German in Different Languages
Discover 'German' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
German, the language of Goethe and Kafka, holds a significant place in the world's cultural and historical context. As the official language of Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein, it is spoken by over 130 million people worldwide. Its influence extends beyond these borders, with German-speaking communities present in countries such as Switzerland, Italy, and Denmark.
But why should you know the translation of 'German' in different languages? Understanding this term in various tongues can open doors to new cultural experiences, broaden your linguistic horizons, and foster global connections. For instance, in Spanish, 'German' translates to 'alemán,' while in French, it becomes 'allemand.' In Mandarin, the word takes on a completely different sound, transforming into '德国' (Déguó).
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into how diverse languages across the globe refer to this important language and its rich cultural heritage.
German
German in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | duits | ||
| The word "Duits" can also refer to the language of the Germans, or to Germany itself. | |||
| Amharic | ጀርመንኛ | ||
| The word "ጀርመንኛ" in Amharic also refers to the language of the Tigray and Tigre peoples, both of whom have a strong cultural affinity with the German people. | |||
| Hausa | bajamushe | ||
| The Hausa word 'Bajamushe' is likely derived from the Hausa phrase 'Bajan Jamushi', meaning 'to kill a fly'. | |||
| Igbo | german | ||
| The Igbo word | |||
| Malagasy | anarana | ||
| The word "Anarana" in Malagasy is derived from the French word "Allemand", meaning "German". It also refers to the white population of Madagascar, regardless of their nationality. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chijeremani | ||
| The word 'Chijeremani' in Nyanja (Chichewa) is derived from the Swahili word 'jerumani', which in turn comes from the Arabic word 'al-ajam' meaning 'foreigners'. | |||
| Shona | chijerimani | ||
| The word "ChiJerimani" in Shona may also refer to the color "grey" or "dark grey". | |||
| Somali | jarmal | ||
| The word "Jarmal" in Somali may also refer to "Europe" or "Westerners" in general. | |||
| Sesotho | sejeremane | ||
| The word "Sejeremane" can also refer to a type of dance popular in Lesotho, South Africa. | |||
| Swahili | kijerumani | ||
| Kijerumani derives from the Arabic word jarman for "German" and is a related form of the word in various other languages, including Karmani, Jarmani, and Jarimani. | |||
| Xhosa | isijamani | ||
| The word "IsiJamani" can also refer to something very good, especially if it is very modern or up to date. | |||
| Yoruba | jẹmánì | ||
| While the word "Jẹmánì" commonly refers to "Germans" in Yoruba, it also denotes "people of the forest" or "fair-skinned people" in a broader sense. | |||
| Zulu | isijalimane | ||
| IsiJalimane literally means "the language of the Jalimani tribe". | |||
| Bambara | alemaɲikan na | ||
| Ewe | germanygbe me tɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ikidage | ||
| Lingala | allemand | ||
| Luganda | omugirimaani | ||
| Sepedi | sejeremane | ||
| Twi (Akan) | german kasa | ||
German in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | ألمانية | ||
| كلمة ألمانية (German) في العربية مشتقة من كلمة | |||
| Hebrew | גֶרמָנִיָת | ||
| גֶרמָנִיָת' is also the name of the Germanium element in Hebrew | |||
| Pashto | جرمني | ||
| Arabic | ألمانية | ||
| كلمة ألمانية (German) في العربية مشتقة من كلمة | |||
German in Western European Languages
| Albanian | gjermanisht | ||
| The Albanian word for "German" is derived from the Illyrian word "Germani", which originally referred to farmers and herdsmen. | |||
| Basque | alemana | ||
| Alemana is a Basque word derived from Latin Alemannus, meaning "German". It can also refer to a traditional Basque dance and a type of pie. | |||
