Have you ever wondered why Ze Germans speak English infuriatingly well? That is because along with Danish, Norwegian, Dutch and a few other languages, English and German are both Germanic languages. You could say that they are part of the same language family. As linguistic siblings, it’s not surprising that many words are similar of even the same in English and German. Keep reading to find out the top 10 German words in English.
The original word in German: Doppelgänger literally means ‘double-walker’. In English a doppelganger is a person who is unrelated to another person, yet looks almost identical to them. In German folklore it means something even creepier. Originally a Doppelgänger meant a ‘spirit double’, a ghostlike form that is supposed to be your invisible evil twin.
Rucksack is a compound word made up of the German words Rucken, meaning ‘back’, and sack, which is the same in English. A literal and somewhat dubious translation would be ‘backsack’. A similar loanword from German is knapsack, also a compound word derived from the verb Knappen, meaning ‘to bite’.
Kaput comes from the German word Kaputt. This word was used in the 16th century in a game of ‘piquet’, a French card game that became very popular in Germany. A player would say Ich bin kaputt to indicate that they were out of moves. Literally it means ‘trickless’.
Angst was originally only used in psychology to describe a state of neurotic fear, guilt or remorse. It became popular in English with the birth of modern psychology when the works of Freud were first translated from German. If you’re wondering if angst is related to anxiety and anguish, you’re right! Ultimately all three words derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root: angh. In fact, many pain-related words are derived from angh, such as anger and to strangle.
Kindergarten literally means ‘children-garden’ and was coined by German educator Friedrich Fröbel. Nowadays it is more common in the US than in the UK where nursery is used. Other languages also adopted kindergarten. In France, toddlers go to a Jardin d’enfants for example.
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The English word noodle derives from the German word Nudel, meaning pasta. Nudel in its turn comes from Knötel, meaning ‘small knot’ or more literally ‘turd’. Not the most appetising word for an ingredient... Noodles were adopted into English thanks to German immigrants to the US.
Anyone who has ever read a Harry Potter book will know what a poltergeist is, i.e. a noisy ghost. It’s no surprise then that poltergeist literally means ‘knocking spirit’. It is a combination of the verb poltern, meaning ‘to knock’, and the word Geist, spirit. A very similar German loanword is zeitgeist, which means ‘the spirit of the time/era’.
Hamster comes from the Middle High German word hamstara, which became a verb in modern German: hamstern, meaning ‘to hoard’. It’s highly probable though that it ultimately originated in Iran. Over 2,000 years ago, an area in Eastern Iran regularly suffered from hamster infestations. The name they had for their furry little foe was hamaestra, which had a double meaning. It also meant ‘oppressor’.
One of our favourite and probably most used German loan words is undoubtedly lager. It derives from Lagerbier, meaning ‘beer brewed for keeping’. The word lager means storage or encampment.
Our number one German word in English is the name for what is perhaps the national dish in the US: the hamburger. But where does it come from? The answer is: no one really knows. It is certain that it is named after the city in Northern Germany, but why this is, remains a mystery. There are theories that the first hamburgers in America were flipped by emigrants from Hamburg. Another possibility is that it was used as a derivative for people who liked eating ground meat, which used to be quite uncommon, except in Hamburg. Whatever its origins, it still tastes wunderbar!
So there you have it. The top 10 German words in English according to our German translators. If your German is a little rusty and you’re looking for a German translation or a translation from German into English, our translators will deliver your project quickly and efficiently. They are Germans after all.
