German letters with diacritic marks are often alphabetized as though they were a, o, u, and ss.
However, many dictionaries and gazetteers will alphabetize these characters as if they were ae, oe, ue, and ss.
Spelling
Because spelling rules were not standardized in earlier centuries, spelling variations are common.
Local dialect often affects the spelling in genealogical records.
In German records, the following letters are sometimes used interchangeably:
- p used for b
- a used for e
- t used for d or dt
- s used for z
- ck used for k
- y used for i or j
- v used for w or f
- k used for g
- tz used for z
- ig used for isch or ich
- t used for th
- u used for i
Examples:
- Freytag for Freitag
- Burckhart for Burkhard
- Waldpurga for Waldburga
- undt for und
Some common words used in Family History records:
| English | German |
| birth | Geburten, Geburtsregister, Geborene, geboren |
| burial | Beerdigungen, begraben, Begräbnisse, bestattet, beerdigt |
| Catholic | katholisch |
| child | Kind, Kinder |
| christening | Taufe, Taufen, Getaufte |
| confirmations | Konfirmationen, Firmungen |
| civil registry | Standesamt |
| death | Tote, Tod, sterben, starb, verstorben, gestorben, Sterbefall |
| father | Vater |
| husband | Mann, Ehemann, Gatte |
| index | Verzeichnis, Register |
| Jewish | jüdisch, Jude(n), israelitisch |
| marriage banns | Proklamationen, Aufgebote, Verkündigungen |
| marriage | Heiraten, Trauungen, Getraute, Ehe, Kopulation, kopulieren, verheiratet, Verehelichungen, Eheschliessungen |
| month | Monat |
| mother | Mutter |
| name, given | Vorname, Name |
| name, surname | Zuname, Familienname, Geschlechtsname, Name |
| parents | Eltern |
| parish | Pfarrei, Kirchspiel, Gemeinde |
| Protestant | evangelisch, lutherisch, Protestant |
| Reformed | reformiert |
| wife | Frau, Ehegattin, Weib, Ehefrau, Hausfrau, Gattin |
| year | Jahr |
Dates/Time
In German records, dates are often written out. For example:
Freitag den vierzehnten Februar achtzehnhundert sechs und dreißig [Friday, the 14th of February, eighteen hundred six and thirty (1836)].
To understand German dates, use the following lists as well as the preceding “Numbers” section.
Months
| English | German |
| January | Januar, Jänner, Hartung, Jenner |
| February | Februar, Hornung |
| March | März, Frühlingsmonat |
| April | April, Ostermonat, Osteren |
| May | Mai, Wonnemonat, Blütemonat |
| June | Juni, Brachmonat |
| July | Juli, Heuert, Heumonat, Heuet |
| August | August, Erntemonat, Hitzmonat |
| September | September, Fruchtmonat, Herbstmonat, Herpsten, 7ber, 7bris |
| October | Oktober, Weinmonat, 8ber, 8bris |
| November | November, Wintermonat, 9ber, 9bris |
| December | Dezember, Christmonat, 10ber, 10bris, Xber, Xbris |
A more extensive list of month names in German.
Days of the Week
| English | German | |
| Sunday | Sonntag | |
| Monday | Montag | |
| Tuesday | Dienstag | |
| Wednesday | Mittwoch | |
| Thursday | Donnerstag | |
| Friday | Freitag, Freytag | |
| Saturday | Samstag, Sonnabend |
Numbers
| Number | Cardinal | Ordinal |
| 1 | eins | erste |
| 2 | zwei zweÿ |
zweite |
| 3 | drei
dreÿ |
dritte |
| 4 | vier | vierte |
| 5 | fünf | fünfte |
| 6 | sechs | sechste |
| 7 | sieben | siebte |
| 8 | acht | achte |
| 9 | neun | neunte |
| 10 | zehn | zehnte |
| 11 | elf eilf |
elfte eilfte |
| 12 | zwölf | zwölfte |
| 13 | dreizehn | dreizehnte |
| 14 | vierzehn | vierzehnte |
| 15 | fünfzehn | fünfzehnte |
| 16 | sechzehn | sechzehnte |
| 17 | siebzehn | siebzehnte |
| 18 | achtzehn | achtzehnte |
| 19 | neunzehn | neunzehnte |
| 20 | zwanzig | zwanzigste |
| 21 | einundzwanzig | einundzwanzigste |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzig | zweiundzwanzigste |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzig | dreiundzwanzigste |
| 24 | vierundzwanzig | vierundzwanzigste |
| 25 | fünfundzwanzig | fünfundzwanzigste |
| 26 | sechsundzwanzig | sechsundzwanzigste |
| 27 | siebenundzwanzig | siebenundzwanzigste |
| 28 | achtundzwanzig | achtundzwanzigste |
| 29 | neunundzwanzig | neunundzwanzigste |
| 30 | dreißig | dreißigste |
| 31 | einunddreißig | einunddreißigste |
| 40 | vierzig | vierzigste |
| 50 | fünfzig | fünfzigste |
| 60 | sechzig | sechzigste |
| 70 | siebzig | siebzigste |
| 80 | achtzig | achtzigste |
| 90 | neunzig | neunzigste |
| 100 | (ein)hundert | (ein)hundertste |
More information and translations can be found on WikiPedia (link below or CLICK HERE)
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/German_Genealogical_Word_List