Let’s take a closer look at the two languages. First and foremost, German is a lot further away from French. Why? To begin with, German is a Germanic language alongside English, Dutch, Afrikaans, while French belongs to the family of the Romance language together with Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. To make it more simple, German and French doesn’t belong to the same family.
But these two languages have cool similarities from a lexical point of view. Some French words have been incorporated into German such as abstract concepts. For example, French words ending -té and German words ending in -tät, like “Nationalité” and “Nationalität”. Obviously, these words are taken over during those times when French was the international language of the aristocracy.
But before we move on to the list of words, let’s take a peek to the comparison between the French and German languages.
The Alphabet
Of course, knowing the alphabet is the first thing to do whenever we’re talking about a language. To make it easier to understand the similarities as well as the differences between the two languages, we will include “English” in our list. As we all know, the English alphabet has 26 letters. German and French use the same English alphabet, but with additional special letters.
In French, the basic alphabet has 26 letters with five diacritics and two orthographic ligatures. In German, the basic alphabet also has 26 letters with three diacritics and one orthographic ligature.
French English German
ah A ah
bay B bay
say C tsay
day D day
uh E ay
eff F eff
zhay G gay
ahsh H hah
ee I ee
shee J yoht
kah K kah
ell L el
emm M em
enn N en
oh O oh
pay P pay
kew Q koo
air R ehr
ess S ess
tay T tay
ew U oo
vay V fow
doo-blah-vay W vay
eeks X eeks
ee-grek Y irp-se-lon
zed Z tset
For the additional sounds in French and German:
French
Diacritics:
the acute (⟨´⟩, accent aigu)
the grave (⟨`⟩, accent grave)
the circumflex (⟨ˆ⟩, accent circonflexe)
the diaeresis (⟨¨⟩, tréma)
the cedilla (⟨¸ ⟩, cédille)
Ligatures:
Œ (o, e dans l’o or o, e collés/liés)
Æ (a, e dans l’a or a, e collés/liés)
German
Diacritics:
the acute (⟨´⟩, accent aigu)
the grave (⟨`⟩, accent grave)
the circumflex (⟨ˆ⟩, accent circonflexe)
the diaeresis (⟨¨⟩, tréma)
the cedilla (⟨¸ ⟩, cédille)
Ligatures:
ß (called Eszett (sz) or scharfes S, sharp s)
Upon looking at the chart above, you’ll notice the similarities between the French and German pronunciation of the alphabet, as well as their differences. You won’t have a hard time learning both alphabet pronunciations once you already know the English alphabet.
The Numbers
French and German numbers aren’t similar to each other. But it’ll be easy to recognize since they are pronounced quite similar — but totally different! (Did I make it sound confusing?) Check out this list and see how they’re different yet easy to identify.
French German
0 zéro null
1 un eins
2 deux zwei
3 trois drei
4 quatre vier
5 cinq fünf
6 six sechs
7 sept sieben
8 huit acht
9 neuf neun
10 dix zehn
11 onze elf
12 douze zwölf
13 treize dreizehn
14 quatorze vierzehn
15 quinze fünfzehn
16 seize sechzehn
17 dix-sept siebzehn
18 dix-huit achtzehn
19 dix-neuf neunzehn
20 vingt zwanzig
21 vingt et un einundzwanzig
22 vingt-deux zweiundzwanzig
23 vingt-trois dreiundzwanzig
30 trente dreißig
40 quarante vierzig
50 cinquante fünfzig
60 soixante sechzig
70 soixante-dix siebzig
80 quatre-vingts achtzig
90 quatre-vingt-dix neunzig
100 cent einhundert
101 cent un hundert eins
200 deux cents zwei hundert
1000 mille eintausend
2000 deux mille zwei tausend
1 000 000 000 un million eine Million
1st premier (ère) erste
2nd deuxième zweite
3rd troisième dritte
4th quatrième vierte
5th cinquième fünfte
6th sixième sechste
7th septième siebte
8th huitième achte
9th neuvième neunte
10th dixième zehnte
20th vingtième zwanzigste
½ une moitié eine Hälfte
⅓ un tiers ein Drittel
¼ un quart ein Viertel
Once une fois einmal
Twice deux fois zweimal
Thrice trois fois dreimal
The Genders
Let’s talk about the genders between these two languages. French has two genders (masculine and feminine) while the German language has three (masculine, feminine, and neuter).
