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Language Detective 🕵️‍♂️

Decode German words! Trace them back to their English roots.

Consonants (High German Sound Shift)

EN DE DE → EN Linguistic Secret
t z / tz Zeit → tide/time German z corresponds to English t
t / tt ss / ß Wasser → water Inner/end t shifted to ss/ß in German
p pf / f Apfel → apple English p became pf or f in German
k ch Buch → book English k shifted to German ch
d t Tag → day English d corresponds to German t
v / f b Silber → silver German b often corresponds to English v
th d danken → thank English th shifted completely to d in German

Vowels & Diphthongs

EN DE DE → EN Linguistic Secret
ou / ow au Haus → house English ou corresponds to German au
long i ei Wein → wine German ei corresponds to English long i
ee / ea e / ie sehen → see German e/ie corresponds to ee/ea
oo u Buch → book German u corresponds to English oo

Prefixes & Suffixes

EN DE DE → EN Linguistic Secret
un- un- unfreundlich → unfriendly Perfect cognate prefix
for- ver- vergessen → forget German ver- corresponds to English for-
-ly -lich freundlich → friendly Adjective suffix
-ship -schaft Freundschaft → friendship Noun suffix
-er -er Lehrer → teacher Doer suffix (identical)