12 great German words with no English equivalent

Analysis: the German language contains a range of beautifully strange words that aptly describe a certain situation or emotion

By Sandra Aline Wagner, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

Every language has its own reputation. While French is widely recognised as the 'language of love', German is famous for its long, convoluted compound words such as the much-loved and oft-cited Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän ("captain of the Danube Steam Shipping Company").

Some of these unique words have already found their way into modern-day English. Your kids go to kindergarten carrying their unicorn rucksack. You might enjoy a bratwurst (preferably vegan if you want to conform to the zeitgeist) at the summer barbeque. After this long pandemic year with international travel restrictions, you might be developing a severe case of wanderlust.

These examples demonstrate that the German language is much more than nightmarishly long sentences and difficult grammar. It contains a range of beautifully strange words that aptly describe a certain situation or emotion. Unfortunately for German speakers, the majority of these words cannot be translated literally into English. Here are 12 of those words:

Fremdschämen

Have you ever witnessed a stranger making a scene in restaurant that made you feel horribly uncomfortable and ashamed of someone that you don’t even know? Then you’ve experienced Fremdschämen ("to be externally embarrassed"), a feeling of embarrassment for someone else’s foolish behaviour.

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From RTÉ Jr's Mother Tongues, you'd be surprised by how many German words you already know!

Sturmfrei

As a teenager, you can't wait for your parents to go on holidays. You finally have the place to yourself and you have sturmfrei ("storm free"), the freedom to invite friends over without being monitored or disturbed by adults. "Sturmfrei" was originally used in military language to describe an impregnable fortress or castle. When it began to be used colloquially, it became a metaphor for a house safe from parental infiltration.

Pantoffelheld

The Pantoffelheld ("slipper hero") is a husband who might act as if he is in charge, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. An equivalent in English would be the "henpecked husband". The fact that henpecked translates into German as "unter dem Pantoffel stehen" suggests that these unfortunate individuals are "trapped under the slipper", the slipper, of course, serving as a blunt symbol of domesticity.

Feierabend

Without a doubt, the end of the workday is a cause for celebration. If your German colleagues tell you that they are having Feierabend ("celebration evening"), they are not necessarily having a party that evening, but most likely just finishing up work for the day.

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From Wanted Adventure, 5 great German words that don't exist in English

Luftschloss

If you win the lottery, you would buy a little island in the Caribbean and spend your days sipping beverages from a coconut and basking in tropical sunshine. Such unrealistic dreams are called Luftschlösser, castles made of air that deflate as quickly as they are built.

Zweisamkeit

Can you relate to that feeling of completion when it’s just you and your partner sitting alone on a moonlit park bench, gazing at the stars? That feeling is Zweisamkeit ("two-getherness"): the harmonic togetherness of two people, enjoying each other’s company and left undisturbed. The word combines zwei ("two") and the antonym Einsamkeit ("loneliness").

Verschlimmbessern

Yes, Germans have a verb for when you try to improve something, but actually just make it worse. The German comedian Loriot was famous for his sketches in which his character was actively verschlimmbessering ("to improve-worsen") the situation. In Das Bild hängt schief, he waits for an appointment in a fancy, well-decorated room. He notices that one of the pictures on the wall is crooked and tries to adjust it (with disastrous consequences – he ends up completely destroying the room).

Das Bild hängt schief

Kopfkino

When you read a gripping novel, you sometimes see the plot unfolding in your imagination like a movie being screened in your head. Germans call this phenomenon Kopfkino ("head cinema"). The word can also be used to describe a person imagining a very detailed scenario that hasn't yet happened in order to assess possible outcomes or to calculate future risks.

Torschlusspanik

You’re pushing 40, your biological clock is ticking, you haven’t married and no suitor is in sight. Maybe you’ve worked the same job for 20 years and still haven’t been shortlisted for promotion. You feel panicked, as if you’re running out of time. If this is you, you are experiencing a case of Torschlusspanik ("gate closing panic"), the fear of not reaching certain life goals as you get older. Sometimes torschlusspanik can lead you to make rash and foolish decisions (like marrying someone you’ve only known for two months and then divorcing after a year). The term originates from the Middle Ages, where the city gates were closed at nightfall for security reasons.

Gedankenkarussell

Something is bothering you. Your thoughts return again and again to the same problem despite your best efforts not to think about it. Germans call this a Gedankenkarussell ("thought carousel") when your thoughts are revolving around the same topic as if they were riding on a carousel.

From Easy German, people in Münster describe the German word "fernweh"

Betthupferl

Although this one sounds a bit creepy, it actually refers to something sweet. The Betthupferl ("bed hopper") are the little chocolates that you find on your pillow in a hotel room! Alternatively, if you are at home, the sweet snack you have before going to bed can also be called "Betthupferl".

Fernweh

After being trapped in lockdowns, we probably all suffer from Fernweh ("distance ache"). It is basically the opposite of homesickness and describes the longing to be somewhere else, to travel far away and see the world.

Dr Sandra Aline Wagner teaches German language and literature at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. She also works as a cultural journalist for OPUS Kulturmagazin and Sonah Magazin.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