Are there any similarities between German and Middle English?

It has been rightly said, "If English is your mother tongue, then that makes German your uncle's tongue."

It can be a challenging task to learn a new language. The prominent reason behind this is we have tendency of focusing on the differences between the language that we know and the language we are learning. But, for the German learners, it can be little easier as it has a lot of similarities with the English language.

There is an ancient long-lost linguistic relationship between these two languages. Also, it is believed that the two languages were once the same—Proto-Germanic, which was spoken for thousands of years as one tongue. The invasion of Normans and other historical events led to the diversion of the languages from their present forms.

So, after the various historical events, many cultural, as well as linguistic changes, happened. Also, the words, phrases and grammatical rules in English that were somewhat complex and were not frequently used, started to become obsolete. In fact, we have been exposed to many German words unknowingly.

Below are some German words that are quite similar to the English language:

German: Maus -> English: Mouse

German: Hund -> English: Hound

German: Katze -> English: Cat

German: Vater -> English: Father

German: Mutter -> English: Mother

German: Schwester -> English: Sister

German: Bruder -> English: Brother

German: Tiger -> English: Tiger

German: Giraffe -> English: Giraffe

German: Affe -> English: Ape

German: Miau -> English: Meow

German: Elefant -> English: Elephant

German: schwimmen -> English: swimming

German: Schnee -> English: Snow