| Catalan | alemany | ||
| The word 'Alemany' can also refer to the Alemany dialect group spoken in southern Italy, or to someone from that region. | |||
| Croatian | njemački | ||
| The word 'njemački' in Croatian can also refer to the German language or to someone who is from Germany. | |||
| Danish | tysk | ||
| The Danish word "tysk" originates from the Old Norse word "þýzkr", which originally referred to a people living in what is now northern Germany. | |||
| Dutch | duitse | ||
| Duitse is derived from the word "Duits", which means "people" in Old Dutch. | |||
| English | german | ||
| The word "German" can also refer to the language spoken in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. | |||
| French | allemand | ||
| In fencing, “l’allemande” refers to a guard position with the sword raised near the head. | |||
| Frisian | dútsk | ||
| Besides 'German', the word 'Dútsk' can also mean 'Dutch' in Frisian | |||
| Galician | alemán | ||
| Alemán can also mean 'wild' or 'outside of the cultivated land' in Galician. | |||
| German | deutsche | ||
| The word 'Deutsche' comes from the Old High German word 'diutisc', which originally meant 'the people'. It has evolved to mean 'German' but can also refer to 'the common people'. | |||
| Icelandic | þýska, þjóðverji, þýskur | ||
| The term "Þjóðverji" in Icelandic ultimately derives from the Gothic word "þiudisks", which also gave rise to the English words "Dutch" and "Deutsch". | |||
| Irish | gearmáinis | ||
| "Gearmáinis" is derived from the Latin word "Germanus", meaning "brother" or "closely related". | |||
| Italian | tedesco | ||
| Italian 'Tedesco' meant 'native of Tyrol' before coming to mean 'German' | |||
| Luxembourgish | däitsch | ||
| In the Moselle region, 'Däitsch' can also refer to the Franconian dialect of Luxembourgish spoken there, while in the rest of the country it refers to Standard German. | |||
| Maltese | ġermaniż | ||
| The word 'Ġermaniż' can also refer to a type of flower, a species of geranium. | |||
| Norwegian | tysk | ||
| The word "tysk" can also refer to the Danish island of Tycho Brahe, whose Latin name is "insula Tychonis". | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | alemão | ||
| The word "alemão" (German) in Portuguese has other meanings, such as "fool" (in Portugal) and "mute" (in Brazil). | |||
| Scots Gaelic | gearmailteach | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word 'Gearmailteach' is a phonetic adaptation of 'German' and is pronounced 'gear-mahl-teach'. | |||
| Spanish | alemán | ||
| The word "alemán" also means "mute" or "disabled" in Spanish, and is often used to describe someone who is unable to speak or move. | |||
| Swedish | tysk | ||
| Tysk is an abbreviation of tysker, the Swedish word for Germans, which stems from the Old Norse word for people. | |||
| Welsh | almaeneg | ||
| In Welsh, 'Almaeneg' ('German') is an amalgamation of the words 'all' (foreign) and 'man' (people). | |||
German in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | нямецкая | ||
| "Нямецкая" has a double meaning in Belarusian, referring to Germany and "mute" people. | |||
| Bosnian | njemački | ||
| In the past, the word "njemački" was also used to refer to the Ottoman Empire because the Ottomans' ethnic origin was not known for sure. | |||
| Bulgarian | немски | ||
| "Немски" in Bulgarian can also mean "mute" or "someone who cannot speak". | |||
| Czech | němec | ||
| The word "Němec" in Czech originally derived from "něm" - silent, with its original meaning being "the one who doesn't speak" in reference to German merchants who often didn't know Czech. | |||
| Estonian | saksa keel | ||
| The word "Saksa" in "Saksa keel" likely originates from the name of the Saxon tribes who inhabited parts of modern-day Germany centuries ago. | |||
| Finnish | saksan kieli | ||
| Saksan kieli is a Finnish calque of the Latin word "lingua Saxonica," which refers to the language of the Saxons, who were a Germanic people. | |||
