german guide
This is (I believe) all the uses of German in Weiß Kreuz. If you spot any I've missed, please email me! Also, my German's not bad, but I'm not a native speaker - corrections always welcome... and yes, I know not all of these are spelt the same way they're spelt in WK artbooks and such. It's not my fault if the WK artists/writers can't spell German... ^_^
I taught my computer to speak German! ^_^ If you see this: [click here for wav] click it to listen to how the word should be pronounced, in a proper German accent!
Abkunft ::::::::: Pedigree
[AB-koonft] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 11, Abkunft : Separating from the Spell. The pedigree in question is that of Reiji Takatori, to which Omi and Ouka both belong...
Abschied ::::::::: Parting
[AB-sheet] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 12, Abschied : Why?. The 'parting' of Omi and Ouka, of course.
Bruch ::::::::: Breaking
[broo-ch] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 13, Bruch : The Rain of Revenge. Weiß breaks apart as Aya quits.
Bruder ::::::::: Brother
[BROO-der] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 10, Bruder : The Dizzying Ties. Omi is coming to terms with the fact that Masafumi and Hirofumi are his brothers.
Duell ::::::::: Duel
[doo-ELL] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 15, Duell : Avenging Hunters, last ep of the first season. The duel is, of course, between Aya and Takatori...
Ende des Weiß ::::::::: End of Weiß
[end-e dess vice] [click here for wav]
The German title of the last episode (24), Ende des Weiß : Those of the Light. Don't need me to explain that one, do you? ^_^
Entführen ::::::::: Kidnap
[ENT-few-ren] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 7, Entführen : Rising Memories. Li'l Shouta-kun is the one who gets kidnapped, but Omi's remembering his own kidnap too.
Esset/Estet/Este See below: ß
Fliehen ::::::::: Fleeing
[FLEE-en] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 14, Fliehen : The Capital under Martial Law. The Weiß boys may appear to be running away, but it isn't for long...
Fort Laufen ::::::::: Absconding/Escaping
[fort-LAU-fen] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 2, Fort Laufen : A Cool Stampede. I'm assuming this is because Takatori escapes from Aya at the end of the ep.
Fräulein ::::::::: Miss
[FROY-line] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 6, Fräulein : Girl in the Shadows. That's Miss as in young woman, ojousan in Japanese, not as in the opposite of hit. ^_^ The girl in question is Sakura.
Freude ::::::::: Joy
[FROY-da] [click here for wav]
In episode 5, the addictive (and eventually fatal) drink that Yuriko gets hooked on is, ironically, called Freude.
Glühen ::::::::: Glowing
[GLUEE-en] [click here for wav]
The name of the new WK series! No obvious reason for the name as yet, other than the fact that it was the name of a Weiß concert tour... ^_^
Hn. I'm really not happy with the way my speech synthesiser program pronounces 'ü' The sound isn't 'GLOO-en', which I've heard people say far too often... If you want to get the sound right, try saying 'oo' as if you're feeling slightly sick. Better yet, find yourself a German and make them demonstrate. ^_^
Hell ::::::::: Bright
[hell] [click here for wav]
The leader of Schreiend, a scientist who's obsessed (like the other three) with Takatori Masafumi. I don't have any clever ideas about why she's called Hell; presumably it's a comment about her intelligence, unless it's a pun on the English word. UPDATE: Lexa, a German visitor to the site, says she thinks it might be meant to be 'Hölle', which does translate as Hell, and would be pronounced 'her-la' (but with a soft 'r', Americans! Like we Brits say it ^_^).
Common misspellings: Hel.
Krankenhaus ::::::::: Hospital
[KRANK-en-haus] [click here for wav]
The deeply ironic name for the organisation in ep 6 who are employed by Takatori Masafumi to steal body organs from young people for his experiments.
Kritiker ::::::::: Critic(s)
[KRIT-i-ka] [click here for wav]
The name of the organisation run by Takatori Shuuichi (aka Persia), who created Weiß. Manx, Birman and Botan are (AFAIK) the only other Kritiker members we ever see in the series. Kritiker are linked to the police department, and provide Weiß with their missions. The name suggests their role - they are the critics of society, the judges of good and evil. Also the German title of episode 17, Kritiker : Unnamed Honor.
Common misspellings: Krikiter.
