Languages
ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME 
In these sayings, almost every word can be directly translated from English into German. The sentence structure is also the same.
He's getting on my nerves.
Er geht mir auf die Nerven.
Time is money.
Zeit ist Geld.
Opposites attract.
Gegensätze ziehen sich an.
Can't see the forest for the trees.
Vor lauter Bäumen den Wald nicht sehen.
Caution is the mother of the porcelain chest.
Vorsicht ist die Mutter der Porzellankiste.
All that glitters is not gold.
Es ist nicht alles Gold was glänzt.
He who laughs last laughs best.
Wer zuletzt lacht, lacht am besten.
That's child's play!
Das ist ein Kinderspiel!
These use very similar words, but not every word is exactly the same in the German and English sayings.
Clothes make the man.
Kleider machen Leute.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Viele Köche verderben den Brei.
Love is blind.
Liebe macht blind.
Blood is thicker than water.
Blut ist dicker als Wasser.
Still waters run deep.
Stille Wasser sind tief.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Lieber einen Spatz in der Hand, als eine Taube auf dem Dach.
Beggers can't be choosers.
Arme Leute dürfen nicht wählerisch sein.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Die Liebe wächst mit der Entfernung.
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT 
If you compare these sayings in each language, they use totally different words and metaphors. There's no way you could translate them word for word!
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Not macht erfinderisch.
That's like carrying coals to Newcastle.
Das hieße, Eulen nach Athen tragen.
You can kill two birds with one stone.
Du kannst zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen.
True love never dies.
Alte Liebe rostet nicht.
There's no use crying over spilt milk.
Geschehen ist geschehen.
You make your own happiness.
Jeder ist seines eigenen Glückes Schmied.
Idle hands are the devil's playthings.
Müssigkeit ist aller Laster Anfang.
What you don't know won't hurt you.
Was ich nicht weiss, macht mich nicht heiss.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Setz nicht alles auf eine Karte.
The early bird catches the worm.
Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Gleich und gleich gesellt sich gern.
You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
Eine Hand wäscht die andere.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.
to break a butterfly on a wheel, also: to break a fly on the wheel
mit Kanonen auf Spatzen schießen
Funny Translations:
Englisch für Fortgeschrittene.
English for runaways.
Have you already your go-stop over meadows got?
Noun genders indicated by: r (der, masc.), e (die, fem.), s (das, neu.)
A
absolvieren to complete a course or exam | absolve = lossprechen
r Advokat attorney, lawyer | advocate = r Befürworterr After rectum | after = nach, nachher
e Allee boulevard, avenue | alley = e Gasse, r Durchgang
r Almanach publisher's annual book catalog | almanac = historisches Jahrbuch
r Akt nude (artwork); act (theater) | act (deed) = e Tat
e Aktion campaign, drive (fundraising, etc.); operation (military) | action = s Handeln; e Action (movie)
ein Mann der Tat = a man of actionaktuell current, (the) latest, up-to-date | actual(ly) = eigentlich, wirklich
alle Tage every day | all day = den ganzen Tag
also thus, therefore | also = auch
e Ambulanz outpatient department | ambulance = r Rettungswagen/r Ambulanzwagen
s Argument point, reasoned argument | argument, quarrel = r Streit
e Art kind, manner, type | art = e Kunst
r Artist circus or theatrical performer only | artist = r Künstler
B
s Bad bath, spa; bathroom (not toilet!) | bad (adj.) = schlecht
bald soon | bald = kahl, glatzköpfig
Er hat eine Glatze. = He's bald.bekommen to get, receive | to become = werden
e Billion trillion | (US) billion = e Milliarde
