What are some composite German words such as "Schadenfreude" or "Sauerkraut" that are commonly used in English and with no English equivalents?
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1Before this question gets blitzed with comments and goes kaput, I'll point you to this list. :^)– J.R.Commented Apr 29, 2013 at 8:51
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1@J.R. Why would the question go kaputt!?– SpatzCommented Apr 29, 2013 at 9:01
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Because Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput, of course.– RegDwigнtCommented Apr 29, 2013 at 9:19
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@Spatz: I have a hunch it might get closed; it's a bit open-ended. Kaput, of course, was only meant to convey my hunch by using one of the words from the list.– J.R.Commented Apr 29, 2013 at 9:27
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Fahrvergnügen (from a VW commercial), Autobahn, Eigenwert, Zugszwang, Poltergeist, Hinterland, Blitzkrieg ...– René NyffeneggerCommented Mar 15, 2017 at 7:39
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1 Answer
- Zeitgeist
- Weltschmerz
- Doppelgänger
- Delikatessen
For the usage frequency of these over time, see here.
Also in a purely philosophical context, there is “Dasein” which is often left intentionally untranslated.
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@Mitch: But that’s not the origin of Delikatessen. Rather it’s derived from the French délicatesse (see also here). It doesn’t even work as a folk etymology, as Delikatessen would be pronounced differently, if it were a composite word. Commented May 20, 2015 at 18:56
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