Learn German through English identical words list

Learn German through English: 15 German adjectives you already know

One of the reasons why German is a relatively easy language to learn for English speakers is because they both originate from the Germanic language family and therefore share similar vocabulary. So quite often if you know the English word, you also know the German word, because they are (nearly) identical in two languages. Whether you are an English native speaker or you speak English as a second language, the list of true friends in German and English can help you learn many new words fast.

I already wrote about false friends in German and English. False friends look or sound the same, but have a totally different meaning in two languages. True friends, on the other hand, have the same spelling and the same meaning in both languages. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the pronunciation, as it will be often different in German and English. If you are not sure, how to pronounce the German word, you can put it in Google translate and click the play button to listen to the pronunciation.

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15 adjectives with the same meaning in German and English

  1. bitter: bitterer Geschmack (bitter taste); Zitrone schmeckt bitter (lemon tastes bitter)
  2. blind: meine Katze ist blind (my cat is blind); Liebe macht blind (love is blind)
  3. emotional: emotionale Rede (emotional speech); emotional reagieren (to react emotionally)
  4. global: globales Wachstum (global growth); globale Wirkung (global effect)
  5. international: internationale Beziehungen (international affairs); internationale Bewegung (international movement)
  6. legal: legale Beschäftigung (legal employment); legale Einreise (legal entry)
  7. illegal: illegal arbeiten (to work illegally); was ist in Deutschland illegal? (what is illegal in Germany?)
  8. mild: mildes Klima (mild climate); die Winter sind hier mild (winters here are mild)
  9. modern: moderne Ausstattung (modern equipment); moderner Tanz (modern dance)
  10. national: nationale Identität (national identity); nationale Grenze (national boundary)
  11. neutral: neutrale Farbe (neutral color); neutraler Beobachter (neutral observer)
  12. normal: ein ganz normales Leben (an absolutely normal life); normaler Blutdruck (normal blood pressure)
  13. regional: regionale Speisen (regional dishes); regionale Küche (regional cuisine)
  14. warm: es wird morgen warm (it will get warm tomorrow); warmes Wetter (warm weather)
  15. wild: wilde Tiere (wild animals), wildes Leben (wild life)

There are many more words with the same meaning in English and German.  I tried to include only the adjectives that are most frequently used in this list.

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Do you know other words that are same in German and English? Do you want to see more posts about German-English true friends?

German English true friends 15 same adjectives


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One response to “Learn German through English: 15 German adjectives you already know”

  1. […] and English belong to the group of West Germanic languages and have many words with common language roots. Sometimes you can guess the meaning of the German word because it sounds almost like an English […]

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