There is no feature for the plural forms of these genders. But in German, there’s a case system that changes the article or the noun according to their function in a sentence. In this chart, nominative means the subject of a sentence, accusative if its the direct object, dative if its an indirect object, and genitive if it shows possession.
German
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative der die das die
Accusative den die das die
Dative dem der dem den
Genitive des der des der
French
Masculine Feminine Plural
le la les
French uses l’ for nouns beginning with a vowel and sometimes h, regardless of the gender. For example, l’ami (masculine, which means “the friend”) and l’hôpital (the hospital).
Indefinite Articles (A, An)
In German and French, the indefinite articles do not have any kind of plural form. In French, you will use des when indicating “some”. However, in German, you don’t need to express “some.”
German
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative ein eine ein
Accusative einen eine ein
Dative einem einer einem
Genitive eines einer eines
French
Masculine Feminine
un une
Vowels Pronunciation
The vowels in French and German are both pure.So when making the vowel sounds, make sure not to add extra -yuh or -wuh sounds which is a bit common in English slang. For example, make the sound “tee” not “tee-yuh” in the word “tee”.
R Sound
The German R sound is similar to the French R.However, the pronunciation changes depending on the location of the speaker. For example, the R sound in northern Germany is different from the R sound in southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
Stress
Let’s now talk about stress. I know that upon reading THIS part, you might be a bit stressed out on your language-learning. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright! (Fingers-crossed)
Moving on to the two languages, the stress in French falls on the last syllable and the opposite in German that has the stress in the first syllable. But French, anyhow, is a syllable-timed language — the rhythm is measured in syllables of equal weight. German, on the other hand, is similar to English. They are stress-timed languages so the stressed syllables take place regularly and the unstressed syllables are shortened. To make it clearer, the time required to pronounce a French word or sentence will depend on the number of syllables. In German (and English), the time required to pronounce a word or a sentence will depend on the number of stressed syllables.
Similarities Between the German and French Languages
We are all confused about a lot of things where German and French are similar from one thing to another — the culture, the people, and the language. You’ve probably heard some factors that they have similarities when it comes to the language. Well, let’s check out the awesome similarities between the German and French languages.
The chart below is the list of similarities in words between the German and French languages. However, make sure that you won’t ignore the differences in the spelling. Don’t worry, it’s easy to remember them anyway!
French English German
Accordéon Accordion Akkordeon
Adresse Address Adresse
Agressif Aggressive aggressiv
Alarme Alarm Alarm
Auteur Author Autor
Ballet Ballet Ballett
Café Coffee Kaffee
Calendrier Calendar Kalender
Caractère Character Charakter
Carotte Carrot Karotte
Chili Chili/chilli Chili
Comité Committee Komitee
Coran Quran (Koran) Koran
Galerie Gallery Galerie
Garantie Guarantee Garantie
Gril Grill Grill
Guitare Guitar Gitarre
Horizon Horizon Horizont
Koweït Kuwait Kuwait
licence license (US), licence (UK) Lizenz
littérature literature Literatur
Loterie lottery Lotterie
mécanique mechanical mechanisch
parlement parliament Parlament
plateforme platform Plattform
protocole protocol Protokoll
Qatar (Katar) Qatar Katar
ressource resource Ressource
Rhétorique rhetoric Rhetorik
Rythme rhythm Rhythmus
Squelette skeleton Skelett
Symétrique symmetric(al) symmetrisch
Tendance tendency Tendenz
Terrasse terrace Terrasse
Transfert transfer Transfer
yaourt, yogourt yogurt Jogurt, Joghurt
There you go! It’s so surprising to see those nearly identical words between the French and German languages, isn’t it? Take note again that these two languages don’t belong to the same family, but at least, they still have some sort of connection.
If you want to study both languages, the most effective ways are:
- If you’re French and knows English, it’s easy to study German. If you’re German and knows English, it’s also easy to study French. The English Language is your guide in learning these two languages.