s/r Biskuit sponge (cake/dough) | biscuit (cookie) = r Keks, (Amer.) (weiches) Brötchen
(sich) blamieren to disgrace, embarrass; make a fool of oneself | blame = e Schuld, jm. die Schuld geben
e Box speaker (stereo system), electrical junction box | box = r Kasten
brav good, well-behaved | brave = tapfer, mutig
C
r Catcher (pro) wrestler | catcher (baseball, etc.) = r Fänger
r Chef boss, head of the department | chef = r Chefkoch, Küchenchef, Koch
e City downtown, city center | city, town = e Stadt
D
delikat difficult, tricky; careful(ly); exquisite, subtle | delicate = empfindlich, fein, zart
Note: German delikat can mean many things, but is almost never used in the sense of "delicate" (breakable, sensitive, fine) in English - with the possible exception of a "delicate (subtle) aroma" or a "delicate (tricky) situation." It is related to Delikatessen.dezent discreet(ly), subdued, unobtrusive | decent = anständig, ordentlich
e Direktion administration (office), management (office) | direction = e Richtung
e Distanz aloofness, coldness; distance (social, sport) | distance = e Entfernung
r Dom cathedral | dome = e Kuppel
e Dose can, tin | dose = e Dosis
E
s Etikett label | etiquette = e Etikette
eventuell possibly, maybe | eventually = endlich, schließlich
r Evergreen old musical standard, classic song | evergreen = immergrün, r Nadelbaum (tree)
extravagant flamboyant, stylish, sophisticated (tastes) | extravagant = verschwenderisch, übertrieben
e Extravaganz flamboyance, high style
Confusing Words and Expressions
in German
F
e Fabrik factory | fabric = r Stoff, s Gewebe
fade boring, insipid, dull | to fade = verblassen
familiär family-related; informal | familiar (well-known) = bekannt, vertraut
Er hat familiäre Probleme. = He has family problems.e Fantasie/Phantasie imagination | fantasy = r Tagtraum
fast almost | fast = schnell; fasten (go without food)
s Formular form (to fill out) | formula = e Formel
r Fotograf photographer | photograph = s Foto, e Fotografie
e Fraktion faction, political party/group | fraction = r Bruchteil
G
s Gas (natural) gas | gasoline/petrol = s Benzin
Note: German Gas can infer "gasoline" in expressions such as Gas geben (to step on the gas, accelerate).e Garage garage (of a house) | garage (repairs) = e Autowerkstatt
genial brilliant, inspired, ingenious | genial = herzlich, gesellig, leutselig
s Gift poison | gift, present = s Geschenk
groß big, large, great | gross = ek(e)lig, ekelhaft (disgusting); grob (grossly), brutto, Brutto- (gross/net)
s Gymnasium secondary school, high school | gym = e Turnhalle, Sporthalle
H
s Handy n. cell/wireless phone | handy adj. = praktisch, nützlich, handlich
11/05/01-->
r Hamburger a resident of Hamburg (can also mean the food item)r Hang slope; tendency, inclination
herb adj. dry (wine), tart; bitter, harsh | herb n. = s Kraut
r Herd range, stove (cooking) | herd = e Herde
hissen v. hoist, raise (flag) | hiss v. = zischen
e Hochschule college, university | high school = e Gesamtschule, s Gymnasium, e Oberschule
I
irritieren to confuse, distract, put off | to irritate, annoy = ärgern, auf die Nerven gehen (get on s.o.'s nerves), reizen (skin), irritieren (bother)
K
e Kanne (tea, coffee) pot, kettle | can = e Dose
Note: German Kanne can mean "can" in the sense of "milk can," "oil can" or "watering can" in English.e Kantine cafeteria, canteen | canteen = e Feldflasche (for water)
Note: German Kantine is limited to "canteen" in the sense of "cafeteria" or "officer's mess."e Kaution deposit, bail, guarantee | caution = e Vorsicht
s Kolleg lecture, series of lectures; college | college = e Hochschule, e Universität
r Kollege colleague, fellow worker | college = e Hochschule, e Universität
komfortabel luxurious | comfortable = bequem, gemütlich
ein komfortables Hotel/Auto = a luxury/luxurious hotel/carkomisch strange, odd | comic(al) = lustig
