There are lots of lists of "untranslatable words" on the Internet - this one on the Guardian was widely shared last year, for instance. Typically, these are words that express some nuance or concept that English doesn't have a word for. Famously untranslatable German words include terms like Zeitgeist or Weltanschauung which have been incorporated into the vocabulary of English.
However, as fascinating as these strange, often bizarre terms are, they aren't typically the words that really cause difficulties when translating. Even when you can't simply use the German term in English, it's generally straightforward to gloss them at greater length or substitute them for a slightly more prosaic English term that does the job.
What I want to give here is an (obviously incomplete!) list of German words that, while not "untranslatable", certainly cause headaches for me as a translator. I'm not talking about obscure jargon where the problem is that I don't know what the words mean until I've done more research; instead, I'm talking about words where, even though I know what they mean in German, I have to agonise over on a case-by-case basis to judge how to express them in English.
However, as fascinating as these strange, often bizarre terms are, they aren't typically the words that really cause difficulties when translating. Even when you can't simply use the German term in English, it's generally straightforward to gloss them at greater length or substitute them for a slightly more prosaic English term that does the job.
What I want to give here is an (obviously incomplete!) list of German words that, while not "untranslatable", certainly cause headaches for me as a translator. I'm not talking about obscure jargon where the problem is that I don't know what the words mean until I've done more research; instead, I'm talking about words where, even though I know what they mean in German, I have to agonise over on a case-by-case basis to judge how to express them in English.
These fall into several categories.
1. Words that you wouldn't use in English
These are the words where the real question isn't so much how to translate them as whether to include them in your translation at all. They are words with direct English counterparts that are used in the same kind of way - but they are used far more in German and/or in contexts where you simply wouldn't use them in English. In German, they organise the flow and coherence of the text in a way that English doesn't demand, and replicating every single instance of them can be at best redundant and at worst disconcertingly odd. Of course, they can't all be eliminated; the trick is trying to judge when the words are serving a role or signalling an attitude that needs to be replicated in the English.
natürlich/selbstverständlich "needless to say", "of course"
nämlich "namely"
sozusagen "so to say"
sogenannt "so-called/known as"
im Rahmen "in the context of"
aber, doch "but"
auch "also", "even"
denn "after all", "for/since"
sowie "and", "as well as" (often used to divide lists: A, B und C sowie D, where English would tend to use "A, B, C and D"
2. Words that you wouldn't use like THAT in English
These are words that have an obvious English counterpart, but can be used in ways or contexts that the English words can't. These aren't false friends, words which mislead you into thinking they mean the same but don't really (for example, "aktuell" doesn't mean "actual", "Seil" doesn't mean "sail", etc.). These words do mean the same thing as their English counterparts, and they're even being used in the same sense - it's just that this sense is extended differently in the two languages. And it's precisely because they correspond so closely in sense to an English counterpart that it's hard to think of another word that captures that same sense and can be used in that context.
relevant
intensiv
überraschen/überraschend "surprise/-ing" (often used as a term of praise in advertising)
faszinieren/Faszination
interessant
charmant
Impuls
Thema "theme", "topic", "issue"
entsprechen(d) "corresponding", "to correspond"
3. Words with multiple meanings
Plenty of words in both English and German cover a wide range of different meanings. Usually, it's clear from context which meaning is meant in German, or else there's a corresponding English term. But there are some words that are a headache because any of a range of meanings could make sense in typical contexts:
Aufwand "expenditure" or "workload"
Leistung "service" or "performance" or "[social] benefit" or "payment"
belegen "prove/attest", "assign/allocate", "occupy"
Handel "trade", "commerce" but often used where English would talk of "retail" even though it strictly covers "wholesale" too
Komfort "convenience" or "comfort"
4. Accidental gaps in English
These are the infuriating words that seem quite close to how you should be able to express things in English, and that can usually be translated straightforwardly (though often leaving a slight feeling of dissatisfaction), but always require a bit of thought and sometimes simply refuse to work.
bei "at", "with", "in the case of"
gezielt "targeted", "focused" (often used as an adverb in German)
inhaltlich "in terms of content" (i.e. an adjective for "content")
Freigabe "approval", "clearance"
zwischendurch "in between times" (for instance, to "snack" is to eat "zwischendurch")
gestalten - "to shape", "to form", "to design"
schonend - "gentle", "protecting" (but often used adverbially)
inszenieren - "present", "orchestrate"
gelebt "lived (out)" (for instance, "gelebte Werte" - literally, "lived values")
fundiert "well-founded" (applied to knowledge or research)
Genuss "pleasure" (often used as an overarching category like "luxury")
ableiten "derive from"
abstimmen "to attune", "to decide"
verarbeiten "to process"
Angaben "information/details [that has/have been submitted]"
prägen "to characterise", "to mark"
durchsetzen "to assert", "to push something through"
unterwegs "out and about", "away from home", "en route"
Angebot "offer" (problematic in the sense of "what our company offers". You *can* use "offering" in very managerial English, but ...)
pflegen/Pflege "to care for/tend to/care"/"care [as a noun]"
umgehen mit/Umgang mit "to deal with/dealings with", "to interact with/interaction(s) with"
engagieren/engagiert/Engagement "to be committed to/to work in a way that expresses commitment to", "committed" "commitment"
betrieblich "operational"
Welt "world" (very frequently used as a suffix: a Markenwelt "brand world", Themenwelt "theme world", Erlebniswelt "experience world")
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