GERMAN-ENGLISH COGNATES; SAME OR SIMILAR

WORDS USED IN GERMAN AND ENGLISH

German English cognates...there are tons of them! With similar linguistic origins, there exist

many German words that either are, or sound, the same in English. Likewise, you will find

many English loanwords that have been assimilated into the German language - this is

called lexical borrowing - and overall, German and English appear to thrive off a somewhat

symbiotic relationship. Some of the words stolen or appropriated seem logical and sensible

and it makes sense that they ended up present in both German and English, whilst others

are a little more abstract and make you wonder why on earth one language chose to borrow

those very phrases!

German and English are both rich, technical languages whose grammar systems often

overlap. In a globalised age where trends quickly go viral and surpass geographical borders,

it is no surprise that there has been such an intermingling between the two languages. Word

swapping and loaning is dynamic, exciting, and natural...given the intrinsically fluid

characteristic of language itself. Certain Germans, however, are against this open embrace

of the international language of English, and spurn the pollution of their own native tongue.

Let us know in the comments whether you believe this linguistic interflow is inevitable and

inescapable, or whether it is to the detriment of the German language...

1. General Similarities between English and German

2. Common English Words Used in German 

3. Common German Words Used in English 

4. Very Similar German and English Words (Different Spelling)

5. English Words Used in German with a Different Meaning 

6. German-English False Friends

 
General Similarities between English and German
Before getting down to the nitty-gritty and comparing specific words, let us recap the general

similarities that exist between German and English.

1. Both are Germanic languages

As can be seen in this language family tree, English and German stem from the West

Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family and therefore derive from the same

syntactic and phonological system. Despite evolving as we trace down the tree, it is natural

that the languages born from the same roots have retained many factors in common.

 
2. Both use the Latin alphabet
English and German use the same 26 letters of the modern Latin alphabet, so you have a

head start when reading and sounding out words in the other language as there is no need to

adapt to an unfamiliar writing system. The only shock to English eyes might be the umlaut on

the vowels (Ää, Öö, Üü) and the Eszett(ß).

3. Both use Arabic numerals

 

All numbers in German and English (although named differently) are created by using the

digits 0-9. Even the way in which numbers are compounded is similar.

In English, “teen” is the suffix: thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

In German, “zehn” is the suffix: Dreizehn, Vierzehn, Fünfzehn…

Then, whilst English puts the multiples of ten first in thirty-one, for example, German places

it after: EinundDreißig.

4. Both have loanwords from Ancient Greek

With a host of customs, philosophies, and engineering that still inspire thinkers and doers

today, there aren’t many European languages that escape the influence of Ancient Greece.  

Here are some of the most obviously  Greek-derived words  that are sprinkled throughout

German and English...

Dilemma

Gorilla

Marathon

Palimpsest

Palindrome

Paranoia

Phantom

Saxophon(e)

Theologie(y)

Therapie(y)

Topos

...as well as many other lexical borrowings which are spelled less similarly by the two

languages.
 
5. Both are highly-valued languages in the career world
As the language of international business, the ability to speak English is recognised as a

career asset all over the world. In fact, the English is spoken to an adequate level by 1.75

billion people worldwide. German is also a remarkably powerful language in the globalised

world of work due to the country’s thriving economy.  Germany has the 4th strongest

economy in the world and the largest in Europe. It is no surprise, therefore, that English and

German-speaking employees are in such high demand. Our platform is proof of this, with a

whopping 71% of job offers requiring English speakers and 27% of  job offers for German

speakers. You can read in detail about the top jobs for German speakers or countries to visit

if you speak German here, or you can get a rough idea about language demand in Europe

from this chart. 

 
Common English Words Used in German 
These common English words used in German are mostly banal, everyday vocabulary, and

names of objects.

Baby

Ball

Boss

Bus 

Computer

E-Mail

Fair

Flip-flops

Hobby

Hotel

Information

Job

Name

Park

Radio

Reporter

Ring

Sweatshirt

Taxi

Tourist
 T-Shirt 

Zoo

Common German Words Used in English

Common German words used in English, on the other hand, are often more poetic, abstract

concepts.

Angst 

Bildungsroman

Delicatessen

Doppelganger

Eiderdown

Ersatz

Hamster

Kindergarten 

Kitsch

Knapsack 

Leitmotif

Poltergeist

Schadenfreude

Spritz

Wanderlust

Weltanschauung
 Waltz

Zeitgeist

Very Similar German and English Words (Different Spelling)

These German and English words are so similar that you probably do not need the

translation; however, as they are spelt slightly, we have added them in the case of doubt.

Apfel - apple

Besser - better

Buch - book

Bruder - brother

Delfin - dolphin 

Denken - think 

Essen - eat

Foto - photo

Freund - friend

Garten - garden

Gras - grass

Haus - house

Helfen - help

Herz - heart

Hoffen - hope 

Krokodil - crocodile
 Käse - cheese

Lampe - lamp 

Mann - man 

Maus - mouse

Milch - milk

Studieren - to study

Tanzen - to dance

Telefon - telephone

Tochter - daughter

Vater - father

Wasser -water

Zehn - ten 

English Words Used in German with a Different Meaning

These are English words that already exist that the Germans have adopted and made their

own.

Cracker in German = computer hacker

           Cracker in English = a biscuit or a Christmas table decoration 

Evergreen in German = an old song that is still popular

           Evergreen in English = a tree that keeps its leaves over more than one growing

season 

Handy - mobile phone

Home office in German = work from home

           Home office in English = ministerial department of the UK government

Messie - a person who is untidy

Peeling - body scrub

Public viewing in German = people congregating to watch an event

           Public viewing in English = seeing the corpse before the funeral

Shitstorm in German = social media backlash (used by Angela Merkelherself!)

           Shitstorm in English = messy situation

Showmaster - TV show host

Sprayer - graffiti artist

Streetworker in German = social worker

           Streetworker in English = prostitute 

German-English False Friends

Here are some words in German that an English speaker might think he/she understands just

by seeing them, but this sense of familiarity is a trick - hence the name false friends! Some of

these are certain to fry your brain.

Art - kind/sort/type

Bald - soon

Billion - trillion

Chef - director

Direktion - management 

Fabrik - factory 

Fraktion - parliamentary group

 Gift - poison

Gymnasium - grammar school

Hose - trousers

Hut - hat

Kind - child

Kraft - power/force/strength

Limone - lime

Lokal - pub 

See - lake 

Wer - who 

Wo - where

There's no doubt about it from examining these cognates: German and English have a huge

amount of overlap in terms of common words. You can find the same exact words, similar

versions, or even different meanings of the same spelling between the two languages that

have a history of borrowing from each other. If you speak one of these languages, this is your

sign to start learning the other! These similar words will speed up the process of assimilation

tenfold! And if you get muddled, just stick to Denglish!