18 German words with no English equivalent
German glues words together until they say exactly what it means. The result: words for the panic before a deadline, the weight you gain from grief, or the perfect reply that comes to you on the stairs. English needs a whole sentence for each. Some, like Schadenfreude and Zeitgeist, it simply borrowed.
For each word you get a literal translation, what it means and how Germans use it in a sentence. All of them come from gutgesagt, an app for people who already speak German very well.
der Feierabend
Literally: celebration evening
The end of the working day and the free time that follows. Feierabend machen means to call it a day.
Um 17:58 kam noch eine Mail mit dem Betreff ‚Kurze Frage‘. Ich machte trotzdem pünktlich Feierabend, die Frage war sicher nicht kurz.
At 5:58 pm an email arrived with the subject “Quick question”. I left on time anyway. That question was never going to be quick.
die Torschlusspanik
Literally: gate-closing panic
The fear that time is running out to reach something important, like a family, a career or the trip you always wanted.
Mit Ende dreißig packte ihn die Torschlusspanik, und er kündigte, um endlich zu reisen.
In his late thirties the panic set in, and he quit his job to finally travel.
das Fingerspitzengefühl
Literally: fingertip feeling
A fine sense for handling people and delicate situations. Tact, but with more intuition in it.
Mit viel Fingerspitzengefühl setzte sie die zerstrittenen Tanten an zwei verschiedene Tischenden.
With great tact, she seated the feuding aunts at opposite ends of the table.
die Schadenfreude
Literally: harm joy
Pleasure at someone else’s misfortune. English took the word unchanged.
Als der Nachbar mit dem neuen SUV nicht in die Parklücke kam, war die Schadenfreude im Haus groß.
When the neighbor couldn’t fit his new SUV into the parking space, the whole building enjoyed it.
der Weltschmerz
Literally: world pain
A deep sadness that the world is as imperfect as it is. The writer Jean Paul coined it, Heinrich Heine made it popular, and English borrowed it.
Im Novemberregen am Fenster, Schubert im Ohr, packte ihn der Weltschmerz.
At the window in the November rain, Schubert in his ears, Weltschmerz took hold of him.
der Kummerspeck
Literally: grief bacon
The weight you put on during a sad phase, usually said with a smile about yourself.
Nach der Trennung kamen drei Kilo Kummerspeck, und keiner hat es angesprochen.
After the breakup came three kilos of grief bacon, and nobody mentioned it.
das Fernweh
Literally: far-sickness, the opposite of homesickness
A longing for faraway places, especially ones you have never been to.
Der Fluglotse schickt jeden Tag Maschinen nach Bali, Lima und Kapstadt. Sein Fernweh stillt er am Wochenende im Kleingarten.
Every day the air traffic controller sends planes to Bali, Lima and Cape Town. On weekends he soothes his Fernweh in his community garden plot.
die Gemütlichkeit
Roughly: coziness
A warm, relaxed atmosphere and the feeling of belonging it creates. Coziness is the room, Gemütlichkeit is also the mood in it.
Der Abend hatte diese Gemütlichkeit, bei der niemand auf die Uhr schaut.
The evening had the kind of Gemütlichkeit where nobody looks at the clock.
verschlimmbessern
Literally: to worsen-improve
To make something worse by trying to improve it. Perfect for software updates and redesigns.
Mit noch einem Schuss Chili hat er die Guacamole endgültig verschlimmbessert.
With one more dash of chili, he improved the guacamole right into ruin.
der Treppenwitz
Literally: staircase joke
The perfect comeback that only occurs to you once it is too late. Diderot described it as the flash of wit that strikes on the way down the stairs.
Die perfekte Antwort auf die Stichelei fiel ihm erst an der Bushaltestelle ein, ein klassischer Treppenwitz.
The perfect reply to the dig only came to him at the bus stop. A classic Treppenwitz.
das Backpfeifengesicht
Literally: slap face
A face that seems to ask for a slap, even though its owner has done nothing wrong. Rude, so best used about TV hosts rather than colleagues.
Der neue Mitbewohner hat ein Backpfeifengesicht, dabei putzt er sogar freiwillig das Bad.
The new roommate has a Backpfeifengesicht, even though he volunteers to clean the bathroom.
das Kopfkino
Literally: head cinema
Vivid pictures playing in your mind, often ones you would rather not see.
Sag bloß nicht „Spinne unterm Bett“, sonst hab ich die ganze Nacht Kopfkino.
Don’t say “spider under the bed”, or the movie in my head will run all night.
die Waldeinsamkeit
Literally: forest solitude
The pleasant feeling of being alone in the woods. Ludwig Tieck coined it in 1797, and it became a favorite word of German Romanticism.
Am Sonntag gönnte sie sich im Grunewald etwas Waldeinsamkeit, nur ein Specht leistete ihr Gesellschaft.
On Sunday she treated herself to some Waldeinsamkeit in the Grunewald, with only a woodpecker for company.
der innere Schweinehund
Literally: the inner pig-dog
The lazy part of you that keeps you from doing what you planned. You don’t fight it, you überwinden it: you overcome it.
Um sechs Uhr morgens gewinnt meist der innere Schweinehund, wer ihn bei Nieselregen überwindet, hat die eigentliche Sportleistung schon hinter sich.
At six in the morning the inner pig-dog usually wins. Beat it in the drizzle, and the real workout is already behind you.
das Sitzfleisch
Literally: sitting flesh
The staying power to sit with a task until it is done.
Für das Rückentattoo brauche es Sitzfleisch, sagt die Tätowiererin, eigentlich eher Liegefleisch: sieben Stunden auf dem Bauch.
A back tattoo takes Sitzfleisch, says the tattoo artist. Lying flesh, really: seven hours on your stomach.
die Schnapsidee
Literally: schnapps idea
An idea that only looks good after a few drinks.
Ein Hotel aus Eis klang nach einer Schnapsidee, in Lappland wird es jeden Winter neu gebaut.
A hotel made of ice sounded like a Schnapsidee. In Lapland it is rebuilt every winter.
der Zeitgeist
Literally: time spirit
The way of thinking and the mood that shape an era. Herder used it in 1769, Hegel took it into philosophy, and English kept it as it was.
Früher die Schrankwand, heute Plattenspieler und Hängepflanzen: Jedes Wohnzimmer verrät den Zeitgeist.
Once the wall unit, now record players and hanging plants: every living room gives away the Zeitgeist.
die Wehmut
Roughly: wistfulness
A quiet sadness when you think of something beautiful that is over. Softer than grief, warmer than nostalgia.
Beim Ausräumen des Kinderzimmers überkam sie Wehmut, mitten zwischen den Kartons.
Clearing out the child’s room, she was overcome by Wehmut, right there among the boxes.
Questions
Why does German have so many words with no English equivalent?
German builds new words by joining existing ones. Kummer (grief) and Speck (bacon) become Kummerspeck. English usually needs a phrase for the same idea, so the German compound looks untranslatable.
Which German words has English borrowed?
Among others Schadenfreude, Zeitgeist, Weltschmerz, Kindergarten, angst and wanderlust. Ohrwurm also made it into English, translated as earworm.
More: German idioms explained · Advanced German vocabulary (C1/C2) · What is gutgesagt?