German cognates with English
There are many thousands of German words that are cognate to English Words, in fact a sizeable fraction of native German and English vocabulary, although for various reasons much of it is not immediately obvious. Yet many of them are easy to correlate, since the German words follow the rules of High German consonant shift, which is a German phenomenon and makes English stay closer to the protogermanic language, from which both, English and German, derive. These rules are:
Rule |
English |
German |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
engl. t → germ. s (after a vowel) |
water |
Wasser |
|
engl. t → germ. z |
two |
zwei |
German "z" is pronounced "ts" |
engl. c → germ. k |
cold |
kalt |
This is purely a spelling difference which does not reflect any difference in sound. |
engl. f → germ. v |
full |
voll |
This is purely a spelling difference which does not reflect any difference in sound. |
engl. p → germ. f (after a vowel) |
ripe |
reif |
|
engl. p → germ. pf |
path |
Pfad |
|
engl. k → germ. ch (after a vowel) |
break |
brechen |
|
engl. ch → germ. k |
chin |
Kinn |
also: chest/Kiste, child/Kind |
engl. gh → germ. ch (after a vowel) |
Light |
licht |
The now-silent gh marks places in English words which once had a sound much like Greek "chi". |
engl. d → germ. t |
bed |
Bett |
|
engl. th → germ. d |
three |
drei |
|
engl. th → germ. t |
father |
Vater |
|
engl. v → germ. b |
silver |
Silber |
|
engl. x → germ. chs |
fox |
Fuchs |
cf k → ch, as above. |
engl. y, → germ. g |
yarn |
Garn |
In this case the German sound is the original, while English has changed. |
engl. w, → germ. g |
follow |
folgen |
In this case the German sound is the original, while English has changed. |
Most of the words in the following table have almost the same meaning as in English.
German |
Meaning of German word |
English cognate |
|---|---|---|
Abend |
eve/evening |
eve from Old E.æfen |
an |
on |
on |
Arm |
arm |
arm |
auf |
up / on |
up |
aus |
out (of) |
out |
Bär |
bear |
bear |
beginnen, begann, begonnen |
to begin, began, begun |
to begin, began, begun |
Bett |
bed |
bed |
Bier |
beer |
beer |
Blut |
blood |
blood |
Boot |
boat |
boat |
braun |
brown |
brown |
breit |
broad |
broad |
bringen, brachte, gebracht |
to bring, brought, brought |
bring, brought |
Brot |
bread |
bread |
Bruder |
brother |
brother |
Butter |
butter |
butter |
Erde |
Earth |
Earth |
das |
that (pronoun) |
that |
dass, daß |
that (conjunction) |
that |
essen |
to eat, food |
to eat |
fallen, fiel, gefallen |
to fall, fell, fallen |
to fall, fell, fallen |
Faust |
fist |
fist |
fechten, focht, gefochten |
to fence |
fight, fought, fought |
Feile(tech) |
file |
file |
Fett |
fat |
fat |
Finger |
finger |
finger |
Fisch |
fish |
fish |
Freund |
friend |
friend |
Fuß |
foot |
foot |
Gans, Gänse |
goose |
goose, geese |
Gold |
gold |
gold |
Gott |
God |
God |
Gras |
grass |
Gras |
grün |
green |
green |
gut, besser, bestens |
good, better, the best |
good, better, the best |
haben |
to have |
to have |
Hammer |
hammer |
hammer |
Hand |
hand |
hand |
-heit (suffix) |
-ity, -ness, -hood |
-hood |
Haus |
house |
house |
Hilfe, helfen |
help (noun), to help |
help, to help |
heißen |
to be called |
hight (archaic) |
hindern |
to hinder |
to hinder |
hören |
to hear |
hear |
Hund |
dog |
hound |
ist, war |
is, was |
is, was |
kalt |
cold |
cold |
Katze |
cat |
cat |
Knie |
knee |
knee |
Kohle |
coal |
coal |
kommen, kam, gekommen |
to come, came, come |
to come, came, come |
König |
King |
King |
Land |
land, country |
land |
Laus, Läuse |
louse, lice |
louse, lice |
lachen |
to laugh |
to laugh |
Mann, Männer |
man, men |
man, men |
Matte |
mat |
mat |
Maus, Mäuse |
mouse, mice |
mouse, mice |
Milch |
milk |
milk |
Mitte |
mid |
mid |
Mond |
moon |
moon |
Mondlicht |
moonlight |
