Welche deutschen Wörter gibt es im Englischen?

Zu den bekanntesten gehören kindergarten, angst, zeitgeist, wanderlust, schadenfreude, doppelgänger und kitsch. In Wirtschaftsmedien kommen Begriffe wie Mittelstand, Energiewende und Kurzarbeit hinzu. Manche haben im Englischen eine andere Bedeutung als im Deutschen.

Warum sagen Amerikaner „Gesundheit“?

Der Zuruf nach dem Niesen kam vermutlich mit deutschen Einwanderern in die USA und ist dort bis heute verbreitet. Im britischen Englisch sagt man eher „Bless you“.

Was sind False Friends?

Wörter, die in zwei Sprachen gleich oder ähnlich aussehen, aber etwas anderes bedeuten. „Gift“ heißt im Englischen „Geschenk“, das englische Wort für Gift ist „poison“.

Was heißt „Billion“ auf Englisch?

„Trillion“. Das englische „billion“ entspricht der deutschen Milliarde. In Finanztexten ist das eine der folgenreichsten Fehlerquellen.

Was heißt „Handy“ auf Englisch?

„Mobile phone“ im britischen, „cell phone“ im amerikanischen Englisch. Das englische Adjektiv „handy“ bedeutet „praktisch“. Handy ist ein Scheinanglizismus.

Guide · Business English

German words in English: loanwords, false friends and pseudo-anglicisms

Which German words English has borrowed and what they mean there, which German words have no English equivalent and which German and English word pairs lead to mistakes in business texts. For quick reference, in five tables.

62 words in five tables
Updated 16 October 2026

In short

English has borrowed many German words, such as kindergarten, angst, zeitgeist and schadenfreude, often with a slightly different meaning.
In English-language business media, terms such as Mittelstand, Energiewende and Kurzarbeit are familiar.
Words such as Feierabend or Fingerspitzengefühl have no English equivalent and are paraphrased.
False friends such as aktuell and actual or Billion and billion cause real mistakes in business texts.
Pseudo-anglicisms such as Handy, Beamer and Homeoffice sound English, but English speakers don’t use them that way.

German words that English has borrowed

German words came into English by several routes: with immigrants to the USA, through philosophy, psychology and music, through food and later through business and politics. Many have taken on a meaning of their own in English. In the USA, “kindergarten” is usually the year before first grade at elementary school, and “angst” is a vague anxiety about life.

In English	Meaning in English	Compared with German
kindergarten	In American English, usually the year before first grade, part of elementary school	In German, childcare for children below school age
angst	A vague anxiety about life or the future, written in lower case	In German, any kind of fear
zeitgeist	The spirit and mood of an era	Same meaning
wanderlust	A strong desire to travel	In German, more a love of hiking
schadenfreude	Pleasure at someone else’s misfortune	Same meaning
Gesundheit!	Said after someone sneezes, mainly in American English	Same use
doppelgänger	Someone who looks strikingly like someone else	Same meaning
ersatz	An inferior substitute, used as an adjective: ersatz coffee	Neutral in German, simply a replacement
kitsch	Tasteless or excessively sentimental	Same meaning
wunderkind	A young exceptional talent, in business too	Same meaning
poltergeist	A noisy ghost	Same meaning
rucksack	A bag carried on the back, mainly British. In American English usually a backpack	Same meaning
hinterland	The area inland from a coast, also the catchment area of a city or port	Same meaning
delicatessen	A shop selling fine foods, in American English often shortened to deli	In German, the fine foods themselves
über, uber	Informal prefix meaning extremely, as in über-cool	In German, a preposition
blitz	A large-scale, rapid campaign, as in a media blitz. The Blitz refers to the German air raids on London and other British cities in 1940 and 1941	In German, lightning
pretzel	The knot-shaped bread, also salted snacks shaped as sticks or knots	In German, only the bread (Brezel)

German terms in business and politics

English-language business media and political reporting use some German terms untranslated, because English has no word for the German concept. Specialist translators usually keep them and add a short explanation the first time they appear.

Term	Meaning	Note
Mittelstand	Germany’s small and medium-sized, often family-run companies	Common in English-language business media, usually with a short explanation
Energiewende	Germany’s transition to renewable energy	Used as a proper noun for German energy policy
Kurzarbeit	Short-time working, with the state making up part of the lost wages	Familiar in international reporting since the pandemic
Wirtschaftswunder	The post-war economic boom, literally “economic miracle”	Historical term
realpolitik	Politics driven by practical interests rather than ideals	Written in lower case, firmly established in English
Ostpolitik	West Germany’s policy of détente towards Eastern Europe	Historical term
autobahn	The German motorway, often a symbol of driving without a speed limit	Refers almost only to German motorways

German words with no English equivalent

Some German words have no single-word equivalent in English, so translators paraphrase them. The table shows common paraphrases you can use in writing and in conversation.

German	English paraphrase
Feierabend	the end of the working day, time off after work
Gemütlichkeit	a feeling of warmth, comfort and good company
Fernweh	a longing for faraway places
Geborgenheit	a sense of security and belonging
Torschlusspanik	the fear that time is running out for important opportunities
Fingerspitzengefühl	tact and intuitive sensitivity in delicate situations
der innere Schweinehund	one’s weaker self, the lack of willpower to do something
verschlimmbessern	to make something worse by trying to improve it
Kopfkino	imagining a scene vividly in your head
Treppenwitz	thinking of the perfect reply too late
Waldeinsamkeit	the feeling of being alone in the woods

False friends: German and English word pairs with different meanings

False friends look the same or similar in both languages but mean something different. In business texts they are more than a cosmetic flaw: translate the German “Billion” as “billion” and the figure is out by a factor of a thousand, and a German “Provision” is a commission, not a provision.

German	English look-alike and its German meaning	Correct English
aktuell	actual = tatsächlich	current, up to date
also	also = auch	so, therefore
Art	art = Kunst	kind, type
Bad	bad = schlecht	bath, bathroom
bald	bald = kahl	soon
bekommen	to become = werden	to get, to receive
Billion	billion = Milliarde	trillion
Chef	chef = Koch	boss, manager
eventuell	eventually = schließlich	possibly
Fabrik	fabric = Stoff	factory
Gift	gift = Geschenk	poison
Gymnasium	gymnasium = Turnhalle	secondary school (in the UK, closest to a grammar school)
konsequent	consequent = folgend	consistent
Kritik	critic = Kritiker	criticism
Provision	provision = Bereitstellung, Vorkehrung	commission
Rat	rat = Ratte	advice
Rock	rock = Fels	skirt
See	sea = Meer	lake
sensibel	sensible = vernünftig	sensitive
wer	where = wo	who

Pseudo-anglicisms: they sound English but aren’t

Pseudo-anglicisms are words that sound English in German but aren’t used in English, or mean something else there. In conversations with English-speaking partners they cause misunderstandings, for example when a German “Homeoffice” turns into the UK’s interior ministry.

In German	What it means in English	Correct English
Handy	handy = useful, practical	mobile phone (US: cell phone)
Beamer	Beamer = informal for a BMW	projector
Homeoffice	Home Office = the UK’s interior ministry	working from home, remote work
Public Viewing	public viewing = the chance to see a body lying in state	public screening
Oldtimer	old-timer = an old hand, an older person	classic car, vintage car
Smoking	smoking = the act of smoking	dinner jacket (US: tuxedo)
Shooting	shooting = an incident in which shots are fired	photo shoot

You’ll find more pitfalls in business correspondence in our guide to writing emails in English, and idioms in our guide to English idioms and proverbs.

FAQ

Which German words are used in English?

Among the best known are kindergarten, angst, zeitgeist, wanderlust, schadenfreude, doppelgänger and kitsch. Business media add terms such as Mittelstand, Energiewende and Kurzarbeit. Some of them mean something different in English than in German.

Why do Americans say “Gesundheit”?

The word said after a sneeze probably came to the USA with German immigrants and is still common there. In British English, people tend to say “Bless you”.

What are false friends?

Words that look the same or similar in two languages but mean something different. The German word “Gift” means poison, while an English gift is a present.

What is the German “Billion” in English?

A trillion. The English “billion” is the German “Milliarde”. In financial texts, this is one of the most costly sources of error.

What is the German “Handy” in English?

A mobile phone in British English, a cell phone in American English. The English adjective “handy” means useful or practical. The German “Handy” is a pseudo-anglicism.

Terms on this page

Loanword: A word taken from another language and adapted to the borrowing language, for example in spelling or pronunciation. In German: Lehnwort.
False friend: A word that looks similar in two languages but means something different. In German: falscher Freund.
Pseudo-anglicism: A word that sounds English but isn’t used in English, or means something else there, such as Handy or Beamer. In German: Scheinanglizismus.