Nice quiz, thank you! I'm German and have a few suggestions: I never heard the word "Stein" before I talked to native English speakers (German word would be "Maß(krug)". When I first read the word Dachshund (-hound) somewhere I had to look it up in a dictionary because I had no clue what kind of dog this might be (in Germany we call the breed "Dackel").
Alternatively, mug of beer could also be "Humpen". Interestingly, "Stein" seems to be a German word used in the English language for that definition, but not in German. To be fair, in Germany we also have an English borrow word like that: "Handy"! (German for "cell phone")
I am totally grasping at straws in response to you native Germans. Though, I believe the issue is that these words were "borrowed" and interpreted a long time ago. Where, Germany has several differing dialects, etc. I mean, 150 years ago, you all were completely separate principalities and differed, somewhat, immensely. Just my two cents, however. Please don't take it as the hard truth. I am just a history buff and no where near a native German. Had a German girlfriend in my 20s and only traveled from Frankfurt (am Main) to Landstuhl/Ramstein a few times for work. These do not qualify for much of anything.
This quiz is not about german words, but about English words *borrowed* from German. I also don't know Dachshund and Stein, but obviously they are used in English and obviously they are borrowed from German. Even if they are not used (anymore) in German!
Usually a borrowed word should be synonymous and not have a new definition. I doubt you would get anything but a rock if you ordered a "Stein" in a Wirtshaus.
I am yet another German and I agree with Dschinsasa, a loanword does not necessarily have to retain its exact meaning. Stein and Dachshund are obviously loanwords even if a different word is used in standard German. They still exist with the same meaning in German even if they are obscure or regional. There's nothing wrong with the quiz.
kitsch is a much better example of a loan word than verboten, fuhrer, or umlaut... just because a lot of English-speakers know what those words mean doesn't mean that the words are used in English.
I've never heard the word gesundheit actually said in everyday life. I saw it on a programme once, but other than that I'm pretty sure the majority of people say bless you. Gesundheit seems to be a bit vague.
A, E, I, O, U, Ä, Ö and Ü are Umlaute. The dots above are called Umlautpunkte e.g. There are some other names for them too.
I also don't understand the "German for above" part. "Deutschland über alles" probably refers to the National Anthem as it's a line but it actually means "Germany above all". Is "German for above" a thing? I mean I don't see a connection there.
Never heard of a Stein either but that's probably cause it depends on the region you're at how that mug is called. To me it looks like a Bembel, which is a mug for applewine though.
@tielenhei87 "German for above" is not a translation. It's the clue for this word. To be more understandable maybe it should be written like "German for above."
You mentioned the war once, but I think you got away with it. So, that's two egg mayonnaise, a prawn Goebbels, a Hermann Goering, and four Colditz salads.
Can you please not accept that. What should that be? Dachshund is a compound word consisting of Dachs = badger and Hund = dog, there is a small but distinct pause between the two words. Daschund however sounds more like an Austrian talking about the Kronen Zeitung.
Let's be real about this, Quizmaster - it's not that Sneaked is the 'correct' form. It's just that it WAS the correct and only form from around the 1500s. For the last 100-150 or so years, Snuck has been an accepted variant. This is simply a matter of BrE vs AmE.
I see people debating Stein....isnt this a viking word??? my grandfather spoke fluent german along with his native language, czech. He never taught me that beer mug was stein??? The rest was fun though...and easy because of my background :)
If you are going to accept the +e convention for Führer/Fuehrer, which is perfectly normal and acceptable in German (albeit a bit old-fashioned), please also accept it for Doppelgänger/Doppelgaenger and über/ueber. Für die Deutschen, die sich über die Bedeutung des Wortes „Stein" klagen, in den Vereinigten Staaten sagt man „Stein" als Kurzung des Wortes „Steinkrug". Ein Maß ist immer aus Glas gemacht. Ein Stein(krug) ist ein Humpen, der aus Steinzeug gemacht ist.
I could never quite get all the letters in the right order, not to mention that I kept adding a "t". I kept want it to be datschund or daschund. Close, but no weiner dog. 🐩
Regardless of its use in the expression 'Deutchland uber alles', the word 'uber' has, as the intro of the quiz makes explicit, 'sneaked (sic) into' the English language.
I am in Australia and I often hear it said when someone sneezes. I have also heard it said in England. I don't know from where it came into expressions originally, but probably in movies somewhere along the line.
What the hell is a "wiener dog"??? A dog from Vienna? A sausage in a bun? I am from Germany and I didn't get it. Still don't. Maybe it is an expression in Austrian (German)? If so, you should specify that. If it says that the words are from the German language, one would assume that you mean Hochdeutsch.
I know that a beer mug is referred to as a "Stein" in English (though I couldn't think of it in the quiz), but we don't call it that in German. It's known as a Krug, a Bierkrug or a Steinkrug. The latter is probably what the english word derives from.
Please remove "Deutschland über alles". it is not from the official national anthem. It is from a verse that is part of the song the national anthem is taken from, but you should never say these words in Germany, unless you want to identify yourself as a neonazi. This line is closely associated with Nazi Germany.
- Angst
- Weltschmerz
- Leitmotif (Leitmotiv in german)
- Kitsch
- Rucksack
- Schnaps
Whereof one can not speak, there of one must remain silent.
Most languages have an onomatopoeic response word to sneezing which itself sounds like a sneeze!
I also don't understand the "German for above" part. "Deutschland über alles" probably refers to the National Anthem as it's a line but it actually means "Germany above all". Is "German for above" a thing? I mean I don't see a connection there.
Never heard of a Stein either but that's probably cause it depends on the region you're at how that mug is called. To me it looks like a Bembel, which is a mug for applewine though.
And Umlaut still is a German word in English, even if the meaning slightly shifted.
Admission: snuck sounds better to me
Edit:ow yea also didnt get realpolitik. Never heard of it (and sounds more english than german to me, besides the k at the end ofcourse)
So it would be interesting to know if it is currently in a German dictionary as an own word or a borrowed one.
Also Dackel is 100 times more common in Germany than Dachshund 🇩🇪
Dachshund is even used on the memorial which was built for the german emperors (Wilhelm II.) Dachshund Erdmann.