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In German there is runterladen or herunterladen for the term to download.

Is there a common translation for the noun of download that could be used for translating i.g.

the amount of downloads available

or

How many downloads does this file have?

?

Edit 1: I am aware of the fact that Duden knows the word Download.

Edit 2: I am also aware that Download is a widely used word in German language.

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  • Wouldn't using the verb on a button make more sense than using a noun anyway? I mean the button initiates an action, right?
    – sepp2k
    Commented Jun 5, 2011 at 17:44
  • Ok, maybe the example is not that good. Another edit, here we go...
    – Ben Weiss
    Commented Jun 5, 2011 at 17:45
  • Is download used for the downloaded files too, those how must be checked by some anti virus software?
    – bernd_k
    Commented Jun 5, 2011 at 18:07
  • 1
    Sorry the new examples don't help to understand how you use the word download because you use it in context of talking about the word not in context of using it.
    – bernd_k
    Commented Jun 5, 2011 at 18:16

9 Answers 9

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15

I'm pretty sure there is no translation into a German word for the noun "download". Download has in fact become a loanword.

You could paraphrase it the following way though avoiding the noun.

Example:

There were 20 000 downloads the first day.

Translation:

Am ersten Tag wurde es 20 000 mal vom Server heruntergeladen.

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9
  • Actually, "herunterladen" is the 1:1 translation, but it's true that the English loanword is usually prefered over the translation. However, you'd say "Am ersten Tag wurde es 20'000 mal vom Server heruntergeladen" (not geladen), or a bit more colloquial, you'd actally mix-in the English into the "German" by building a participle --> "Am ersten Tag wurde es 20'000 mal vom Server downgeloadet" ;)
    – Quandary
    Commented Oct 28, 2013 at 11:42
  • @Quandary yes, heruntergeladen is more accurate
    – splattne
    Commented Oct 28, 2013 at 15:31
  • 1
    @Quandary Note that herunterladen is a verb, while download here is regarded as noun (yes, it's a verb, too). And for the noun there's still no German word other than Download as a loanword. "Am ersten Tag gab es 20.000 Downloads" thus could be an appropriate translation.
    – Em1
    Commented Oct 28, 2013 at 16:02
  • Das Wort steht sowohl für die Abrufe, als auch für die Dateien, je nach dem. Der Abruf dauerte 20 Minuten. Die Datei war 2 GB groß. Womit 2 mögliche Übersetzungen gegeben sind.
    – user unknown
    Commented Oct 29, 2013 at 11:51
  • Downgeloadet oder gedownloadet? Spätestens, wenn man anfängt, englische Wörter deutsch zu konjugieren, sollte man ein deutsches Wort benutzen. Zu Zeiten meiner Diplomarbeit hat ein Professor "downgeloadet" in der Diplomarbeit eines anderen Studenten während der Betreuung bemängelt --- und das war in Informatik, nicht in Germanistik.
    – Robert
    Commented Oct 30, 2013 at 18:38
7

Hier für 2 verschiedene Bedeutungen Übersetzungen des Wortes download als Substantiv.

Es gab 20000 Abrufe der Datei.

Das Heruntergeladene wurde auf Viren überprüft.

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  • 5
    "Das Heruntergeladene" sounds awkward in the extreme.
    – Eugene Seidel
    Commented Feb 11, 2013 at 18:29
  • 1
    @EugeneSeidel: Nimm Die Kopie/die Datei. Auch möglich: "Es wurde 20.000 mal gezogen." aber eher Jargon.
    – user unknown
    Commented Oct 28, 2013 at 16:56
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    Abruf ist eigentlich die perfekte Übersetzung in klassisches Deutsch für den Vorgang "Download". Leider ist diese Form stark in Vergessenheit geraten.
    – äüö
    Commented Nov 21, 2013 at 20:11
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to download sth. = etw. herunterladen

to upload sth. = etw. hochladen

the download = das Herunterladen, der Download

the upload = das Hochladen, der Upload

This link would be useful: http://www.leo.org/

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2
  • Ich denke, daß "download" im Deutschen angekommen ist. Man kann ja auch 'upgeloadet' und 'downgeloaded' sagen.
    – Steffen Roller
    Commented Feb 12, 2013 at 19:58
  • Sorry, nee, man kann meiner Meinung nach nicht upgeloaded oder downgeloaded sagen; siehe meinen Kommentar zur Originalfrage.
    – Robert
    Commented Oct 30, 2013 at 18:40
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You could use "das Herunterzuladende" for one download and analogously "Herunterzuladendes" for multiple downloads. So your (edited) example could be translated as "Die Menge an Herunterzuladendem". But frankly that sounds quite awkward. There really is no German translation for the noun download which does not sound more awkward than just using "Download".

