What's included here
German-English cognates are words with shared origins and similar meanings, such as die Hand (hand) and das Haus (house). Explore common examples, English translations and tips for learning German vocabulary.
If you're an English speaker learning German, you're in luck! German and English are both Germanic languages, which means they share quite a lot of vocabulary and even some similarities in grammar.
As a result, many German words look surprisingly familiar. These words can give you a useful head start, especially when you're just beginning to learn German.
German-English Cognates: Examples
Some German words are spelled exactly like their English equivalents, while others look slightly different.
Words With Identical Spellings
These German words have the same spelling as their English equivalents (apart from capitalisation):
- die Handhand
- der Armarm
- der Fingerfinger
- der Winterwinter
- das Hotelhotel
- der Computercomputer
- das Radioradio
- das Museummuseum
Nice! You've already got eight German words under your belt.
(Strictly speaking, some of these are international loanwords rather than inherited Germanic cognates, but they're just as useful for building vocabulary.)
Words With Similar Spellings
Other German words have slightly different spellings, but their meanings are still easy to guess.
- das Haushouse
- das Wasserwater
- die Muttermother
- der Gartengarden
- die Universitätuniversity
- die Familiefamily
- die Musikmusic
- das Telefontelephone
- der Kaffeecoffee
- das Schiffship
It's pretty easy to work out that das Telefon means telephone and die Musik means music, right?
You'll find plenty more familiar words in our list of German computer vocabulary, including Software, Internet, Server and Browser.
Watch Out for False Friends
Unfortunately, not every German word that looks like an English word means the same thing. These misleading similarities are called false friends.
For example:
- das Gift → poison (not gift)
- bekommen → to receive (not become)
- aktuell → current (not actual)
So if someone offers you a Gift in German, you might want to politely decline.
Discover more examples in our guide to German false friends.
How Can Cognates Help You Learn German?
Cognates make learning vocabulary easier because they connect new German words to English words you already know.
They're particularly useful when reading German. Even if you don't understand every word in a sentence, familiar vocabulary can help you work out the meaning.
Just remember that similar spelling doesn't always mean similar pronunciation. Der Computer, for example, is pronounced differently in German and English.
And while cognates are a useful shortcut, they're only one part of learning a language. You'll also want to focus on common words and expressions that don't have obvious English equivalents.
Our guide to memorising German vocabulary offers more learning strategies. You can also explore our German frequency lists or start with essential topics like German modal verbs.