komprimieren compress, compact | compromise = zu einem Kompromiss kommen, kompromittieren
e Konfession religious denomination | confession = s Geständnis (criminal); e Beichte (religious)
r Kongress trade or business convention; (US) Congress
konkurrieren compete | concur = übereinstimmen
| conquer = erobernkonsequent consistent, logical | consequently = folglich, folgend, als Folge
kurios odd, queer | curious = neugierig
L
s Labor laboratory | labor n. = e Arbeit
r Lack paint(work), lacquer, varnish; nail polish | lack (of) = r Mangel lila-->
e List cunning | list = e Liste, s Verzeichnis
live only in the sense of a "live" performance | live, alive = lebendig, am Leben
Note: German-speakers often confuse the words life and live when using them in German, pronouncing both words the same way (LYFE) and using "life" as an adverb/adjective instead of a noun.s Lokal pub, inn | local = örtlich, einheimisch, lokal (small 'L')
M
e Marmelade jam | marmalade = e Orangenmarmelade
e Maschine airplane | machine = r Automat (vending machine), s Faxgerät (fax machine), e Maschine (machine, engine), e Schreibmaschine (typewriter)
die nächste Maschine nach Berlin = the next plane/flight to Berlins Menü daily special (restaurant) | menu = e Speisekarte; s Menü (computers)
r Minister (government) minister, secretary (US) | minister = r Pfarrer (pastor, reverend)
der Verteidigungsminister Defence Minister/Secretary of Defenser Mist manure, dung;
So ein Mist! Damn! | mist = r Dunst, leichter Regendas Mobbing harassment, bullying (at work)
mobben to harass, bully (at work) | to mob = herfallen über, belagern (fans)r Mörder murderer | murder = r Mord
N
Nimm's leicht! Never mind! | Take it easy! = Immer mit der Ruhe!
e Notiz(en) written note(s), brief report | (public) notice = r Anhang, e Bekanntmachung, e Anzeige (newspaper)
e Nutte hooker, prostitute | nut = e Nuss
O
s Objekt house, piece of property (for sale) | object, goal = s Ziel
s Objektiv camera lens | objective = s Ziel
r Oldtimer antique, classic/vintage car | oldtimer (person) = alter Hase, r Veteran
ordinär vulgar, low, common | ordinary = üblich, normal
P
r Paragraf section (of a law) | paragraph = r Absatz, r Abschnitt (in a text)
Note: Paragraf 218 refers to a section of German legal code that refers to abortion. The term has become a catch phrase in the abortion debate. The symbol § refers to Paragraf (section) in the legal sense.e Pension guest inn, small hotel | pension (retirement) = e Rente
Note: The German word Pension can also mean "retirement" or "pension payment." Also see Rente below.e Phantasie/Fantasie imagination | fantasy = r Tagtraum
r Pickel pimple, zit | pickle = e Essiggurke
s Präservativ condom | (food) preservative = s Konservierungmittel
r Preis price or prize
e Provision commission, fee | provision = e Vorsorge
See our Housing and Real Estate glossary for more words like Provision!r Prozeß trial, law suit | process = s Verfahren, r Vorgang
s Publikum audience; customers | public = e Öffentlichkeit, öffentlich
r Puff brothel, cat house | puff = r Hauch, r Windstoß, r Zug (cigarette)
Q
e Quote proportion, number; rating | quote = das Zitat
R
raffiniert clever, ingenious; sophisticated; refined | refined = fein, gebildet
r Rat advice, counsel | rat = e Ratte
realisieren carry out, implement; produce (TV, film), finalize | realize = erkennen, begreifen
s Reformhaus health food store | reform house/school = e Besserunganstalt
rentabel profitable | rentable = mietbar
e Rente annuity, pension | rent = e Miete (Also see Pension above.)
in Rente/Pension gehen = to retire (from work)e Residenz strictly limited to the home of nobility | residence = r Wohnsitz, Wohnort, s Haus
s Rezept recipe; prescription | receipt = e Quittung, r Beleg
r Roman novel | Roman = r Römer
r Rumpf trunk, body, torso; carcass; fuselage | rump = s Hinterteil
S
e See / r See sea, ocean / lake | The gender is important!
