Ever felt a little schadenfreude watching a friend's soufflé collapse? Then you've already spoken German. English borrowed heavily from its Germanic cousin, and most of us use these words every day without noticing.
Strictly speaking, most of the items below are loanwords or calques (word-for-word translations), not true idioms. They act like idioms anyway. They're short, colorful, and hard to say better in plain English.
German expressions you already use
- Schadenfreude (Schaden, "harm" + Freude, "joy"): the guilty pleasure of enjoying someone else's bad luck.
- Wanderlust (wandern, "to hike" + Lust, "desire"): an itch to travel that never goes away.
- Zeitgeist (Zeit, "time" + Geist, "spirit"): the mood of a particular era.
- Kindergarten: literally "children's garden." The educator Friedrich Fröbel coined it in the 1800s.
- Doppelgänger: literally "double-goer," meaning your look-alike.
- Poltergeist: a "noisy ghost," from poltern (to rumble or bang) and Geist (ghost).
- Angst: deep, nagging anxiety, and a staple of teenage diaries.
- Gesundheit: literally "health," which many Americans say after a sneeze.
- Ohrwurm: the song stuck in your head. "Earworm" is a direct translation.
- Wunderkind: a "wonder child," or prodigy.
German idioms that never crossed over
Translated word for word, German idioms get weird fast. Some of them we could use.
- "Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof." ("I only understand train station.") In English: it's all Greek to me.
- "Das ist nicht mein Bier." ("That's not my beer.") In English: not my problem.
- "Um den heißen Brei herumreden." ("To talk around the hot porridge.") In English: to beat around the bush.
- "Da steppt der Bär." ("The bear is tap-dancing there.") In English: the party is wild.
- "Ich drücke dir die Daumen." ("I'm pressing my thumbs for you.") In English: fingers crossed.
Why does English borrow so much from German?
Both are West Germanic languages, so they share roots. That's why water and Wasser, house and Haus, and apple and Apfel look like long-lost siblings. Centuries of trade, science, philosophy, and immigration did the rest, and plenty of German words moved in and stayed.
Want to speak the real thing?
Recognizing schadenfreude is fun. Ordering a Brezel in Munich is better, and so is closing a deal with a German client. Germany is also one of the world's biggest economies, so German can help your career. If you're weighing options, read our guide to the best languages to learn for business.
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Quick FAQs
Are German idioms common in English? Single German words are, like kindergarten, angst, and zeitgeist. Full idioms are rare, because English usually has its own equivalent.
Is English related to German? Yes. Both are West Germanic languages, which is why so much basic vocabulary looks alike.
