English words are everywhere in German, but they come with German articles, plurals and verb endings.
Walk into any German office, especially in IT or a start-up, and you will hear: Wir haben ein Meeting, die Deadline ist Freitag, ich bin heute im Homeoffice. English words are everywhere in German, in advertising, technology, business and youth culture. For you as an English speaker this is good news, but there are traps: anglicisms get a German gender, German plurals, German pronunciation and German verb endings.
Some words also look English but are used differently or do not exist in English at all, like Public Viewing or Oldtimer. Knowing the common anglicisms helps you understand colleagues, read job adverts and use them correctly, so that your German sounds natural rather than like a mix of two languages.
Learn every noun together with its article and plural. Use the flashcards to test yourself: the German word on the front, the meaning on the back.
| Word | Plural | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| das Meeting | die Meetings | meeting | Das Meeting fängt um zehn an. |
| das Team | die Teams | team | Unser Team ist sehr international. |
| der Job | die Jobs | job | Ich suche einen neuen Job. |
| das Homeoffice | die Homeoffices | working from home | Freitags bin ich im Homeoffice. |
| die Deadline | die Deadlines | deadline | Die Deadline für das Projekt ist Ende Mai. |
| das Feedback | die Feedbacks | feedback | Danke für dein Feedback! |
| der Workshop | die Workshops | workshop | Morgen haben wir einen Workshop zum Thema KI. |
| das Coaching | die Coachings | coaching | Die Firma bezahlt mir ein Coaching. |
| das Start-up | die Start-ups | start-up | Sie arbeitet bei einem Start-up in Berlin. |
| der Service | die Services | service | Der Service im Hotel war super. |
| das Event | die Events | event | Das Event findet im Rathaus statt. |
| der Newsletter | die Newsletter | newsletter | Ich habe den Newsletter abbestellt. |
| das Ticket | die Tickets | ticket | Hast du schon ein Ticket für das Konzert? |
| das Update | die Updates | update | Gibt es ein Update zum Projekt? |
| der Laptop | die Laptops | laptop | Mein Laptop ist zu langsam. |
| das Smartphone | die Smartphones | smartphone | Fast jeder hat ein Smartphone. |
| das Shopping | – | shopping | Shopping am Sonntag ist in Deutschland kaum möglich. |
| das Public Viewing | – | outdoor screening (pseudo-English) | Zur WM gibt es Public Viewing im Park. |
| der Oldtimer | die Oldtimer | vintage car (pseudo-English) | Mein Nachbar sammelt Oldtimer. |
| der Showmaster | die Showmaster | TV show host (pseudo-English) | Der Showmaster begrüßt das Publikum. |
| downloaden | – | to download | Kannst du die Datei downloaden? |
| canceln | – | to cancel | Wir müssen das Meeting leider canceln. |
| googeln | – | to google | Ich google mal schnell die Adresse. |
| chillen | – | to chill / relax | Am Sonntag chillen wir nur. |
| liken | – | to like (online) | Viele Leute liken seine Videos. |
| cool | – | cool | Das ist eine coole Idee! |
| fair | – | fair | Das finde ich nicht fair. |
| easy | – | easy (colloquial) | Die Aufgabe war total easy. |
Most English nouns become das or der: das Meeting, das Team, das Update; der Job, der Laptop. Often the gender comes from the German equivalent: die Deadline because of die Frist, die E-Mail because of die Post. Plurals usually end in -s, but words in -er stay unchanged: die Newsletter, die Oldtimer.
English verbs take German endings and conjugate normally: ich google, du chillst, wir canceln. In the perfect tense some forms are still unsettled: gegoogelt is standard, but for downloaden many people prefer the German heruntergeladen.
Formal letters and authorities use fewer anglicisms: write absagen instead of canceln and die Rückmeldung instead of das Feedback.
1. What does „das Event“ mean?
2. What does „der Job“ mean?
3. What does „liken“ mean?
4. What does „downloaden“ mean?
5. What does „googeln“ mean?
6. What does „das Team“ mean?
7. Which article does „Smartphone“ (smartphone) take?
8. Which article does „Homeoffice“ (working from home) take?
9. Which article does „Workshop“ (workshop) take?
10. Which article does „Ticket“ (ticket) take?
More vocabulary: False friends (English–German), IT and software, Remote work, Youth language.
Check any noun with the noun gender lookup, or browse the vocabulary index.
Original practice questions written by the Desi European Tales editorial team; they are not the official exam questions. Checked 1 November 2026.
Related: German vocabulary by topic · German B1 lessons · False friends (English–German)