moonlight |
müssen |
to have to |
must |
Mutter |
mother |
mother |
Nacht |
night |
night |
Nachbar |
neighbor |
neighbor |
Ofen |
oven |
oven |
Papier |
paper |
paper |
Pilger |
pilgrim |
pilgrim |
Polen |
Poland |
Poland |
Pumpe |
pump |
pump |
Raspel |
rasp |
rasp |
Ratte |
rat |
rat |
Rechnung |
reckoning |
reckoning |
Regen |
rain |
rain |
Regentropfen |
raindrop |
raindrop |
Ring |
ring |
ring |
Sand |
sand |
sand |
Sau |
sow |
sow |
sauer |
sour |
sour |
scheinen |
to shine |
to shine |
Schwein |
swine |
swine |
selten |
seldom |
seldom |
Sichel |
sickle |
sickle |
Schiff |
ship |
ship |
Schuh |
shoe |
shoe |
Schnee |
snow |
snow |
Schwein |
swine |
swine |
schwimmen, schwamm, geschwommen |
to swim |
to swim, swam, swum |
singen, sang, gesungen |
to sing, sang, sung |
to sing, sang, sung |
sinken, sank, gesunken |
to sink, sank, sunk |
to sink, sank, sunk |
Schwert |
sword |
sword |
Seite |
side |
side |
Silber |
silver |
silver |
Sohn |
son |
son |
Sommer |
summer |
summer |
Sonne |
sun |
sun |
Sonnenschein |
sunshine |
sunshine |
Speise |
food |
spice |
Spinner |
spinner |
spinner |
springen, sprang, gesprungen |
to jump, jumped, jumped |
to spring, sprang, sprung |
stehlen, stahl, gestohlen |
to steal |
to steal, stole, stolen |
Stand |
stand |
stand |
stehlen |
steal |
steal |
Stein |
stone |
stone |
sterben |
to die |
to starve (old english steorfan = "to die") |
streben |
to strive |
to strive |
Strecke |
stretch |
stretch |
strecken |
to stretch |
to stretch |
Tag |
day |
day |
Tisch |
table |
dish (both eating surfaces) |
Tochter |
daughter |
daughter |
Traum |
dream |
dream |
unter |
under |
under |
Vater |
father |
father |
Vogel |
bird |
fowl |
Wasser |
water |
water |
Wassertropfen |
waterdrop |
waterdrop |
Waffe |
weapon |
weapon |
warm |
warm |
warm |
Weib |
woman |
wife |
Wein |
wine |
wine |
weiß |
white |
white |
Weißbrot |
white bread |
white bread |
Welt |
world |
world |
Werk |
work |
work |
Wetter |
weather |
weather |
wild |
wild |
wild |
Wildnis |
wilderness |
wilderness |
Wille |
will (noun) |
will |
Wind |
wind |
wind |
wir, uns |
we, us |
we, us |
Winter |
winter |
winter |
Wolf |
wolf |
wolf |
Wolle |
wool |
wool |
Wunder |
wonder |
wonder |
Compound word cognates
German |
Cognate word parts |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Braunbär |
brown + bear |
brown bear |
Fingernagel |
finger + nail |
fingernail |
Hochland |
high + land |
highland |
Ringfinger |
ring + finger |
ring finger |
Nachtwache |
night + watch |
night watch |
Schneemann |
snow + man |
snowman |
Schwertfisch |
sword + fish |
swordfish |
Sonntag |
sun + day |
sunday |
Vollmond |
full + moon |
full moon |
Wasserfall |
water + fall |
waterfall |
Winternacht |
winter + night |
winter night |
When cognates have slightly different consonants, this is often due to the High German consonant shift. Vowels tend to be more unpredictable than consonants, and there are cases where the vowel(s) found in a German word in a non-standard dialect have a greater affinity with English than with standard German:
German |
English |
German dialect |
|---|---|---|
allein |
alone |
allon (Hesse) |
heim |
home |
hom (Hesse) |
nein |
no |
no (Hesse) |
Stein |
stone |
Ston (Hesse) |
Ofen |
oven |
Ova (Hesse) |
Furz(vulg) |
fart |
Farz (Hesse) |
fühlen |
feel |
fihla (Palat.) |
füllen |
fill |
filla (Palat.) |
gehört |
heard |
ghärt (Palat.) |
gesehen |
seen |
gsihn (Palat.) |
grün |
green |
grien (Palat.) |
There are cognates whose meanings in either language have changed through the centuries. It is sometimes difficult for both English and German speakers to discern the relationship. On the other hand, once the definitions are made clear, then the logical relation becomes obvious. Sometimes the generality or specificity of word pairs may be opposite in the two languages.