| Hungarian | német | ||
| The verb "németek" in Hungarian can mean both "to become mute" and "to become German". | |||
| Latvian | vācu | ||
| The word “Vācu” in Latvian can also refer to a certain type of fabric. | |||
| Lithuanian | vokiečių kalba | ||
| In Old Prussian, "vokis" meant "a stranger", and "vokitan" meant "to speak a foreign language". | |||
| Macedonian | германски | ||
| The word "Германски" can also refer to the Germanic languages or the Germanic peoples. | |||
| Polish | niemiecki | ||
| In the Polish language, the word 'Niemiecki' is used not only as an adjective ('German') but also as a noun meaning 'a German person'. | |||
| Romanian | limba germana | ||
| The word "limba germana" can also refer to the English language in Romanian, as German was used as the language of trade and administration in Transylvania when the word was borrowed. | |||
| Russian | немецкий | ||
| The word "Немецкий" derives from the Old Church Slavonic term "нѣмьць", meaning "mute, barbarian". | |||
| Serbian | немачки | ||
| Originally "Немачки" in Serbian meant "unable to speak" rather than referring specifically to the people of Germany. | |||
| Slovak | nemecky | ||
| Alternately, "Nemecky" refers to the deaf and mute in Slovak sign language as German was the common language of instruction in schools for the deaf and mute in the former Czechoslovakia. | |||
| Slovenian | nemško | ||
| The Slovenian word 'Nemško' is derived from the old Germanic word 'Nemetes', which means 'the mute' or 'the foreigner'. This term was applied to the Germanic tribes by the Romans, who did not understand their language. | |||
| Ukrainian | німецька | ||
| The word "Німецька" has its origin in the Old High German word "diutisc," which was used to refer to the language and culture of the Germanic tribes. | |||
German in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | জার্মান | ||
| The word 'জার্মান' can also refer to a type of cloth made from a mixture of cotton and linen. | |||
| Gujarati | જર્મન | ||
| Hindi | जर्मन | ||
| जर्मन शब्द की व्युत्पत्ति लैटिन शब्द 'जरमानी' से हुई है, जिसका अर्थ है 'सच्चे लोग'. | |||
| Kannada | ಜರ್ಮನ್ | ||
| Malayalam | ജർമ്മൻ | ||
| Marathi | जर्मन | ||
| Nepali | जर्मन | ||
| The word "जर्मन" in Nepali can also mean "germs" or "bacteria". | |||
| Punjabi | ਜਰਮਨ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ජර්මානු | ||
| The word "ජර්මානු" (German) in Sinhala also refers to the German people and the German language. | |||
| Tamil | ஜெர்மன் | ||
| In Tamil, "ஜெர்மன்" can also mean "one who is strong" or "a warrior". | |||
| Telugu | జర్మన్ | ||
| The word "జర్మన్" (German) may also refer to the language spoken in Germany or to the people of Germany. | |||
| Urdu | جرمن | ||
| The word "جرمن" can also refer to a strong or powerful person. | |||
German in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 德语 | ||
| 德语除了表示德语外，还可以表示美德和道义。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 德語 | ||
| 德語在中文裡原意為"美德"，後借用為"德國"的名稱。 | |||
| Japanese | ドイツ人 | ||
| In Japanese, "ドイツ人" (German) can also mean "Doitsu-jin", referring to a person from the Japanese city of Doitsu in Aichi Prefecture. | |||
| Korean | 독일 사람 | ||
| 독일 사람 in Korean, pronounced as Dok-il-sa-ram, means "a person from Germany" but also has an alternate meaning, "a person with blonde hair and blue eyes." | |||
| Mongolian | герман | ||
| The word “Герман” also refers to an old Mongol name that was given to males and means “brave”. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဂျာမန် | ||
German in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | jerman | ||
| "Jerman" dalam bahasa Indonesia juga dapat merujuk pada "jerami" atau "rumput kering". | |||
| Javanese | jerman | ||
| "Jerman" in Javanese also means 'to make something worse', 'to deteriorate', or anything that worsens a situation. | |||
| Khmer | អាឡឺម៉ង់ | ||
| The word "អាឡឺម៉ង់" can also refer to a type of fabric or a particular shade of blue. | |||
