Crochet Translation Project
U.S. Crochet Terms and German Crochet Terms 
Thank you to: Nyela D’Endel Wales, Sandy Neumann, Katja Rossberg and Nina for their help with these translations.
Please note updated terms have been included at the end of the post in a searchable manner. Each letter has been represented as best as could be using American English letters.
Please remember this is a work-in-progress and if you have any suggestions, corrections or terms to add – please send me a message or leave a comment so we can update the chart!
| U.S. Terms | German Terms |
| back Loop (BL) | hinteres Maschenglied |
| back loop only (blo) | nur hinteres Maschenglied |
| back post (BP) | hintere Reliefmasche |
| back post single crochet (BPsc) | hintere Reliefmasche mit festen Maschen |
| back post half double crochet (BPhdc) | hintere Reliefmasche mit Halbstäbchen |
| back post double crochet (BPdc) | hintere Reliefmasche mit Stäbchen |
| back post triple (treble) crochet (BPtr) | hintere Reliefmasche mit Doppelstäbchen |
| before (bef) | vor |
| beginning (beg) | Anfang / beginnen |
| between (bet) | zwischen (zw) |
| chain (ch) | Luftmasche (Lm/Lftn) |
| chain space (ch-sp) | Luftmaschenbogen (Lftm-Bg) |
| cluster (CL) | Büschelmasche (Baschelmasche) |
| continue (cont) | Fortsetzen/ fortlaufend / Weiter (Fortlfd) |
| crochet | häkeln |
| decrease (dec) | abnehmen (Abn) |
| double crochet (dc) | Stäbchen (Stb) |
| double triple (treble) crochet (dtr) | Dreifachstäbchen (Dreifach-Stb) |
| fasten off / bind off (fo / bo) | Faden abschneiden / losen |
| follow / follows / following (foll) | (be-)folgen |
| front loop (FL) | Vorderes Maschenglied |
| front loop only (flo) | nur vorderes Maschenglied |
| front post (FP) | vordere Reliefmasche |
| front post single crochet (FPsc) | vordere Reliefmasche mit festen Maschen |
| front post half double crochet (FPhdc) | vordere Reliefmasche mit Halbstäbchen |
| front post double crochet (FPdc) | vordere Reliefmasche mit Stäbchen |
| front post triple (treble) crochet (FPtr) | vordere Reliefmasche mit Doppelstäbchen |
| gauge | Maschenprobe |
| half double crochet (hdc) | Halbstäbchen (h.Stb) |
| increase (inc) | zunehmen (zun) |
| insert hook | Nadel einstechen (einfuhren) |
| join / join into ring | in den Ring arbeiten |
| last | letzte |
| loop (lp) | Schlinge |
| magic ring (MR) | Fadenring |
| next | nächste(s) |
| pattern (pat / patt) | Muster |
| picot (p) | picot (pi) |
| place marker (pm) | Maschenmarkierer |
| remaining (rem) | restliche/übrige |
| repeat (rep) | wiederholen (Wdh) |
| repeat from * to ** | wiederholen von * bis ** (Wdh v *..*) |
| reverse single crochet (crab stitch) | Krebsmasche |
| right side (correct side) (RS) | Richtige Seite / AuBenseite |
| right side (opposite of left) | rechte Seite |
| round (rd) | Runde (Rd) |
| row (R) | Reihe (R) |
| single crochet (sc) | Feste Masche (fM) |
| skip (sk) | überspringen/auslassen |
| slip stitch (sl st) | Kettmasche (Kettm) |
| space (s) (sp (s)) | Zwischenraum |
| stitch (st) | Masche (M) |
| stitches (st(s) or sts) | Maschen (M) |
| times (x) | Wiederholungen |
| together (tog) | zusammen (zus) |
| triple ( or treble ) crochet (tr) | Doppelstäbchen (DStb) |
| turn the work | die Arbeit wenden |
| work / make | arbeiten/machen |
| wrong side (WS) | falsche Seite/Rückseite |
| yarn over / yarn over hook (yo / yoh) | Faden um die Nadel schlingen (U) |
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Rhondda says
14/11/2018 at 4:21 PMHi Stacey, Fixed it! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 I’m going to go and double check the other ones too. I recently increased my font size on the site and it threw off the charts. Which I totally forgot were formatted differently! Have a great day 🙂 All the best, Rhondda
Stacey Newsome says
14/11/2018 at 11:12 AMHello,
I can’t get the two lists of terms to match up with each other. for example: right side (correct side) (RS) lines up with feste Masche (fM). And I read in one of the comments that fM is single crochet, if I’m not mistaken. Is there any way I can get a list that is correctly aligned, please.
Thank you, so much, in advance.
Rhondda says
18/05/2018 at 10:32 AMThank you Nina 🙂
Nina Mayer says
18/05/2018 at 12:33 AMHi yuwana!
