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. Kaiser roll—a round bread roll, originally from Austria. 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. Kipfel (also kipferl)—a horn-shaped type of pastry. 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, literally '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 Blitz was originally used in London to describe a Nazi bombing offensive at the start of World War II. Foosball, probably from the German word for football, Fußball, 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, monk's habit'), a type of (cut-off) vest made out of denim or leather and traditionally worn by bikers, metalheads, and punks 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. Treibball, the name of a dog sport. Turner, a gymnast. Turnverein, a gymnastics club or society. Volksmarching, from Volksmarsch, literally 'people's march'.
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.