| Lao | ເຢຍລະມັນ | ||
| Malay | bahasa jerman | ||
| In Malay, "Bahasa Jerman" translates to "German" but can also refer to the "German language" or "German people". | |||
| Thai | เยอรมัน | ||
| คำว่า "เยอรมัน" ในภาษาไทยยังมีความหมายว่า "ใหญ่โต" หรือ "แข็งแรง" ด้วย | |||
| Vietnamese | tiếng đức | ||
| Tiếng Đức còn có nghĩa là "mùi hôi" hoặc "vật có mùi hôi" trong tiếng Việt. | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | aleman | ||
German in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | alman | ||
| The word "Alman" also means "mute" in Azerbaijani. | |||
| Kazakh | неміс | ||
| The word "Неміс" can also refer to other Germanic nations, such as Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands. | |||
| Kyrgyz | немисче | ||
| Also referred to as "Нимыс", the word originated from the ethnonym of the Volga Germans of the 18th century. | |||
| Tajik | олмонӣ | ||
| Олмонӣ also means "free, liberated, independent" in Tajik. | |||
| Turkmen | nemes | ||
| Uzbek | nemis | ||
| In Uzbek, | |||
| Uyghur | german | ||
German in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | alemania | ||
| In Hawaiian, "Alemania" derives from the term "Alemaina", which referred to the country of Scotland. | |||
| Maori | tiamana | ||
| Tiamana is also the Maori word for the German state of Bavaria, after early immigrants from that region. | |||
| Samoan | siamani | ||
| The word 'Siamani' is thought to be derived from the word 'Germania' referring to Germany, or perhaps to the name of a 19th-century German settler family named Seemahn. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | aleman | ||
| The word "Aleman" in Tagalog is derived from the Spanish word "alemán". It can also refer to people from Germany or German-speaking countries. | |||
German in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | alemán aru | ||
| Guarani | alemán ñe’ẽ | ||
German in International Languages
| Esperanto | germana | ||
| Latin | germanica | ||
| "Germanica" derives from the Celtic "Germanus," meaning "neighbor, brother-in-law," and the Germanic "Germ," meaning "neighbor or relative." | |||
German in Others Languages
| Greek | γερμανός | ||
| The term originated in Latin from *Germānus, itself taken from a Celtic ethnonym; the root meaning is "neighbor", reflecting the fact that Celts living in Gaul considered *Germānus to refer to the peoples living just east of their territory, across the Rhine. | |||
| Hmong | german | ||
| Hmong derives the word “German” from the Chinese word 德意志 (Déyìzhì), which itself derives from the Latin word Teutonicus. | |||
| Kurdish | almanî | ||
| The word "Almanî" in Kurdish can also refer to the Alemanni tribe of Germany or generally to West Germanic peoples. | |||
| Turkish | almanca | ||
| Almanca kelimesi aynı zamanda 'dilsiz' anlamına da gelir. | |||
| Xhosa | isijamani | ||
| The word "IsiJamani" can also refer to something very good, especially if it is very modern or up to date. | |||
| Yiddish | דײַטש | ||
| The Yiddish word "דײַטש" not only means "German", but is also synonymous with "Jewish" when used in a religious context. | |||
| Zulu | isijalimane | ||
| IsiJalimane literally means "the language of the Jalimani tribe". | |||
| Assamese | জাৰ্মান | ||
| Aymara | alemán aru | ||
| Bhojpuri | जर्मन भाषा के बा | ||
| Dhivehi | ޖަރުމަނު ބަހުންނެވެ | ||
| Dogri | जर्मन | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | aleman | ||
| Guarani | alemán ñe’ẽ | ||
| Ilocano | aleman nga aleman | ||
| Krio | jaman langwej | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ئەڵمانی | ||
| Maithili | जर्मन | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯖꯔꯃꯅꯤꯒꯤ ꯑꯣꯏꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | german tawng a ni | ||
| Oromo | jarmanii | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଜର୍ମାନ୍ | ||
| Quechua | alemán simipi | ||
| Sanskrit | जर्मन | ||
| Tatar | немец | ||
| Tigrinya | ጀርመንኛ | ||
| Tsonga | xijarimani | ||