r Sekt sparkling wine | (religious) sect = e Sekte
sensibel sensitive | sensible = vernünftig
seriös trustworthy, reliable; respectable, honest | serious = ernst, ernsthaft
r Slip briefs, panties, underwear | slip = s Unterkleid, r Fehltritt (misstep)
r Slipper loafer, shoe without laces | slipper = r Pantoffel, r Hausschuh
spenden to donate | to spend = ausgeben (money); verbringen (time)
spendieren to spend money on someone, to treat (someone to something)
e Spur trace, clue | spurs = e Sporen
s Stadium stage, level | stadium = s Stadion
r Star film star; starling; cataract | star = r Stern
r Stern star; stern (ship) | stern (n.) = s Achterschiff, s Heck, stern (adj.) = streng, hart
e Sympathie (an instant) liking; solidarity (with); good will | sympathy = s Mitleid
sympathisch likable, nice, pleasant (person) | sympathetic = mitfühlend, wohlgesinnt (favorably inclined)
synchronisieren dub (a film) | synchronize = abstimmen, gleichstellen
das Synchronschwimmen = synchronized swimming
Uhrenvergleich! = Synchronize your watches!T
tasten to touch | to taste = kosten, schmecken
s Transparent banner, placard | transparent adj. = durchsichtig
r Tripper gonorrhea
U
übersehen to overlook, miss (something) | to oversee = überwachen, beaufsichtigen
unsympathisch disagreeable, not likable/nice | unsympathetic = ablehnend; mit wenig Mitgefühl
r Unternehmer business person, employer | undertaker = r Leichenbestatter
W
r Wall embankment, rampart | wall = e Wand (interior), e Mauer (outside)
e Wand wall | (magic) wand = r Zauberstab
war (v.) was | war (n.) = r Krieg
s Warenhaus department store (also Kaufhaus) | warehouse = s Lagerhaus
winken to wave | to wink = blinzern, zwinkern
Z
e Zensur grade, mark (school); censorship | censor = r Zensor
r Zylinder top hat, silk hat (can also mean "cylinder")
Related Pages
Confusing Words and Expressions
in German - plus Confusing Word Pairs in German.When the Plural is Singular
German and English nouns don't always follow the same rules when it comes to singular and plural forms.False-Friend Flashcards
Vocabulary practice for the German false cognates.False Friends/falsche Freunde
An article about these tricky little devils.Glossary A-to-Z Index
Find more annotated English-German glossaries by keyword.Das Wort des Tages
A new German word or expression each day.Online Dictionaries
Links and info for dictionaries and glossaries.
This is from: http://german.miningco.com/library/blfalsef.htm
What Mark Twain said about the German language:
Some German words are so long that they have a perspective. Observe
these examples:
Freundschaftsbezeigungen.
Dilettantenaufdringlichkeiten.
Stadtverordnetenversammlungen.
These things are not words, they are alphabetical processions.
Generalstaatsverordnetenversammlungen.
Alterthumswissenschaften.
Kinderbewahrungsanstalten.
Unabhaengigkeitserklaerungen.
Wiedererstellungbestrebungen.
Waffenstillstandsunterhandlungen.
Of course when one of these grand mountain ranges goes stretching across
the printed page, it adorns and ennobles that literary landscape but at
the same time it is a great distress to the new student, for it blocks up
his way; ... "
- Appendix D of A Tramp Abroad, "That Awful German Language"
My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years. It seems manifest, then, that the latter tongue ought to be trimmed down and repaired. If it is to remain as it is, it ought to be gently and reverently set aside among the dead languages, for only the dead have time to learn it.
- Appendix D of A Tramp Abroad, "That Awful German Language"
Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic with his verb in his mouth.
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
...mastery of the art and spirit of the Germanic language enables a man to travel all day in one sentence without changing cars.
- Christian Science
It is easier for a cannibal to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the eye of a rich man's needle that it is for any other foreigner to read the terrible German script.
- photo autographed to Ed. Potzl, 2/1898; Notebook, 1898
A dream...I was trying to explain to St. Peter, and was doing it in the German tongue, because I didn't want to be too explicit.