However in many cases it might make sense to just use a more specific word than "Download". For example if you're talking about a website where you can download applications, you might just say "die Anzahl der Programme auf [Name der Seite]" instead of "Downloads".

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1
  • You will never hear or read "das Herunterzuladende" or "Herunterzuladendes" from a native German speaker. Download needs no further translation.
    – Fabian Schmengler
    Commented Feb 12, 2013 at 16:06
2

Most software, including Firefox, goes with Download as the noun.

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2
  • Yes, I am aware of that fact. But is there an appropriate translation for it?
    – Ben Weiss
    Commented Jun 5, 2011 at 17:40
  • 2
    @keyboardsurfer I don't think there is, which is why the loanword has been adopted.
    – misterben
    Commented Jun 5, 2011 at 18:32
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Download can be used as a so called "Anglizismus" in german. Basically, that means you don't have to translate it.

  • Der Download wurde auf Viren geprüft.
  • Am ersten Tag gab es 20 Tausend Downloads

Best regards from munich, germany ;-)

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0

If you use "Download" as a noun, germans will think you mean the Process of downloading something. For example:

"Die Datei gibt es auf der Website als Download." "Meine Downloads sind fertig." "Bei drei gleichzeitigen Downloads bricht die Internetverbindung zusammen."

in all contexts, the Noun refers to the Process and not the object of the process.

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1
  • No, also Germans would refer to the process as well as to the resulting file as "Download".
    – Toscho
    Commented Oct 28, 2013 at 18:07
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I would've thought download could just be unterladen (down-load) and downloads to be the same word with "den" prefixed or something like that, since it has "en" already, and can maybe work as plural and singular. My German isn't perfect, so don't take my word for it; I'm just giving off some thoughts of mine.

I usually use, for example: "Das ist ein Herunterladen." and people understand me just fine. Or, "Ich kann es herunterladen." if it's more of an action. Uhm, I think I'm with those that say you can just ambiguously say it.. in a sortof roundabout way. xD Hah. It's not perfect, at all, but it could work. Sorry to reiterate what you probably already know, but ho hum, there's my thoughts.

Ich fragte ein Deutscher Freund und er ist mal über das denken. xD Oke, leider er hat auch keine Ahnung, und so ziemlich sag dass du kannst einfach "download" sagen. -.- ...welche du schon gewusst. xD Mir leid!

Viel glück.

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  • 1
    I discourage the usage of das Herunterladen as a noun, because it's already used as a nominalization of the verb herunterladen. For example Das Herunterladen großer Dateien dauert lange is ok (nominalization) but Die Band bietet ihr neues Album als Herunterladen an. is not.
    – Deve
    Commented Feb 8, 2013 at 16:11
  • Die Antwort ist mehr ein Selbsterfahrungsbericht. Dass Ausdrücke verstanden und toleriert wurden heißt nicht, dass man sie empfehlen kann.
    – user unknown
    Commented Oct 28, 2013 at 16:59
-1

A noun for "download" or "remote file" is "Ferndatei".

Example: "Fehler beim laden der Ferndatei."

Example: "Die Ferndatei wurde 20 000 mal geladen."

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2
  • A reference for this rather unusual composite would be nice. Google shows less than 100 page hits for "Ferndatei", most of them being translations.
    – Takkat
    Commented Nov 12, 2013 at 20:44
  • i didnt say it is common. if you want a common word, use "Download". some existing errorcodes google found (Codes 148-150): contents.driverguide.com/…
    – KarlKante
    Commented Nov 16, 2013 at 15:15

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