English Words That Are German

To descend a rock face using a doubled rope; literally 'to rope down', the standard mountaineering term in the UK.

Fear or anxiety; in English, it specifically denotes a deep feeling of existential dread or persistent insecurity.

An educated guess or initial assumption used in mathematics and physics; literally 'approach' or 'starting point'.

A German architectural and design school famous for its functionalist approach; literally 'building house'.

A novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education; literally 'education novel'.

A brittle reddish-gray metal; from early modern German 'Wismut', likely meaning 'white mass'.

A sudden, energetic, and concerted effort; derived from 'Blitzkrieg', literally 'lightning'.

Electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of a charged particle; literally 'braking radiation'.

A hard silvery-white magnetic metal; from 'Kobold' (goblin), as miners believed goblins poisoned the ore.

A short-legged, long-bodied dog breed; literally 'badger dog', historically bred to hunt badgers.

A store selling cold cuts, cheeses, and a variety of salads; from 'delicacies' (plural).

A type of heavy internal combustion engine; universally used for commercial and heavy-duty vehicles.

An order or decree imposed by someone in power without popular consent; literally 'dictate'.

A traditional Alpine peasant dress with a full skirt and tight bodice; from the Austro-Bavarian word for 'young woman'.

A large breed of dog with a sleek coat; known for intelligence and guarding instincts.

A biologically unrelated look-alike; literally 'double goer', historically used in folklore for ghostly doubles.

A European mountain plant with white woolly bracts; literally 'noble white', a famous Alpine symbol.

Soft feathers from the breast of the eider duck, used for stuffing quilts.

Made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one; literally 'replacement' or 'compensation'.

A scale of temperature where water freezes at 32 degrees; standard in the United States.

An abundant rock-forming mineral; literally 'field spar', indicating its common presence in rocks.

A festival or gathering; frequently used as a suffix in English to describe a large gathering or celebration.

A collection of writings published in honor of a scholar; literally 'celebration publication'.

Strong criticism or anti-aircraft fire; an acronym for 'Fliegerabwehrkanone' (aircraft defense cannon).

A hot southerly wind on the northern slopes of the Alps; often associated with rapid snowmelt and headaches.

A seasoned smoked sausage made of beef and pork; frequently served in a bun.

An experiment carried out only in the imagination; literally 'thought experiment', famously used by Einstein.

An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts; heavily used in psychology and design.

Used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed; literally 'health'.

Extravagant but superficial display; derived from 'glitzern', meaning 'to glitter'.

A musical percussion instrument having a set of tuned metal pieces; literally 'bell play'.

A metamorphic rock with a banded or foliated structure; an old miners' term for sparkling rock.

A chewy gelatin-based candy or substance; originally from 'Gummi' (rubber).

A round patty of ground beef; originally 'Hamburg steak', brought by immigrants to America.

A small rodent with expandable cheek pouches; from Old High German 'hamastro', originally meaning 'corn weevil'.

An unfiltered wheat beer with yeast suspended in it; literally 'yeast wheat'.

The SI unit of frequency; proved the existence of electromagnetic waves.

The often uncharted areas beyond a coastal district or a river's banks; literally 'land behind', used for remote areas.

A large floating mass of ice detached from a glacier; literally 'ice mountain'.

An informal social gathering at which coffee is served; literally 'coffee gossip'.

Broken and useless; no longer working; functions as an adjective in English for anything thoroughly ruined.

A coupling link with a safety closure, used by rock climbers; short for 'Karabinerhaken' (carbine hook).

A clear, colorless fruit brandy made from cherries; short for 'Kirschwasser' (cherry water).

Art or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality; widely used in aesthetic critique.

A canvas or leather bag carried on the back; from Low German for a food bag.

A cabbage of a variety with a turnip-like swollen stem; heavily consumed and named in German-speaking areas.

A type of beer conditioned at low temperatures; from 'Lagerbier', literally 'storeroom beer'.

Cross-country skiing; literally 'long run', used heavily in winter sports terminology.

Leather shorts with H-shaped suspenders; traditional Bavarian men's wear, literally 'leather trousers'.

A recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition; literally 'leading motif', pioneered by Wagner.

A seasoned meat paste in the form of a sausage containing liver; a partial translation/calque of the German original.

A loosely compacted yellowish-gray deposit of windblown sediment; from Swiss German 'lösch' (loose).

The unorganized and unpolitical lower orders of society; coined by Marx, literally 'rag proletariat'.

A ratio of the speed of a body to the speed of sound; used predominantly in aviation.