- Mark Twain's speeches, 1923
The Germans are exceedingly fond of Rhine wines; they are put up in tall, slender bottles, and are considered a pleasant beverage. One tells them from vinegar by the label.
- A Tramp Abroad
A dog is "der Hund"; a woman is "die Frau"; a horse is "das Pferd"; now you put that dog in the genitive case, and is he the same dog he was before? No, sir; he is "des Hundes"; put him in the dative case and what is he? Why, he is "dem Hund." Now you snatch him into the accusative case and how is it with him? Why, he is "den Hunden." But suppose he happens to be twins and you have to pluralize him- what then? Why, they'll swat that twin dog around through the 4 cases until he'll think he's an entire international dog-show all in is own person. I don't like dogs, but I wouldn't treat a dog like that- I wouldn't even treat a borrowed dog that way. Well, it's just the same with a cat. They start her in at the nominative singular in good health and fair to look upon, and they sweat her through all the 4 cases and the 16 the's and when she limps out through the accusative plural you wouldn't recognize her for the same being. Yes, sir, once the German language gets hold of a cat, it's goodbye cat. That's about the amount of it.
- Mark Twain's Notebook
In early times some sufferer had to sit up with a toothache, and he put in the time inventing the German language.
- Notebook #14, 11/1877 - 7/1878
Never knew before what eternity was made for. It is to give some of us a chance to learn German.
- Notebook #14, 11/1877 - 7/1878
I don't believe there is anything in the whole earth that you can't learn in Berlin except the German language.
- Mark Twain's Notebook
...the circumstances and the atmosphere always have so much to do in directing a conversation, especially a German conversation, which is only a kind of an insurrection, anyway.
- The American Claimant, Etc., "Meisterschaft: In Three Acts"
It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run together, and you feel them flapping around in your head same as so much drawn butter.
- A Tramp Abroad
I would not rob you of your food or your clothes or your umbrella, but if I caught your German out I would take it. But I don't study any more,- I have given it up.
- A Letter to Mr. Bayard Taylor, (reprinted in American Literature, Markh, 1936)
By reading keep in a state of excited igorance, like a blind man in a house afire; flounder around, immensely but unintelligently interested; don't know how I got in and can't find the way out, but I'm having a booming time all to myself.
Don't know what a Schelgesetzentwurf is, but I keep as excited over it and as worried about it as if it were my own child. I simply live on the Sch.; it is my daily bread. I wouldn't have the question settled for anything in the world.
- Mark Twain, a Biography
I can understand German as well as the maniac that invented it, but I talk it best through an interpreter.
- A Tramp Abroad
It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you think you've got it, they spring the subjunctive on you, and there you are. No- and I see now plainly enough, that the great pity about the German language is, that you can't fall off it and hurt yourself. There is nothing like that feature to make you attend strictly to business.
- Taming the Bicycle
The Germans have an inhuman way of cutting up their verbs. Now a verb has a hard time enough of it in this world when it's all together. It's downright inhuman to split it up. But that's just what those Germans do. They take part of a verb and put it down here, like a stake, and they take the other part of it and put it away over yonder like another stake, and between these two limits they just shovel in German.
- Mark Twain's Speeches, "Disappearance of Literature"
I don't speak German well but several experts have assured me that I write it like an angel. Maybe so, maybe so- I don't know. I've not yet made any acquaintances among the angels. That comes later, whenever it please the Deity. I'm not in any hurry.
- Concordia speech, 11/2/1897
[On Dutch flat poetry]: It is too smooth and blubbery; it reads like butter-milk gurgling from a jug.
- Answers to Correspondence
How charmed I am when I overhear a German word which I understand!
- Letter to W. D. Howells, 5/4/1878
Das Wort "Fräulein"
Warum werden Frauen in der ersten Hälfte ihres Lebens und solange sie unverheiratet sind, nicht wie in guten alten Zeiten mit "Fräulein" angesprochen? - Wer sich mit diesem Missstand nicht arrangieren möchte, erhebe die Stimme!
