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Donut vs. Berliner

English translation: doughnut vs jam doughnut

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Donut vs. Berliner
English translation:doughnut vs jam doughnut
Entered by: Stephen Sadie

15:43 Oct 18, 2009
German to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Cooking / Culinary
German term or phrase: Donut vs. Berliner
These are two separate items on a menu, how can i distinguish them correctly in English?
Help most welcome

TIA
Stephen
Stephen Sadie
Germany
Local time: 14:43
Donut vs Jam Donut
Explanation:
Maybe like that? I have seen "Berliner" or "Pfannkuchen" as we call them in Berlin translated as "jam donut".
Selected response from:

BirgitBerlin
Germany
Local time: 14:43
Grading comment
Thanks Birgit, this (with adapted spelling) fitted very nicely
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +8Donut vs Jam Donut
BirgitBerlin
4 +6leave as is!
Rolf Keiser
2 +1US donut and German donut
Clive Phillips


Discussion entries: 16





  

Answers


29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +8
Donut vs Jam Donut


Explanation:
Maybe like that? I have seen "Berliner" or "Pfannkuchen" as we call them in Berlin translated as "jam donut".

BirgitBerlin
Germany
Local time: 14:43
Works in field
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks Birgit, this (with adapted spelling) fitted very nicely

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Gudrun Dauner: Or Jelly Donut
40 mins
  -> Thank you. If this is for the UK, then it's definitely jam, not jelly.
agree  Trudy Peters: or "jelly-filled donut" (US)
45 mins
  -> Thank you!If this is for the UK, then it's definitely jam, not jelly.
neutral  Helen Shiner: This would not work for the UK, since a doughnut generally has jam inside it. Jelly in this context is also not suitable for UK. All of which may be completely irrelevant if for a US market!!//Comment on jelly in response to Gudrun and Trudy!!
57 mins
  -> Thanks for the photo compliment! Jam donut (or rather jam doughnut) would work in Britain. Thanks to "Dunking Donuts" and American police films a lot of people associate a ring donut with the word donut, and these don't have jam/jelly in them.
agree  Lancashireman: Please, not 'jelly': http://www.jellyandblancmange.co.uk/acatalog/info_15.html // I know. The remark was aimed at the US contributors above.
3 hrs
  -> I never wrote jelly. Helen broght this in! I wrote *jam*, which is perfectly fine for a UK audience.
agree  Elisabeth Kissel: Our local (in Australia) 'Donut King' sells 'jam-filled donuts'
4 hrs
  -> Thank you.
neutral  Nicole Schnell: "Donut" is a term that has been created by an ad agency for a particular manufacturer. I have no idea why this cutesy-spelling is supposed to be used in translations.//Linguists should be capable of distinguishing such things. :-)
16 hrs
  -> Maybe, but I stuck to the version of the asker.
agree  avantix: @ Nicole: because it is commonly used these days.
17 hrs
  -> Thank you, avantix.
agree  Lonnie Legg: By contrast with "jam donut" (sic--indeed, you probably have to comply with the source spelling), I think most diners likely will conclude correctly that the first is the ring-shaped version. And "jam", since its correct in both UK/US.
20 hrs
  -> Thank you, Lonnie.
agree  Birgit Gläser: Yup, some have a hole, some have a filling, but it's basically the same type of dough and production method. Spelling and construction to each one's taste ;-)
1 day 4 hrs
  -> Thank you, Birgit.
agree  Kim Metzger
4 days
  -> Thank you, Kim!
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50 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
US donut and German donut


Explanation:
Another tentative suggestion. In UK we would say doughnut. [Digression: Kennedy famously said "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a donut) at Rathaus Schöneberg instead of "Ich bin Berliner".]

Clive Phillips
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:43
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helen Shiner: or US donut and German doughnut!
48 mins
  -> Yes, looks good. Thanks, Helen.
neutral  Nicole Schnell: Please see my discussion entry.
13 hrs
  -> Thanks, Nicole. I see the spelling "donut" is contentious. Webster's recognises it: http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/doughnu... But for purists it's (still) unacceptable.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
leave as is!


Explanation:
a donut is a donut anmd a Berliner a Berliner. The latter has absolutely nothing to do with a donut, which has a typical hole in the middle - a Berliner does not. At the most a Berliner could be referred to as a "cupcake with jam" or "jam pastry".
Calling a Berliner a donut is like the US designation for "Swiss Pastry" which has absolutely nothing to do with Switzerland!

Rolf Keiser
Switzerland
Local time: 14:43
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Trudy Peters: For a Berliner, you could add "jelly-filled do[ugh]nut" in parentheses. That's what they're called in the US.
13 mins
  -> Thanks, Trudy. Vde. also my comment on Swiss Pastry.
agree  Ingrid Moore
18 mins
  -> Thanks, Ingrid
neutral  Helen Shiner: In the Uk a doughnut has jam within it and may or may not be a ring.//We do not distinguish between donut and doughnut, though in the UK. Just looks like a choice of spelling for effect, or a mis-spelling.
29 mins
  -> then it's not a doughnut in the original, culinary sense!
agree  Rosa Paredes: Absolutely! They are not the same.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, rosa
agree  Monika Elisabeth Sieger
15 hrs
  -> Thanks, sivara
agree  Jon Reynolds
16 hrs
  -> Thanks, Jon
agree  Michael Sieger: They call everything(!) a "Doghnut" http://www.krispykreme.com/varieties.html#
17 hrs
  -> Thanks, Michael
agree  Veronika McLaren
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Veronika
agree  vptrans: What is all the haggling about a spelling "error" on doughnut or donut about! Spelling in both cases correct! He is looking for a term! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_(pastry)
1 day 2 hrs
  -> right you are! Thanks, vptrans.
disagree  Birgit Gläser: Even Dunkin offers donuts with cream or jam fillings while outside Germany nobody will know what a "Berliner" is (except a reference to JFK maybe). Also it is not a cupcake (=Rührteig), but made from yeast dough and deep-fried.
1 day 4 hrs
disagree  Lancashireman: With BG. I am equally mystified by the references to cup cakes and Swiss Pastry. Also, puzzled by the rush to endorse ‘Do not translate’ here. IMO, this option rarely qualifies as ‘most helpful’.
1 day 7 hrs
  -> By the same token, what you offer as a translation for "sushi"?
disagree  Steve Poynter: A berliner is a jam doughnut, at least in British English. http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=jam doughnut&oe=utf-8&rl...
1 day 21 hrs
agree  Daniela Hubrich: ja - lassen. Wenn kein Mensch weiß, was das ist, muss er fragen. Berliner werden in heißem Fett gebacken und Donuts in der Maschine oder im Backofen. Außerdem sind echte Berliner nicht mit jam gefüllt, sondern ursprünglich mit Zwetschgenmus.
2 days 10 mins
  -> Danke Danjela - auch für den positiven Input.
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