English Words Borrowed from German

There are a number of words in modern English that have been borrowed from the German language. These are mostly words that were adopted in the United States and the United Kingdom starting in the 19th century. Let's take a look today at some food and beverage related English words that come from German.

Save them for a stir-fry or noodle bowl later in the week.

Caption 24, Rainbow Plant Life: 20 Minute Vegan Meals EVERYONE Should Know

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A noodle is a long thin strip made of wheat or rice and boiled in water. You often find noodles in Italian and Asian dishes. The noun "noodle" comes from the German word Nudel, which is pronounced the same too. Note that "noodle" is also a slang word for a foolish or simple person. Also, if someone says "use your noodle," it means to use your brain to think about something!

I've got five hundred grams of strawberries here... and I want to blitz these now.

Captions 4-6, Nigella's Recipes: Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

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The word "blitz" came into the English language during the German Air Force attacks on Great Britain from 1940 to 1941. The Nazi propaganda called their victories in those years Blitzkrieg, which means "lightning war." The Brits called the time of the German air attacks "The Blitz," and the word is still used in English today. Later, especially in the UK, "blitz" began to be used as a verb too. In the caption above, "to blitz" means "to mix food in a mixing machine."

I poured the old ginger beer down the sink.

Caption 6, Ed Sheeran: Supermarket Flowers

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Beer is an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink usually brewed from hops and malt. Ginger beer is non-alcoholic and tastes sweet and bit sharp from the ginger root that is in it. There is also a drink called ginger ale that is very similar to ginger beer.  Most people probably know that the English word "beer" comes from the German Bier, which is also pronounced the same.

She almost spilt her lager.

Caption 30, Pete Doherty: Last of the English Roses

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Lager is a style of beer developed in Germany. The original German word Lager comes from the word for  "storage," as the beer was originally brewed and stored in cool caves. The word "lager" has come to be used as a general term for beer, especially in the UK. Young men who drink too much and behave badly are even called "lager louts."

Later, the Germans arrived selling pretzels from delicatessens.

Caption 10, The History of English: American English

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Pretzels are a snack food, and a delicatessen is a small grocery store, sometimes carrying delicacies and other specialities. "Pretzel" and "delicatessen" come from the German words Brezel and Delikatessen, which are pronounced similarly to the English words. A literal translation of Delikatessen is "delicate food." In English, delicatessens are often called "delis" for short.

...pickled vegetables like sauerkraut or vegan kimchi.

Caption 35, Rainbow Plant Life: 10 Tiny Changes to Improve Your Cooking

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Sauerkraut is made from fermenting cabbage in salt. A literal translation of the German word Sauerkraut is "sour cabbage," and it's indeed very sour! As a note, kimchi is a very spicy fermented food that's a bit similar to cabbage but has hot chilis too. That word has been adopted by English from the Korean language!

Further Learning
See more English words derived from German on Wikipedia, then search for some of the words on Yabla English to see them used in different contexts.