Kasus: Singular (Plural)
Nominativ: das Fräulein (die Fräuleins)
Genitiv: des Fräuleins (der Fräuleins)
Dativ: dem Fräulein (den Fräuleins)
Akkusativ: das Fräulein (die Fräuleins)
"Fräulein war bis in die 1980er Jahre hinein die förmliche Anrede für unverheiratete Frauen (gleich welchen Alters), das in der Schriftform (Briefanrede) verbindlich und bis in die 1990er Jahre auch im mündlichen Gebrauch noch üblich war. Vergleichbare Ausdrücke finden sich auch in anderen europäischen Sprachen (z.B. "Miss" im Englischen, "(Ma)Demoiselle" im Französischen).
Ursprünglich war die Anrede "Fräulein" auf Standespersonen beschränkt. "Frau" bzw. mhd. "frouwe" war keine Geschlechtsbezeichnung (dafür hatte man "Weib" bzw. mhd. "wip"), sondern die Bezeichnung einer Fürstin; so wie auch "Herr" keine Anrede für jedermann, sondern für den Lehnsherren war. Entsprechend bezeichneten das "Fräulein" die Fürstentochter und der "Junker" – der 'junge Herr' – den Fürstensohn, während die "Jungfer" bzw. der "Jungmann" junge Frauen und Männer unabhängig von ihrem sozialen Stand bezeichneten. Diese ursprüngliche Bedeutung von "Fräulein" taucht noch z.B. in Goethes Faust auf, wenn Faust Gretchen mit den Worten anspricht:
Mein schönes Fräulein, darf ich wagen,
Meinen Arm und Geleit Ihr anzutragen?
Da Gretchen eine Person niederen Stands ist, ist das als eine bewusst galante Anrede zu verstehen, mit der Faust Gretchen nach allen Regeln der (höfischen) Kunst 'bezirzen' will. Sie entgegnet so sachlich korrekt wie ungalant:
Bin weder Fräulein, weder schön,
Kann ungeleitet nach Hause gehn. (vv.2605ff.)
Im späten 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert etablierte sich die "Fräulein"-Anrede vor allem für berufstätige Frauen (z.B. Angestellte in Warenhäusern, Kellnerinnen und Lehrerinnen), da weibliche Berufstätigkeit damals noch strikt auf die Zeit vor der Ehe beschränkt war. In der Kinderliteratur hat dabei vor allem eine Figur Berühmtheit erlangt: das "Fräulein Rottenmeier" aus Johanna Spyris Heidi. Nach 1945 wurde das "doitsche Froilain" von den in Deutschland stationierten amerikanischen GIs entdeckt und das "Fräulein" ging als Fremdwort ins Englische ein. Seitdem existiert auch die sprichwörtliche Redensart vom "Deutschen Fräuleinwunder".
Heutzutage ist die Anrede "Fräulein" für junge Frauen in Deutschland und Österreich im Schriftverkehr und im formellen Umgang kaum mehr im Gebrauch, wohl aber in den deutschsprachigen Teilen der Schweiz und Belgiens. Die Frauenbewegung der 1970er Jahre kritisierte den Diminutiv "Fräulein" wegen der gesellschaftlichen Werte und Vorstellungen, die darin zum Tragen kommen: So als ob eine weibliche Person erst dann als erwachsene Frau gelten könne, wenn sie heiratet, während ein Mann immer schon ein vollwertiger "Mann" ist. Denn der "Junker" hatte keine vergleichbare Wortgeschichte bis ins bürgerliche Zeitalter hinein und der "Jungmann" hat sich nur als Schimpfwort für den Hagestolz erhalten, nicht als formelle Kategorie. Zu Beginn der 1990er Jahre wurde das "Fräulein" schließlich von Amts wegen abgeschafft. Überlebt hat das Wort "Fräulein" als Anrede für eine weibliche Bedienung in einem Café oder Restaurant, aber auch diese Verwendung wird – wie das männliche Pendant "Herr Ober!" – in Deutschland seltener. An deren Stelle bürgert sich mehr und mehr ein informelles "Hallo!" oder "Entschuldigung!" ein."