- If you know English but doesn’t know French or German, you can easily learn any of these two.
- If you’re neither French or German and doesn’t know English, then you need to choose what language should you learn first, French or German… or English?
And now that we’ve finally talked about the similarities, here is the list of the basic phrases in French and German. This will easily help you see more similarities as well as differences between the two popular languages in the world.
English French German
Good morning Bonjour Guten Morgen
Good day/afternoon Bonjour Guten Tag
Good evening Bonsoir Guten Abend
Good night (going to bed) Bonne Nuit Gute Nacht
Hello / Hi Bonjour / Salut Hallo / Tag
Bye Salut / Coucou Tag / Tschüss / Tschau
Goodbye Au revoir Auf Wiedersehen
Thank you (very much) Merci (beaucoup) Danke (schön)
You’re welcome De Rien Bitte schön
Don’t mention it Il n’y a pas de quoi Nichts zu danken!
Please S’il vous plaît Bitte
How are you? (formal) Comment allez-vous? Wie geht es Ihnen?
How are you? (informal) Ça va? Wie geht’s?
I’m (really) good. Je vais (très) bien. Mir geht’s (sehr) gut.
I’m fine / OK. Ça va. Es geht.
What’s your name? (f) Comment vous appelez-vous? Wie heißen Sie?
What’s your name? (in) Tu t’appelles comment? Wie heißt du?
My name is… Je m’appelle… Ich heiße…
Where are you from? (f) D’où venez-vous? Woher kommen Sie?
Where are you from? (in) Tu es d’où? Woher kommst du?
I’m from…. Je suis de… Ich bin aus…
How old are you? Quel âge avez-vous? Wie alt sind Sie?
I’m ___ years old. J’ai ___ ans. Ich bin ___ Jahre alt.
Yes / No Oui / Non Ja / Nein
Do you speak … ? (f) Parlez-vous … Sprechen Sie…
Do you speak … ? (inf) Est-ce que tu parles … Sprichst du…
I (don’t) speak… Je (ne) parle (pas)… Ich spreche (kein)…
I (don’t) know Je (ne) sais (pas). Ich weiß (nicht).
Do you understand? (f) Comprenez-vous? Verstehen Sie?
Do you understand? (inf) Est-ce que tu comprends? Verstehst du?
I (don’t) understand Je (ne) comprends (pas). Ich verstehe (nicht).
Can you help me? (f) Pouvez-vous m’aider? Können Sie mir helfen?
Can you help me? (inf) Est-ce que tu peux m’aider? Kannst du mir helfen?
Of course. Bien sûr Na klar.
I would like… Je voudrais… Ich möchte…
Where is / are … ? Où est / sont… ? Wo ist / sind… ?
Excuse me Excusez-moi Entschuldigung!
Pardon me Pardonnez-moi Verzeihung!
I’m sorry Je suis désolé(e). Es tut mir leid.
Come in Entrez Herein
See you tomorrow A demain Bis morgen
See you later / soon A tout à l’heure / A bientôt Bis später / Bis bald
Mister / Misses / Miss Monsieur / Madame / Mademoiselle Herr / Frau / Fräulein
Nice to meet you. Enchanté(e). Angenehm.
Same here / likewise. Enchanté(e). Freut mich.
Pardon? Comment? Wie bitte?
How do you say … ? Comment dit-on … ? Wie sagt man … ?
What’s the matter? Qu’est-ce qu’il y a? Was ist los?
What’s happening? Qu’est-ce qui se passe? Was passiert?
There is / are… Il y a… Es gibt…
What is it? Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça? Was ist das?
Right? N’est-ce pas? Nicht wahr?
That depends Cela dépend Es kommt darauf an
I don’t think so Je ne crois pas Ich glaube nicht
I think so Je crois que oui Ich glaube schon
I don’t mind Ça me dérange pas Es macht mir nichts aus
It doesn’t matter. Ça ne fait rien Das macht nichts
I have no idea. Je n’ai aucune idée Ich habe keine Ahnung
I don’t care. Ça m’est égal Das ist mir egal.