A soft white clay-like material used to make tobacco pipes; literally 'sea foam', denoting its extreme lightness.

A person of outstanding skill or ability; master, often used as a suffix in English to denote expertise.

A mixture of oats, dried fruit, and nuts eaten with milk; from the Swiss German diminutive of 'Mus' (mush or puree).

An extinct species of human; now commonly used to refer to someone acting uncivilized.

A silvery-white metal; from 'Kupfernickel' (copper demon), named by miners who couldn't extract copper from it.

To put an end to or cancel something; derived from 'nix', a colloquial variant of 'nichts' (nothing).

A strip, ring, or tube of pasta or similar dough; a quintessential culinary staple borrowed deeply into English.

The foreign policy of detente of western European countries with reference to the former communist bloc; literally 'eastern policy'.

A German armored vehicle or tank; literally 'armor', used to describe heavily armored forces.

A pale lager with a crisp, hoppy flavor; originally from Plzeň but popularized via German brewing traditions.

A brown-to-black mineral that is the chief ore of uranium; literally 'pitch mineral', describing its dark appearance.

To steal goods from a place or person; entered English during the Thirty Years' War from German mercenaries.

A breed of dog with a curly coat; from 'Pudelhund', meaning 'puddle dog', reflecting their origin as water retrievers.

A crisp biscuit baked in the form of a knot; a staple of Bavarian baking and global snack foods.

A dark, dense sourdough bread made with coarsely ground rye; its folkloric origin playfully translates to 'farting goblin'.

A violent attempt to overthrow a government; from a Swiss German dialect word for 'thrust' or 'blow'.

A hard white or colorless mineral; from Middle High German 'quarz', used universally in geology.

A system of politics based on practical rather than moral considerations; literally 'realistic politics'.

A unit of ionizing radiation; honors the discoverer of X-rays.

A large, powerful breed of dog; historically used by butchers to drive cattle to market.

A bag with shoulder straps that allow it to be carried on someone's back; literally 'back sack'.

A German dish consisting of beef marinated in vinegar and spices before being pot-roasted; literally 'sour roast'.

To talk intimately and cozily; from Yiddish and German, meaning 'to chat' or 'smooth-talk'.

A strong alcoholic drink; from Low German meaning 'swallow' or 'gulp', often fruit-flavored.

A breed of dog with a distinctive bearded snout; from 'Schnauze' (snout or muzzle).

A thin slice of veal or other light meat, coated in breadcrumbs and fried; a diminutive of 'Schnitt' (cut).

A straight downhill run on skis; literally 'shot', denoting high speed without turns.

Effervescent mineral water; named after the town of Selters in Germany, which has natural mineral springs.

A tube for a swimmer to breathe through while underwater; originally referred to a submarine air intake.

A long or fast speech or pitch, often intended to persuade; literally 'play' or 'game'.

A type of dog with a pointed muzzle and thick fur; literally 'pointed', referring to their physical traits.

To squirt or spray a liquid; commonly used for drinks or perfumes, literally 'to squirt'.

A large earthenware beer mug; literally 'stone', short for 'Steingrug' (stone jug).

A crumbly topping of flour, butter, and sugar baked onto pastries; literally 'something sprinkled'.

A dessert of thin pastry rolled up around a fruit filling, often baked; literally 'whirlpool' due to the pastry layers.

A sweet cake or tart, typically containing little or no flour; used in English to describe rich, multi-layered cakes.

A German submarine used in World War I or II; an abbreviation of 'Unterseeboot' (undersea boat).

Denoting an outstanding or supreme example of a particular kind of person or thing; literally 'over' or 'above'.

An original or the earliest version of a text or musical score; literally 'original text'.

A dance in triple time performed by a couple; from 'walzen' (to roll, revolve, or dance).

A particular philosophy or view of life; literally 'world perception' or 'worldview'.

A frankfurter or similar sausage; short for 'Wienerwurst', meaning 'Viennese sausage'.

Wonderful or marvelous; frequently used in English as a stylistic flourish.

A German or Austrian sausage; commonly used in English as a suffix or standalone word for German-style meats.

To practice a form of singing with rapid changes of pitch; used to describe Alpine mountain singing.

A large German dirigible airship; heavily utilized in the early 20th century.

A silvery-white metal; named by Paracelsus, likely from 'Zinke' (prong/tooth), noting the sharp shape of its crystals.

A type of crisp, sweetened bread made by baking it twice; literally 'twice baked', commonly given to teething toddlers.