Normally fm = fM = feste Masche = sc
Nina Mayer says
18/05/2018 at 12:25 AMyuwana: We need to know the (correct) pattern name! Normally fm = feste Masche = sc
Rhondda says
17/05/2018 at 6:09 PMWhich pattern please? The page you left the comment on is for Translations from German to U.S. crochet terms. If you are working from a “Google Translated” copy the fm may not be what was originally written in German. So please check the German copy of the pattern and let me know. Thanks, Rhondda
yuwana says
17/05/2018 at 3:40 PMWhat does fm mean in the hippo crocket pattern
Rhondda says
07/04/2018 at 11:26 PMHi Christina, I believe it means Cluster Stitch – but it would be specific to the crochet project. So hopefully it includes what type of cluster stitch is being used. All the best, Rhondda
Christina Miller says
07/04/2018 at 9:06 PMWhat would maschengruppe translate to? (Zusammen abgemaschte stäbchen)
Rhondda says
02/04/2018 at 2:42 PMHi Nina, I’m not sure – I do know sometimes translations online say knitted when they are in fact crocheted but this could be a knit pattern he is inquiring about. I asked on my FB page and they were able to provide the translations 🙂 Thanks! Rhondda
Nina Mayer says
02/04/2018 at 12:44 AMIch bin etwas verwirrt! Ist das jetzt gehäkelt oder gestrickt? Da es sich hier um Übersetzungen für Häkelbegriffe handelt, hätten Begriffe die das Stricken betreffen nichts zu suchen @ Andrew
Rhondda says
01/04/2018 at 6:05 PMHi Andy,
I asked on my Facebook Page and this is what they have given as translations:
Cast on 8 stitches
2 times yarn over needle
The pattern is knitted 8 times in the round to round 152.
Hope this helps 🙂 Rhondda
Andrew Mathison says
01/04/2018 at 3:27 AMI am trying to translate an old German Crochet pattern for a friend in the USA, I have checked on your German to English US crochet terms and several are simply not there. Would you be interested in adding the German words to your Dictionary of terms?
They are in context and my attempt at translation:-
8 Maschen Anschlag = 8 Stitch start block?
Doppelumschlagen = thread crossed over the needle twice for a stitch?
Der Mustersatz wird bis zur 152. Runde 8 mal in der Runde Gestrickt = the pattern will be knitted till the the 152 circle 8 times in a circle???
Thanks for any help
Regards
Andy
Rhondda says
29/12/2017 at 2:42 PMHi Stephanie, You can try copying the pdf into Google Translate but it often does not translate crochet terms 100%. You may want to do that and then go to the list of terms and cross-check the terms that don’t translate properly. The link to Google Translate is: https://translate.google.ca/ and under the first box on the left it gives you an option to translate a document. Hope this helps, Rhondda
khrystyna says
29/12/2017 at 2:32 PMhello, i have purchased a pattern and i cant seem to get it translated at all. is there a site i can go to get this done? im trying to make this for my mom as a puprise and i do not want to take forever to figure it out. its already late as a christmas present for her. thanks and hope that there is someone that can help me out. all i need are the terms to be translated for me into engligh crochet terms.
Rhondda says
12/07/2017 at 6:25 PMHi Melissa, The printfriendly button is on the page and should let you print a copy 🙂 All the best, Rhondda
Melissa McFail says
12/07/2017 at 2:45 PMI’d love to have a copy also please.
Stephanie Thompson says
31/03/2017 at 8:38 PM“Air mesh” and “air chain” are indeed literal translations of the German terms “Luftmasche” and “Luftmaschenkette.” This shows why human translators are still in business and machine translation is a poor substitute (lucky for me since I am a translator). The terms mean “chain stitch” and “chain” in crocheting.
Rhondda says
21/02/2017 at 7:52 PMHi Didi is this the google translation of the German term? is you computer browser trying to translate it? maybe it is making the air chain and air mesh out of the actual term in German. Can you check and see if you can find the German term instead? Thanks! Rhondda
Rhondda says
21/02/2017 at 7:49 PMHi Didi, I sent you a PDF copy of the terms – hope this helps! (by email). Rhondda
Didi says
20/02/2017 at 8:45 PMMay I ask, what’s the definition of “air mesh” & “air chain” that I found in a German pattern, translated to English? I have no idea what this “air” thing is. I found a list of German crochet terminology, but neither one is listed, so that’s out. Think you’ll be able to help me? I hope so. Thanks.
Didi says
20/02/2017 at 5:50 PMHow can I get the US & German crochet terms list side by side? Here the Vudu ad is in the way. Thanks.
Rhondda says
13/02/2016 at 9:07 PMThank you Nina! I will message you 🙂
Nina says
07/02/2016 at 3:35 PMHy!
I´m from Austria and I would say your Translation is quite good but I correct it 😉
If you want my Version mail me!
greetings
Nina
Rebecca Barton says
12/07/2015 at 1:07 PMI am learning German, so I have downloaded the US to German crochet terms. It is so useful to have a language in context. Plus if I see a nice crochet book on one of my trips to Germany I can buy it 🙂
Rebecca says
24/03/2015 at 3:59 PMwould like to know what the crochet words chopsticks, sticks and rod mean so i can figure out a german pattern.
Rebecca says
24/03/2015 at 3:58 PMi wanted to know what the crochet words sticks, chopsticks and rod are so i can figure out a german pattern.
Rhondda says
27/06/2014 at 11:28 AMHi Elizabeth,
Russian is a bit trickier I’m afraid. You can try Google Translate. Or maybe try contacting a Russian Designer – perhaps they also speak English?
I have a few Russian Translations available here: https://oombawkadesigncrochet.com/2014/05/russian-crochet-terms-and-u-s-crochet-terms.html
Sorry I cannot be of more help!
Rhondda
Elizabeth Matsosa says
27/06/2014 at 2:40 AMI am very interested in crocheting and my concern is when I cannot understand instructions in
either Russian or German. Thank you very much Rhondda for the above translation in English.
The other patterns are under Uncinetto in Russian
and my heart dies for them. Do you know of any procedure or any source that can help translate these? The refugee women at the Greenery Dwelling project will be very happy to keep busy.