Germanic tribesman / German
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Germanic tribesman
A member of one of the tribes that lived in Central and Northern Europe in antiquity and during the Migration Period.
Der römische Geschichtsschreiber Tacitus beschrieb das Leben der Germanen.
The Roman historian Tacitus described the life of the Germanic tribes.
German
Colloquially, often jokingly or in an outdated way, a German person.
Er ist ein typischer Germane: groß, pünktlich und liebt Regeln.
He is a typical German: tall, punctual, and loves rules.
'Germane' belongs to the N-declension. This means it takes the ending '-n' or '-en' in all cases except the nominative singular. This is an important rule for many masculine nouns that refer to people.
Die Römer kämpften gegen die Germanen.
The Romans fought against the Germanic tribes.
In the historical meaning, you can recognize the word from context. It almost always appears in texts about antiquity, the Roman Empire, or the Migration Period, often together with words like 'Stämme' (tribes), 'Römer' (Romans), or 'Tacitus'.
In der Schule lernen wir über die Kultur der Germanen.
At school, we learn about the culture of the Germanic tribes.
The colloquial use for 'Deutscher' (German man/German person) is often joking, but it can also be perceived as outdated or overly nationalistic. In most situations, the usage is not neutral.
Er nannte seine Freunde im Scherz „die Germanen“, weil sie so pünktlich waren.
He jokingly called his friends 'die Germanen' (the Germans) because they were so punctual.
Celt
Germane and Kelte refer to members of different ancient peoples of Europe. A Germane belonged to one of the tribes of Central and Northern Europe, while a Kelte belonged to the Celtic peoples, who settled across large parts of Europe. The words are therefore not interchangeable.
Der Germane gehörte zu einem Stamm, der in Nordeuropa lebte.
The Germanic tribesman belonged to a tribe that lived in Northern Europe.
Der Kelte gehörte zu einem keltischen Volk, das in Europa siedelte.
The Celt belonged to a Celtic people that settled in Europe.