Lockvogel ::::::::: Bait/Lure
[LOCK-foe-gel] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 1, Lockvogel : Feast of Bait. Michiru (the girl) is lured up to the mountain. And I suppose she's also bait to catch the killers...
Mitleid ::::::::: Pity/Compassion
[MIT-lite] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 22, Mitleid : When Colors Fade. The compassion is Nagi's, for Tot.
Common misspellings: Miteid. There is no word 'miteid' in German! So no, I don't know why they spelt it that way, in the episode title screen no less. *sigh* ^_^;;
Neu ::::::::: New
[noy] [click here for wav]
One of Schreiend, Neu is an enigma. She appears to be identical to Yohji's long lost love, Asuka, but is now completely under the spell of Takatori Masafumi, and is loyal to him until death. If she was Asuka, then her name makes perfect sense; she really is a new person.
Paradies ::::::::: Paradise
[para-DEESE] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 3, Paradies : Paradise is Hell. Paradise being the decadent li'l setup at Riot, presumably.
Raubtier ::::::::: Predator
[RAUb-teer] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 8, Raubtier : The Night of Wailing. The predator is the monster which Masafumi creates.
Recht ::::::::: Right/Justice
[RECH-t] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 20, Recht : The Arrow of Judgment. Justice- or lack thereof- is the theme for this ep, featuring a psychotic lawyer who knowingly gets criminals off the hook.
Rosenkrüs ::::::::: Rose Cross
[RO-zen-CROOSE] [click here for wav]
The name of the shadowy 'school for the gifted' attended by Schuldig and Crawford (at least) before the formation of Schwarz. Now there is no word 'Krüs' in German, but it's specifically spelt that way rather than 'Kreuz' (which would be pronounced differently: 'croytz') in all official WK literature. It has been pointed out to me that this is probably a reference to the Rosicrucians (which is Latin, not German). The 'Alter Mystischer Orden Rosae Crucis' (Ancient Mystic Order of the Cross of the Rose) is a semi-secret society quite similar to the Freemasons which was founded in the 1700s. It's suspected that they dealt in alchemy, kabbalah, and suchlike; so, considering WK's obsession with such things, it seems pretty likely to me that that's what they're getting at with 'Rosenkrüs'. Thanks hugely to Jeremia Johnson for this info!
Common misspellings: Rosenkreuz - see above.
Schatten ::::::::: Shadow
[SHAT-ten] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 16, Schatten : Return to Battle. I take it that they mean the shadow of doom, since this ep is all about the ß masterplan kicking in, and Weiß re-forming to fight it.
Schicksal ::::::::: Fate
[SHICK-zaal] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 5, Schicksal : The Fate of the Hunter. Ken has to decide his fate - with Weiß, or with Yuriko?
Schön ::::::::: Beautiful
[shern] [click here for wav]
One of Schreiend, Schön is an ex-supermodel who's obsessed with using Takatori Masafumi's technology to maintain her beauty. So her name's not too complicated, then. ^_^ (Incidentally, I suggest you listen to the wav file for how to pronounce this one - I haven't managed to describe the ö sound very well)
Schraube ::::::::: Screw
[SHRAU-ba] [click here for wav]
That's screw as in thing that holds bits of wood together, ecchi, not the other kind! ^_^ The German title of episode 23, Schraube : Everything for Love. Quite frankly, I have no idea why they called the ep that, unless it's to do with the threat of ß building up - 'tightening the screw', as in 'upping the pressure'. It is the penultimate episode... O.o
Schreiend ::::::::: Screaming
[SHRY-ent] [click here for wav]
The female assassin group created by Takatori Masafumi to rival Schwarz, and later to fight Weiß. Schreiend is comprised of Hell, Schön, Neu, Tot. Why they're named Schreiend is anybody's guess - they do spend a lot of time shrieking. ^_^ But seriously, they are all emotional disaster areas. Maybe that's what the name's about. Also, the name of episode 9, Schreiend : Everyone's Own Memories.
Common misspellings: Schreient (this one's not bad, it's a soundalike AND they spell it that way in the series), Schrient, Shrient, Shreint.
Schuld ::::::::: Guilt
[shoolt] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 18, Schuld : Farfarello. The theme of the whole ep is really one of guilt - not just Farf's, but Ruth's, and God's guilt for the wrong in the world, and so on.
