Dutch and German: 37 words that are the same
Among the two thousand words each language uses most, these are written identically and carry the same meaning in both. If you have one of the two, this is the part you do not have to learn.
A shared word is not proof of a shared root. Two languages can land on the same spelling by borrowing from a third — that is all tren and bomba are — and a word that looks the same can still be said quite differently. What this list is good for is the head start. The capital letters are the one difference in spelling allowed here: German writes every noun with one.
| Word | In English | Dutch | German |
|---|---|---|---|
| wegnl /ʋɛx/de /vɛk/ | away | #97 | #128 |
| geld / Geldnl /ɣɛlt/de /ɡɛlt/ | money | #176 | #190 |
| oh/oː/ | oh | #179 | #84 |
| niemandnl /ˈni.mɑnt/de /ˈniːmant/ | nobody, no one | #184 | #301 |
| idee / Idee/iˈdeː/ | idea | #230 | #426 |
| morgennl /ˈmɔrɣə(n)/de /ˈmɔrɡən/ | tomorrow | #298 | #174 |
| minuten / Minutennl /ˈminytən/de /miˈnuːtn̩/ | minute | #377 | #389 |
| viernl /vir/de /fiːr/ | four | #392 | #509 |
| baby / Baby/ˈbeːbi/ | baby | #422 | #367 |
| nacht / Nachtnl /nɑxt/de /naxt/ | night | #457 | #215 |
| dollar / Dollarnl /ˈdɔlɑr/de /ˈdɔlaʁ/ | dollar | #471 | #634 |
| verlorennl /vərˈloːrə(n)/de /fɛɐ̯ˈloːʁən/ | to lose | #614 | #455 |
| achtnl /ɑxt/de /axt/ | eight | #705 | #885 |
| beidenl /ˈbɛi̯.də/de /ˈbaɪ̯də/ | both | #835 | #315 |
| hotel / Hotelnl /ɦoːˈtɛl/de /hoˈtɛl/ | hotel | #848 | #916 |
| boot / Bootnl [boʊ̯t]de /boːt/ | boat | #911 | #1,121 |
| oma / Omanl /ˈoː.maː/de /ˈɔma/ | grandma, granny, nan | #944 | #1,588 |
| armenl /ˈɑrmə/de /ˈaːɐ̯mə/ | poor | #951 | #986 |
| lachennl /ˈlɑxə(n)/de /ˈlaxən/ | to laugh | #974 | #841 |
| beidennl /ˈbɛi̯.də(n)/de /ˈbaɪdən/ | both | #1,005 | #567 |
| liegennl /ˈli.ɣə(n)/de /ˈliːɡən/ | to lie | #1,010 | #909 |
| brief / Briefnl /brif/de /ˈbʁiːf/ | letter | #1,023 | #1,053 |
| sheriff / Sheriffnl /ˈʃɛ.rɪf/de /ˈʃeːrɪf/ | sheriff | #1,088 | #1,277 |
| tante / Tantenl /ˈtɑn.tə/de /ˈtantə/ | aunt | #1,118 | #1,128 |
| liegtnl /ˈlixt/de /liːkt/ | to lie | #1,144 | #440 |
| held / Heldnl /ɦɛlt/de /hɛlt/ | hero | #1,163 | #1,676 |
| links/lɪŋks/ | on the left | #1,180 | #1,140 |
| professor / Professornl /ˌproːˈfɛ.sɔr/de /pʁoˈfɛsoːɐ̯/ | professor | #1,185 | #1,186 |
| energie / Energienl /ˌeː.nərˈʒi/de /eneʁˈɡiː/ | energy | #1,242 | #1,512 |
| glas / Glasnl /ɣlɑs/de /ɡlaːs/ | glass | #1,257 | #1,337 |
| rechtsnl /rɛxts/de /ʁɛçt͡s/ | on the right | #1,296 | #1,246 |
| bier / Biernl /bir/de /biːr/ | beer | #1,353 | #987 |
| restaurant / Restaurantnl /rɛstoːˈrɑnt/de /rɛs.toˈrãː/ | restaurant | #1,376 | #1,725 |
| jagennl /ˈjaːɣə(n)/de /ˈjaːɡən/ | to hunt | #1,695 | #1,689 |
| kunst / Kunstnl /kʏnst/de /kʊnst/ | art | #1,732 | #1,958 |
| interesse / Interessenl /ɪnˈtrɛ.sə/de /ˌɪn.təˈrɛsə/ | interest | #1,848 | #1,538 |
| highnl /ɦɑi̯/de /haɪ̯/ | high | #1,901 | #1,974 |
The speaker plays the voice the LangX app uses for that language — synthesised, not a native speaker, so treat it as a guide.
The overlap is the easy part.
The rest comes from using it with someone who speaks it.