I’m tired / sick. Je suis fatigué(e) / malade Ich bin müde / krank
I’m hungry / thirsty. J’ai faim / soif Ich habe Hunger / Durst
I’m cold / hot. J’ai froid / chaud Mir ist kalt / heiss
I’m bored. Je m’ennuie Mir ist langweilig
I forgot. J’ai oublié Ich habe vergessen
I have to go. Je dois y aller Ich muss gehen
Welcome! Bienvenue Willkommen
Let’s go! Allons-y Gehen wir
Good luck! Bonne chance Viel Glück
Bless you! A tes souhaits! Gesundheit!
Cheers! Santé! Prost!
Pay attention! / Be careful! Fais gaffe / Faites attention Paß auf / Passen Sie auf
Don’t worry! (inf) Ne t’en fais pas Keine Angst
Shut up! (f / inf) Taisez-vous / Tais-toi Seien ruhig / Sei ruhig
Congratulations! Félicitations Herzlichen Glückwunsch
Merry Christmas Joyeux Noël Frohe Weihnachten
Happy New Year Bonne Année Gutes Neues Jahr
Happy Easter Joyeuses Pâques Frohe Ostern
Happy Birthday Bon anniversaire Alles Gutes zum Geburtstag
Enjoy the meal! Bon appétit Guten Appetit
Have a safe journey! Bon voyage Gute Reise
Have a good holiday! Bonnes vacances Einen schönen Urlaub
Have a nice day! Bonne journée Schönen Tag noch
I love you. (singular) Je t’aime Ich liebe dich
I miss you. (singular) Tu me manques Du fehlst mir
Now let’s check how the days/months/seasons:
English French German
Monday Lundi Montag
Tuesday Mardi Dienstag
Wednesday Mercredi Mittwoch
Thursday Jeudi Donnerstag
Friday Vendredi Freitag
Saturday samedi Samstag / Sonnabend
Sunday dimanche Sonntag
January Janvier Januar / Jänner
February Février Februar / Feber
March Mars März
April Avril April
May Mai Mai
June Juin Juni
July Juillet Juli
August Août August
September Septembre September
October Octobre Oktober
November Novembre November
December Décembre Dezember
Spring le printemps der Frühling
Summer l’été (m) der Sommer
Autumn l’automne (m) der Herbst
Winter l’hiver der Winter
Afternoon l’après-midi (m) der Nachmittag
Century le siècle das Jahrhundert
Dawn l’aube der Tagesanbruch
Day le jour der Tag
Dusk la tombée de la nuit die Dämmerung
Evening le soir der Abend
What time is it? Quelle heure est-il? Wie spät ist es?
It is one o’clock Il est une heure es ist ein Uhr
It is five o’clock Il est cinq heures es ist fünf Uhr
It is noon Il est midi es ist mittags
It is midnight Il est minuit es ist mitternachts
half past five cinq heures et demi es ist halb sechs
quarter to five cinq heures moins un quart es ist ein Viertel vor fünf
quarter past five cinq heures et quart es ist ein Viertel nach fünf
What’s the weather like? Quel temps fait-il? Wie ist das Wetter heute?
it’s nice/beautiful il fait beau es ist schön
it’s bad il fait mauvais es ist schlect
it’s cold il fait froid es ist kalt
it’s hot / warm il fait chaud es ist heiß / warm
it’s sunny il fait soleil es ist sonnig
it’s rainy/raining il pleut es regnet
it’s snowy/snowing il neige es schneit
it’s windy il y a du vent es ist windig
it’s foggy il y a du brouillard es ist nebelig
it’s freezing il gèle es friert
It’s cloudy il fait nuageux es ist bewölkt
And for the directions, here is the list:
English French German
North nord der Norden
South sud der Süden
East est der Osten
West ouest der Westen
Northeast nord-est der Nordosten
Northwest nord-ouest der Nordwesten
Southeast sud-est der Südosten
Southwest sud-ouest der Südwesten
to/on the right à droite rechts
to/on the left à gauche links
straight (ahead) tout droit geradeaus
Upon reading this, you’ve probably noticed that there are several similarities and differences between the German and French languages. The key to learning these two languages is to know which one is the best for you.
