List of German words from Indian languages
The German language has borrowed many terms from the Indian language area ( Hindi , Sanskrit and Tamil ), especially in the field of philosophy and religion , mostly via English with English phonetics .
Common word in German |
Indian original | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Avatar | अवतार, avatāra | The literal meaning is the descending and denotes a god who takes the form of a person or an animal (from Sanskrit) |
| Aryans | आर्य, ārya | The literal meaning is nobler (from Sanskrit) |
| Ashram | आश्म, āśrama | The word describes a monastery-like meditation center and actually means place of exertion . (from Sanskrit) |
| Ayurveda | आयुर्वेद, Ayurveda | The word describes the traditional Indian healing art and means knowledge of life . The word veda is originally related to the German word Wissen . (from Sanskrit) |
| bamboo | ಬಂಬು, baṃbu | The word came into German through Indonesian and Malay through English. ( Kannada ) |
| Bhagwan | भगवत्, bhagavat (Nom. Singing: bhagavan) | Bhagwan is the term for Lord (also God) in India and literally translated means: "the one who has happiness or bliss". In Germany, however, the term is mostly used for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh , who gave himself this title. (from Sanskrit) |
| bungalow | বাংলো , bāṃlo | The name for a low-rise house in the Bengali style was given by the British colonial rulers. (originally Bengali ) |
| Chakra | चक्र, chakra | Human energy centers, literally: wheel (from Sanskrit) |
| Chutney | चटनी, caṭnī | from English, spicy sauce of Indian cuisine (originally Hindi) |
| curry | from English, Kari means sauce (originally Tamil) | |
| jungle | जंगल, yesgal | The word for the tropical swamp forest comes from the Hindi in English. Jangal means wilderness there . |
| Dinghy | ডিঙ্গি / ডিঙি , ḍiṅgi / ḍiṅi | comes from English from Bengali: small boat that is carried on a larger ship or is attached to it. |
| guru | गुरु, guru | Spiritual teacher (from Sanskrit) |
| Himalayas | हिमालय, himālaya | Asian mountains, lit .: place of snow (from Sanskrit) |
| ginger | இஞ்சி, inchi | The kitchen spice gets its name either from the Tamil inchi (இஞ்சி) or from the homonymous Malayalam inchi (ഇഞ്ചി). |
| Kohl | काजल, kājal | Black paint (Hindi) used as a cosmetic to frame the eyes. |
| catamaran | கட்ட மரம் , kaṭṭa maram | In German a sailboat with a double hull. In Tamil literally: tree trunks tied together . |
| khaki | ख़ाकी, kh ākī | This Hindi adjective means dust or earth colored and goes back to the Persian hak (= dust). |
| copra | കൊപ്ര, koppara | Copra is the dried core of coconuts from which coconut oil is extracted. The name comes from the Malayalam and means dried coconut . |
| pen | कुली, kulī | This Hindi word means porter. The linguistic origin of the term seems controversial, however, as it is sometimes derived from the Chinese syllables kǔlì (苦力 = bitter force ). |
| Maharaja | महाराज, mahārāja | Maharaja literally means grand prince and is derived from the words maha (= great ) and raja (= ruler ). (from Sanskrit) |
| Mandala | मण्डल, maṇḍala | The word mandala comes from Sanskrit and means something like circle. |
| mango | மாங்காய் , {{{1}}} | derives from the Tamil or Malayalam word for the fruit and was adopted by the Portuguese. |
| Mantra | मन्त्र, mantra | The word mantra literally means "instrument of thought, speech" and in meditation describes a short sequence of words that is recited (from Sanskrit) |
| Nirvana | निर्वाण, nirvāṇa | To have reached nirvana is to have overcome the cycle of rebirth; literally: not to blow (from Sanskrit) |
| orange | नारङ्ग, nāraṅgaḥ | The word originally comes from Sanskrit and means orange tree . It reached German in chronological order via Persian nārang, Arabic nāranj, Spanish naranja, late Latin arangia, Italian arancia or arancio and old French orenge. |
| pagoda | பகாவடி, pagavadi | The word possibly comes from Tamil and means house of a deity . |
| pariah | பறையர், paṟaiyar | From parayan : member of an untouchable caste (originally Tamil: drummer ) |
| Pittas | పిట్ట, pitta | Family in the order of the passerines ( Telugu ); original meaning: little bird |
| Punch | पाँच, pāñc | The drink is named after its five (panc) basic ingredients. (Hindi) |
| Pajamas | पजामा, pajāmā ; also पाजामा, pājāmā |
The word for the two-piece pajamas was borrowed from Hindustani into English and from there into German; Ultimately, however, it is not of Indian but of Persian origin. |
| sari | सड़ी, saṛī | Garment for women (Hindi) |
| shampoo | चाँपो, {{{1}}} | The word probably comes from the Hindi chāmpo (चाँपो), in the imperative form “chāmpnā” (चाँपना / tʃãːpnaː /), “knead, massage”. |
| swastika | स्वस्तिक, svastika | The literal meaning of the swastika symbol is su = good and asti = it is; also "be happy" (from Sanskrit) |
| teak | தேக்கு, tekku | 30-40 m high trees with large leaves, the wood of which is well suited for ships, garden furniture and other things that must be weatherproof (from Tamil tekku , Malayalam: tekka and Kannada tegu ) |
| veranda |
বারান্দা , bārāndā वरण्डा , varaṇḍā |
Covered terrace, portico, gallery. The German borrowed this word from English from Bengali or Hindi, where it is probably itself a loan word from Spanish or Portuguese. |
| yoga | योग, yoga | The word is related to the German word yoke and means union, tensioning, harnessing (from Sanskrit). Yoga is an umbrella term for various paths and techniques that deal with the relationship between the individual and the divine. |
| sugar | शर्करा, śarkarā | The word comes from Sanskrit and literally means "sweet". It was borrowed as sukkar in Arabic and from there reached the European language area. |
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Henry Yule: Hobson-Jobson. A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive . Ed .: William Crooke. J. Murray, London 1903, p. 965–967 ( transcribed in the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia ).