Hi @SKrausser, old post but what about “die Übergangsjacke” ?..a jacket you can wear between the seasons. Too warm for summer, but not warm enough for winter.
Does this word exist in any other language? 
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Mhm, I don’t think so.
Maybe it’s another German word which makes it into the English language? 
Sure, I already imagine how English natives try to pronounce it
…I’ll ask the next student to pronounce the word 
Have you ever hear the word “Spaßbremse”? 
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Another beautiful German word:
die Karteileiche
What could this word mean? Anyone has an idea?
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I’m from Germany and my favorite word in german is Fernweh
A longing for distant places. It describes being “homesick for a place you’ve never been.” Homesick is a word we all know (in German: Das Heimweh), and Fernweh is the exact opposite.
I couldn’t find any word in English that describes this feeling so precisely.
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I had so much fun reading all these great comments! 
Two words that are pretty unique and only exist in German (as far as I know) are…
- Kopfkino
= “Cinema in your head”, when someone tells you a story and you picture it in your head like a movie - Ohrwurm
= “earworm”, a song or melody you just cannot get out of your head
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I also love those moments when you teach a student a new word and they absolutely adore it 
A few days ago, I introduced one of my students to “Schokoladenseite” (someone’s best side) and he just loved it 
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Do you know “die eierlegende Wollmilchsau”? A extremely funny expression 
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My favorite word in German is ‘die Libelle.’ Still wondering why, I guess because I expected dragonfly to be ‘Drachenfliege’ 
and instead was pleasantly surprised to hear ‘Libelle.’
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“Frühjahrsmüdigkeit” 
= springtime lethargy
…how fit are you these days around
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German is such a beautiful language, and yet somehow my favorite thing to say is ‘Auf jeden Fall’ I have a couple of favorite quotes in German though, for example: “Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt” It was one of the first quotes I’d ever heard in German and I wear it on my sleeve.
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Here I have two beautiful, new words for your list of “wonderful German words”
-
sich an etwas / jemandem sattsehen --> We use that expression when we see something (or someone) wonderful, awesome, gorgeous. --> Ich kann mich an dieser Landschaft nicht sattsehen. --> I can’t stop to watch this awesome landscape.
-
das Gschmäckle --> A word from my Swabian dialect, which is now well known in Germany. Originally, it means “a little smell”, but it refers to ethically or morally doubtful actions. --> Er hat keinen Fehler gemacht, aber das hat ein Gschmäckle.
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Das Wort “Gschmäckle” war zu Beginn meiner Beziehung mit meinem Freund (aus demRaum Stuttgart) leicht irritierend, ich bin froh, zu hören, dass es sich dabei wohl doch um eine gängige Formulierung handelt 
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My favourite German word is “Schatzi”, but that’s just because it’s me and my hubby’s “Kosename”.
In general, I love German compound words - they make for some really interesting literal translations (for example, “Leichenwagen”)
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Good point with the compound words 
They also make life easier in some ways. For instance, with specialised doctors: when learning English, you have to memorise all sorts of specific names for them (e.g., dentist, gynaecologist, dermatologist), while in German, you can often just stick together their area of expertise plus -arzt (e.g., Zahnarzt, Frauenarzt, Hautarzt).
However, some compound words are just plainly confusing – for example, “die Schildkröte” (turtle)
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You’re right! The English seem obsessed with creating a new word for every little thing (especially job titles!)
Funnily enough, I find “die Schildkröte” quite self-explanatory: it’s an ugly somewhat flabby thing (Kröte) with a shield but “Kaulquappe” - tadpole or “Pustekuchen” - literally blow cake, but figuratively a phrase to use when something didn’t work out:
- “Hast du das Exam geschafft?” - “Pustekuchen. Alles versaut.”
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