However, the above examples are all fairly straightforward (and can be translated – as you can see). Wasserflasche (Wasser + Flasche) – Water bottle Sicherheitsdecke (Sicherheit(s) + Decke)– Safety blanketĪbfalleimer (Abfall + Eimer) – Rubbish bin Here are just a few examples, to give you an idea: This goes for many other German words, too. But in German, “tomato soup” is one word: Tomatensuppe. Perhaps the main reason for this is the way that German can combine nouns to create new words –thus using one word to explain something we would have to use an entire phrase for in English.įor example, in English we have to say “tomato soup” using two words.

German is a prime example of a language full of words that do not exist in English. Then I am often left wondering why we don’t have these wonderful words in the English language, too. I think my fascination stems from the question I ask myself when confronted with one of these words: Why does it exist in one language, but not in another? Sometimes, this is obviously for cultural reasons, but a lot of the time there seems to be no reason for it. I am fascinated by words which exist in other languages, but which we do not have in English.

Why are there german words in english