German |
Meaning of German word |
English cognate |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
antworten |
to answer |
an-word |
the cognate prefix Ger.'ant' is equal to Old E.'and-'〈"against"〉(→an).'wort'=word,'swer'=swear, so the suffix isn't cognate. |
Baum |
tree |
beam |
Both derive from West Germanic *baumoz meaning "tree". It is the English one which, in Anglo-Saxon and Old English, has radically changed its meaning several times. (The original meaning is retained in the English terms for some trees, such as hornbeam.) |
bekommen |
to get |
to become |
|
Dogge |
mastiff |
dog |
|
drehen |
to turn |
to throw |
cf. to throw (make) a pot by turning it on a wheel |
ernten |
to harvest |
to earn |
|
fahren |
to drive |
to fare |
O.E. faran "to journey, to make one's way," from P.Gmc. *faranan (cf. Goth. faran, Ger. fahren), from PIE *por- "going, passage" |
fechten |
to fence (sport) |
to fight |
|
Gift |
poison |
gift |
the original meaning of Gift in German can still be seen in the German deflection Mitgift "dowry" |
kaufen |
to buy |
cheap, chapman |
|
Knabe (formal) |
boy |
knave |
|
Knecht |
servant |
knight |
|
nehmen |
to take |
numb |
sensation has been taken away; cf. German benommen, 'dazed' |
Rad |
wheel |
road |
|
raten |
to guess, to advise |
to read |
cf. riddle, akin to German Rätsel |
reißen |
to tear |
to write |
cf. also ritzen in German - "to scratch" -, the old intensive form |
Schmerz |
pain |
smart |
The verb smart retains this meaning |
schlecht |
bad |
slight |
Sense of Ger. cognate schlecht developed from "smooth, plain, simple" to "bad," and as it did it was replaced in the original senses by schlicht, a back-formation from schlichten "to smooth, to plane," a derivative of schlecht in the old sense. "Bad" refers to "bête" in French or to "bestia" in Latin |
sich rächen |
to take revenge |
to wreak (havoc) |
|
Tier |
animal |
deer |
|
Tisch |
table |
dish, desk |
Latin discus |
Vieh |
cattle |
fee |
from O.E. 'feoh' money, property, cattle |
Wald |
forest |
wold |
cf. English placename "Cotswold(s)" |
werden |
to become |
weird |
see wyrd |
Zeit |
time |
tide |
the root is used in German Gezeiten as Tiden ('tides') and belongs to the old saxon vocabulary in German |
German and English also share many borrowings from other languages, especially Latin, French and Greek. Most of these words have the same meaning, while a few have subtle differences in meaning. As many of these words have been borrowed by numerous languages, not only German and English, they are called internationalisms in German linguistics. For reference, a good number of these borrowed words are of the neuter gender.
German |
Meaning of German word |
language of origin |
|---|---|---|
Armee |
army |
French |
Arrangement |
arrangement |
French |
Chance |
opportunity |
French |
Courage |
courage |
French |
Disposition |
disposition |
Latin |
Feuilleton |
feuilleton |
French |
Futur |
future tense |
Latin |
Boje |
buoy |
Dutch |
Genre |
genre |
French |
Mikroskop |
microscope |
Greek |
Partei |
political party |
French |
Position |
position |
Latin |
positiv |
positive |
Latin |
Prestige |
prestige |
French |
Psychologie |
psychology |
Greek |
Religion |
religion |
Latin |
Restaurant |
restaurant |
French |
Tabu |
taboo |
Tongan |
Zigarre |
cigar |
Spanish |
Zucker |
sugar |
Sanskrit, via Arabic |