Spanish Words of Germanic Origin

Quick Answer

In this article, we’ll discuss Spanish words of Germanic origin, such as brindis(toast), guerra(war), and kitsch(kitsch).

Questions This Article Answers

What are Germanic languages?

Are there Spanish words with Germanic origin?

Examples of German words in Spanish?

Brandenburg Gate Berlin

Introduction of Germanic Words Into Spanish

Germánico(Germanic) refers to the language family which includes alemán(German), gótico(Gothic), frisón(Frisian), inglés(English), neerlandés(Dutch), and the lenguas escandinavas(Scandinavian languages).

The Germanic tribus(tribes) were in contact with the romanos(Ancient Romans) for centuries. Germanic words found their way into latín vulgar(vulgar Latin) during times of peace and times of war. Some words entered Spanish directly when the visigodos(Visigoths) occupied the Iberian Peninsula, and Spanish borrowed words from nuevo alto alemán(New High German) during the 19th and 20th centuries, especially vocabulary related to psychology, science, and politics.

Adaptations, Calques, and Loanwords

A linguistic adaptación(adaptation) is a word or phrase taken from another language but adapted to the target language for phonologic, lexical, or syntactic reasons. For example, breeze is an adaptation of the Spanish word brisa.

A calco(calque) is a word or phrase translated literally into another language. For example, roadrunner is a calque of the Spanish word correcaminos (correr: to run + caminos: roads).

A préstamo lingüístico(loanword) is a word or phrase taken from another language and used in its original form. For example, patio is a loanword taken from Spanish.

Spanish Words of Germanic Origin

The following words are germanismos(words of Germanic origin adapted to Spanish).

Germanic	Spanish	English
Audawarduz	Eduardo	Edward
banki	banco	bench
bei Gott	bigote	moustache
Berliner	berlinesa	berliner
blank	blanco	white
bōtan	botar	to throw away
bring dir’s	brindis	toast
Bunker	búnker	bunker
bŭrgs	burgo	burg
Delikatessen	delicatessen	delicacies
faldan	falda	skirt
flaskô	frasco	jar
frĭsk	fresco	fresh
Friþurīks	Federico	Frederick
gans	ganso	goose
gart	jardín	garden
Haimarīks	Enrique	Henry
Hamburger	hamburguesa	hamburger
Hamster	hámster	hamster
harpō	arpa	harp
hĕlm	yelmo	helmet
Hrōþirīks	Rodrigo	Roderick
Kaiser	káiser	kaiser
Karl	Carlos	Charles
Kobalt	cobalto	cobalt
Nickel	níquel	nickel
Quarz	cuarzo	quartz
rauben	robar	to rob
raupjan	ropa	clothes
reiks	rico	rich
saipôn	jabón	soap
sal	sala	room
spaíha	espía	spy
sŭppa	sopa	soup
tappa	tapa	lid
thwahljô	toalla	towel
urguol	orgullo	pride
Walzer	vals	waltz
wante	guante	glove
warda	guarda	guard
werra	guerra	war
Wiljahelmaz	Guillermo	William
wĭthralaun	galardón	reward
Zeppelin	zepelín	zeppelin

examples
Tocó un vals en el piano para todos los que estaban en la sala. He played a waltz on the piano for everybody in the room.
Fue un espía durante la Guerra Fría. He was a spy during the Cold War.
Te dejé jabón y una toalla en el baño. I left soap and a towel for you in the bathroom.

Tubingen, Germany

Germanic Calques in Spanish

The following list shows Germanic calcos(calques) used in Spanish.

Germanic	Spanish	English
Antikörper ("anti body")	anticuerpo	antibody
Blitzkrieg ("lightning war")	guerra relámpago	blitzkrieg
Handball ("hand ball")	balonmano	handball
Kindergarten ("garden of children")	jardín de infancia	kindergarten
Übermensch ("above man")	superhombre	superman
Weltanschauung ("world view")	visión del mundo	worldview

Pretzel and bread

Germanic Loanwords in Spanish

The following list shows Germanic préstamos lingüísticos(loanwords) used in Spanish.

Spanish	English	Notes
Bundesliga	Bundesliga	German soccer league
kindergarten(Latin America)	kindergarten
kitsch	kitsch
leitmotiv	leitmotif
Luftwaffe	Luftwaffe	German airforce
Oktoberfest	Oktoberfest	"October festival"
poltergeist	poltergeist
pretzel	pretzel
Reichstag	Reichstag	Building that houses the German Parliament
schadenfreude	schadenfreude
zeitgeist	zeitgeist

* In German, all the words in the table above are written with a capital letter.

examples
Mi hijo empieza el kindergarten el año que viene. My son will enter kindergarten next year.
En el Oktoberfest tomé cerveza y comí pretzels. I drank beer and ate pretzels at Oktoberfest.
La decoración de este restaurante es kitsch. The decoration of this restaurant is kitsch.