English and German are close relatives, which helps far more often than it hurts. The trouble is a small set of words that look identical and mean something different, and they cause the kind of mistake that does not sound like a language error at all — it sounds like you meant something strange.
The ones that will catch you
| German | Actually means | For the English word, use |
|---|---|---|
| bekommen | to receive, to get | werden (to become) |
| also | so, therefore | auch (also, too) |
| das Gift | poison | das Geschenk (gift) |
| eventuell | possibly, maybe | schließlich (eventually) |
| aktuell | current, up to date | tatsächlich (actually) |
| sensibel | sensitive | vernünftig (sensible) |
| der Chef | the boss | der Koch (chef) |
| fast | almost | schnell (fast) |
| die Art | kind, type | die Kunst (art) |
| bald | soon | kahl (bald) |
| die Note | grade, mark | die Notiz (note) |
| spenden | to donate | ausgeben (to spend) |
Tipp · Two of these do real damage. “Ich möchte Arzt bekommen” says you would like to receive a doctor. And offering someone “ein Gift” offers them poison. Both are grammatical, which is why nobody corrects them gently.
Ich habe einen Brief bekommen.
I got a letter.
bekommen = receive
Ich möchte Lehrerin werden.
I'd like to become a teacher.
werden = become. This is the pair to drill
Er kommt auch mit. — Also gehen wir.
He's coming too. — So let's go.
auch = also; also = so
English words German has taken — and changed
German borrows English freely, but a borrowed word does not keep its English behaviour. Some have drifted in meaning far enough that English speakers do not recognise them.
| German | Means | English actually says |
|---|---|---|
| das Handy | mobile phone | mobile / cell phone |
| der Beamer | video projector | projector |
| der Oldtimer | classic car | vintage car |
| das Public Viewing | outdoor screening | public screening |
| das Homeoffice | working from home | working from home |
Borrowed words still take German grammar
This is where anglicisms become a grammar problem rather than a vocabulary one. An English noun in a German sentence gets a German gender, a capital letter, and a German plural.
Ich habe morgen ein Meeting.
I have a meeting tomorrow.
capitalised, like every German noun
das Handy → die Handys
phone → phones
borrowings take the -s plural
Ich habe die Datei gedownloadet.
I downloaded the file.
borrowed verbs take German participles — and this one is still argued about
Common mistakes
✗Ich will Arzt bekommen.
✓Ich will Arzt werden.
bekommen is to receive. This says you want to be given a doctor — grammatical, and not what you meant.
✗Ich habe ein Gift für dich.
✓Ich habe ein Geschenk für dich.
Gift is poison. Geschenk is the present.
✗Ich mag das also.
✓Ich mag das auch.
also means so or therefore. For “too”, German uses auch.
✗Eventuell bin ich fertig geworden.
✓Schließlich bin ich fertig geworden.
eventuell means possibly, not eventually — so this said you might have finished rather than that you finally did.
✗der Handy
✓das Handy
Borrowed nouns still need a gender, and this one is neuter. Guessing masculine because it looks English is the usual route in.
✗Ich habe ein meeting.
✓Ich habe ein Meeting.
German capitalises every noun, including imported ones. The word is English; the spelling rule is German.