "Hail!", but can be regarded as wishing good fortune on the person being addressed, or perhaps saying that they should "fare well". The phrase "Heil Hitler" was the salutation used by military and civilians in Nazi Germany. That's why the term "Heil" is considered to be offensive today.
- Ein Heldenleben
- A Hero's Life - a tone poem by Richard Strauss
- heldentenor
- 'hero' tenor
- Herr
- Mr.
- hinterland
- literally - "the land behind". Has probably now been absorbed into English as a loan-word from German.
- Hofbräu
- brand of beer from Munich associated with the Oktoberfest
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I
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J
- Ja
- Yes
- Jawohl
- Yes, certainly.
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K
- kaffee
- coffee
- kaffeeklatsch
- an informal meeting for coffee and conversation
- "Kinder, Kirche, Küche"
- "Children, Church, Kitchen" - supposedly the mainstay of life for good German women, as taught in the Hitler Youth.
- kindergarten
- literally "garden for children" - an institution providing the first stage of education or solely day-care for children.
- Kindertotenlieder
- Songs on the Death of Children - a song cycle for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler.
- kirsch
- cherry (brandy)
- kitsch
- overblown decoration
- klatsch
- gossip
- knödel
- dumplings
- kobold
- goblin
- Kriegsmarine
- literally "War Navy" - the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime. The German Navy is now named the Deutsche Marine (literally "German Navy"). From 1956 to 1990 it was named the Bundesmarine (literally "Federal Navy") - the name was changed as a result of German reunification.
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L
- lager
- from lagern ("to store") - bottom fermented beer stored in cool cellars to mature for several weeks or months.
- Lebensraum
- 'Room to live' - the title given to the policy justifying Germany's actions in expanding her borders to the detriment of neighbouring countries. Also has the neutral meaning of "habitat" in natural history discourse.
- liebkuchen
- 'love cakes' - a particular type of small cake.
- Das Lied von der Erde
- The Song of the Earth - one of Gustav Mahler's symphonic works
- lederhosen
- leather shorts. The wearing of these is associated with Bavarian culture.
- leitmotiv
- an underlying theme that guides events, especially in music.
- liebfraumilch
- literally "dear woman milk" - the brand name of a German white wine that is very well known in Britain.
- Luftwaffe
- literally "Air-weapon" - the German Air Force.
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M
- machtpolitik
- power politics
- meerschaum
- literally "sea foam" - refers to a soft mineral that hardens on exposure to air, used extensively to manufacture the bowls of tobacco pipes.
- meister
- master, someone at the height of their competence.
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N
- Nazi
- A follower of the German National Socialist party philosophy.
- Nein;
- No
- Nix!
- (in correct German spelled Nichts; meaning "nothing") Definitely not!
- ohne
- without
- Oktoberfest
- the largest annual festival of the world that takes place in Munich, from late September to early October.
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P
- pfeffernüsse
- literally "pepper nuts" - small biscuits flavoured with ginger.
- poltergeist
- literally "noisy ghost/spirit". This word is probably incorporated into English as a loan word from German.
- Prost!;
- Cheers! (drinking salutation)
- pumpernickel
- a type of sourdough rye bread, strongly flavoured, dense, and dark in colour.
- putsch
- overthrow of those in power by a small group
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R
- realpolitik
- "politics of reality" - foreign politics based on practical concerns rather than theory or ethics.
- Reich
- realm, empire
- riesling;
- a white grape variety
- rucksack
- backpack
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S
- sauerbraten
- roast marinated horse meat
- sauerkraut
- fermented finely sliced white cabbage
- schadenfreude
- taking pleasure from the misfortune of others
- schande
- dishonor
- schmalz
- rendered animal fat, usually pig or goose, used in cooking.
- Schnaps
- distilled colourless spirit which can be produced from almost any sugar or starch bearing base such as apricots, cherries, potatoes or wheat.
- Schön!
- Good! Beautiful!
- schwarzbrot
- literally "black bread" - a type of rye-bread.
- Schweinehund!;
- literally "Pig-dog!" - a stereotypical term of abuse.
- Sieg Heil!
- 'Sieg' means victory, and there is the normal difficulty in translating 'Heil', which literally means welfare. The phrase is often translated as "Hail to Victory", which is not strictly correct, but conveys approximately the right impression.
- sitzfleisch
- "seat meat"- backside, bottom
- sprechgesang
- "speech song" - a technique of vocal production halfway between singing and speaking
- stein
- "stein" means a stone or rock, but this is not what is usually meant in English usage, which is usually beer-stein. In this context it is a beer tankard or mug, made of earthenware or glass. The word "stein" is a truncated form of Steinzeugkrug, which is German for a stoneware jug or tankard.
- stollen
- a traditional bread-like cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season
- strafe
- from "strafen" - to punish, this is the act of shooting a machine gun, often from an aeroplane, to cover a wide area with bullets.
- strudel
- a heavy Austrian pastry
- stube
- a room
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T
- tante
- aunt
- torte
- a heavy cream-laden pastry
- Tod und Verklärung
- Death and Transfiguration - a tone poem by Richard Strauss
- Trockenbeerenauslese
- wine produced from specially selected semi-dehydrated grapes afflicted with noble rot
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U
- über
- over, about, superior
- übermensch
- superman, not the super-hero, but Nietzsche's ideal man.
- und
- and
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V
- Volkswagen
- German automobile producer, means "People's car".
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W
- Walpurgisnacht
- the night of April 30 to May 1, the night when witches allegedly hold a large celebration on the Blocksberg mountain and await the arrival of Satan.
- waltz
- a dance in 3/4 time, Walzer in German
- wanderlust
- Urge to travel, love of the 'great outdoors'
- wedel
- a whisk
- Wehrmacht
- literally "Defence force" - the name of the collective armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945,during the Nazi regime. The current name is the Bundeswehr ("Federal Defence").
- Weißwurst
- literally "white sausage" - a traditional Bavarian sausage made from veal and pork bacon.
- weltanschauung
- literally "look onto the world" - world view, world outlook
- weltschmerz
- world-pain or world-weariness
- wunderkind
- child prodigy
- wurst
- sausage
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X
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Y
- yodel
- a form of singing (german: jodeln), originally a form of long distance communication between mountain farmers in the european alps (mountains) of germany, austria and switzerland, based on special modulated yelling.
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Z
- zeitgeist
- spirit of the times (or "of the age")
- zither
- a stringed musical instrument, mainly used in folk music.
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See also
- de:Germanismus
- 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 expressions in English
- French phrases used by English speakers
- List of Spanish expressions in common English
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