What are Denglisch words?
Denglisch words such as Handy, Beamer and Homeoffice sound English but are German coinages or meaning shifts. Native speakers say mobile phone, projector and working from home instead.
- German Handy = mobile phone / cell phone — English "handy" means practical.
- Homeoffice = working from home — an English "home office" is a room in your house.
- Oldtimer = classic car — an English "old-timer" is an elderly person.
A2 · Idioms & Collocations · 10 minDenglisch, defused brick by brick.
A structured ten-slide lesson for A2 learners. First hear what Handy and Homeoffice sound like in real English, then meet twelve Denglisch words in three groups and practise their English equivalents across five interactive drills before a final six-question quiz. The whole arc is under ten minutes and nothing requires a signup.
- CEFR levelA2 · Elementary
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- SkillsVocabulary, Listening, Writing, Speaking
- Bricks10 blocks
01 / 06
What Denglisch is — and why exactly these words are dangerous
Denglisch is the informal label for the mix of German and English — and this lesson deals with its most dangerous variety: words that are completely normal in German, sound English, and still are not English. Linguists call them pseudo-anglicisms. Handy, Beamer and Basecap were built inside German from English material; Oldtimer and Public Viewing do exist in English, but they mean something else there. The trap is especially sneaky because it feels like the exact opposite of a normal vocabulary gap: you never sense that you are using a German word — it sounds English, so surely it must be English. That conclusion is exactly wrong. Say "I'll call you on my handy" on the phone, and your listener hears an adjective where a telephone should be. At A2 level you do not need a long list — you need the twelve words in this lesson, which cover the most common misunderstandings in phone calls, meetings and small talk.
02 / 06
Office and tech: Handy, Beamer, Homeoffice, Notebook
The first group follows you through every working day. The German Handy is a mobile phone in British English or a cell phone in American English — mobile or cell for short. The real English word handy is an adjective meaning practical or useful: "This app is really handy." The Beamer is a projector; in English slang a Beamer is a BMW, and that is exactly how the word will be understood. Homeoffice rewards precision: the way of working is called working from home or remote work — "I'm working from home today." An English home office is a room, your study, and the Home Office, with the article, is the British interior ministry. The Notebook needs care too: in English a notebook is first of all a paper notebook, and in everyday speech the computer is simply a laptop. Learn the four repairs as pairs: Handy → mobile, Beamer → projector, Homeoffice → working from home, Notebook → laptop.
03 / 06
Work and career: Mobbing, Shootingstar, Messe, Jobticket
The second group appears in conversations about colleagues, careers and business trips. German Mobbing is bullying in English, or more fully workplace bullying — talk about "mobbing at work" and English speakers will rarely understand you in that sense. The Shootingstar of your department is a rising star in English; an English shooting star is a meteor streaking across the night sky — a pretty image, but a very short-lived compliment. The Messe where you meet customers is a trade fair, or just fair: "the trade fair in Hanover". And the Jobticket cannot be translated in one word — explain it as a subsidised public-transport pass from your employer. Explanation sentences like this are not a detour; they are the solution. When a German word packs a whole concept that English has no single word for, a short description earns you more understanding than any word-for-word translation.
04 / 06
Free time and everyday life: Oldtimer, Public Viewing, Smoking, Basecap
The third group belongs to weekends and small talk — exactly where mistakes are noticed fastest. The Oldtimer in the garage is a classic car or vintage car in English. An English old-timer is an elderly person, so "my uncle restores old-timers" sounds as if your uncle refurbishes senior citizens. Public Viewing is the most famous trap of all: in American English, a viewing is often the visitation at which mourners say goodbye to someone who has died. The football match on the big screen is a public screening, or you simply describe it: "We watched the final on a big screen in the park." The Smoking you wear to an evening event is a tuxedo in American English or a dinner jacket in British English — English smoking is only the activity with cigarettes. And the Basecap is a baseball cap, or simply a cap. Four words, four chances to shine in small talk instead of stumbling.
05 / 06
Phone calls and video meetings: the repair sentences
You will meet Denglisch words most often on the phone and in video meetings — precisely where there is no time to look anything up. That is why it pays to learn a handful of repair sentences as complete chunks. Instead of "I call you on my handy", say: "I'll call you on my mobile." Instead of "I make homeoffice on Friday": "I work from home on Fridays" or "I'm working from home tomorrow." When the technology fails: "The projector isn't working — can everyone see my screen?" And when you are travelling: "I'm at a trade fair this week — can we move the call to Monday?" These sentences work because they translate the meaning, not the words. Add the quick test question: would a native speaker use this word? For meeting, team and laptop the answer is yes. For Handy, Beamer and Homeoffice it is no — and then you reach for the pair you have learned.
06 / 06
Denglisch or genuine anglicism? How to tell the difference
To finish, the all-clear: most English words in German office life are genuine anglicisms and work in English exactly as you know them. Meeting, team, manager, laptop, deadline, feedback — all safe English. You do not need to distrust every English-sounding word, only the short list in this lesson. The difference: genuine anglicisms were borrowed from English and kept their meaning. Denglisch words were built or re-purposed inside German — which is exactly why English does not recognise them. Here is how to defuse the traps for good: learn each word as a pair with its correction — Handy → mobile, Beamer → projector, Homeoffice → working from home, Oldtimer → classic car. Say the correct sentences out loud, because your mouth remembers them better than your eyes do. And repeat the quiz at the end of this lesson after a few days — only then will you see which pairs have really stuck.