Schuldig ::::::::: Guilty
[SHOOL-dich] [click here for wav]
For a bit about Schu's name, see below
Schwarz ::::::::: Black
[shvartz] [click here for wav]
The name of the bad guys; the assassin group who fight Weiß. Comprised of Brad Crawford, Schuldig, Farfarello and Nagi, Schwarz's name ('black') is a clear contrast with Weiß ('white'). They are opposites. In the manga (I'm told), Schuldig gives the group the name Schwarz as a joke, after they encounter Weiß for the first time.
Common misspellings: Schwartz.
Sehen ::::::::: Seeing
[ZAY-en] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 19, Sehen : Prelude to Madness. This is the ep in which Sakura sees Aya kill for the first time.
Strafe ::::::::: Punishment
[STRAA-fa] [click here for wav]
The second of the two Weiß Kreuz OAV episodes, Crime (Verbrechen) and Punishment (Strafe).
SZ/SS See below: ß
Teufel ::::::::: Devil
[TOY-fel] [click here for wav]
This one doesn't actually feature in Weiß Kreuz, but it's the name of my page, so... ^_^ Why did I call my page Teufel? Click here.
Tot ::::::::: Dead
[tote] [click here for wav]
The youngest member of Schreiend, Tot has the mental age of a 4-year-old after being abused by her father. She calls Takatori Masafumi 'Papa' and has a romance of sorts with Nagi. It has been kindly pointed out to me that I had her name mis-translated as 'Death', which would have been Tod not Tot. I'm not sure which one the writers were trying for, however, since WK's grasp of German is a bit on the flaky side. ^_^;; Either way, her name is kinda appropriate; 'dead' because of what her bad childhood has done to her, or 'death' because she's an assassin, though I've got to say I think it's hard to be scared of a girl with green hair who's threatening to stab you with her umbrella... ^_^
Common misspellings: Toto. (This one's because it's how the word gets pronounced in Japanese, but it always makes me think of the Wizard of Oz...)
Träne ::::::::: Tear
[TRAY-na] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 21, Träne : In My Memories. Weepy episode! Yohji is forced to kill the woman he loves... *sob*
Verbrechen ::::::::: Crime
[fer-BRECH-en] [click here for wav]
The first of the two Weiß Kreuz OAV episodes, Crime (Verbrechen) and Punishment (Strafe).
Verrat ::::::::: Betrayal
[fer-RAAT] [click here for wav]
The German name of episode 4, Verrat : An Execution of the Betrayed. Kase, of course, betrays Ken.
Weiß Kreuz ::::::::: White Cross
[vice kroytz] [click here for wav]
The name of the series! And of course the good guys' team, namely Aya, Yohji, Ken, Omi. White has connotations of purity and good (as opposed to Schwarz). Yohji has a white cross on his assassin's gear. (Weiß is also the name of the J-rock group formed by the four assassins' seiyuu).
Common alternative spellings: Weiss Kreuz. Weiss is a perfectly acceptable alternative to Weiß.
Common misspellings: Weib or WeiB. I appreciate that this is just because people don't realise that ß is a separate letter in its own right, but DON'T DO THAT! Weib is a word for 'woman' that you really wouldn't use in polite conversation in German. Makes me wince every time I see it. ^_^;;;
Wunder ::::::::: Miracle
[VOON-dah] [click here for wav]
The music that drives people mad in episode 19 is called Wunder X, though whether 'miracle' is the word I'd use to describe it I'm not sure...
ß ::::::::: n/a
[ESS-tzet] [click here for wav]
ß is the 'sharp s', the extra letter in the German alphabet. In words it's sounded like a double s (ie, Weiß and Weiss sound exactly the same); its name is pronounced the way SZ would be in German: ess(S)-tzet(Z). In the series, ß is the name of the shadowy organisation who command Schwarz (or at least think they do ^_^). It appears to be led by two old men and one old woman, and at the end of the series we see that there appear to be thousands of followers. I'm assuming that the use of this name for the bad guys is meant to refer to the SS, Hitler's elite troops who were in charge of the concentration camps, since the ß organisation is clearly associated with Nazism.
Common alternative spellings: SZ, SS, Esset, Estet, Este (this last because it's the name of Crawford's theme song. Presumably it's meant to be the same word)
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