Gjimnaz
✗ Gymnasium
✓ Upper secondary / comprehensive secondary school
Albanian ‘gjimnaz’ is the non-selective upper secondary stage (grades 10–12) that follows the nine-year basic education: closer to a comprehensive school. The German ‘Gymnasium’, by contrast, is a selective school type starting at grade 5 that leads to the Abitur. Albanian parents who promise their child will go to the ‘Gymnasium’ often do not mean what German teachers hear.
Diplomë
✗ Diplom
✓ University degree / Bachelor / Master
An Albanian ‘diplomë’ is a university degree (Bachelor or Master). The German ‘Diplom’ was, before the Bologna reform of 2010, a standalone four- to six-year university qualification, today largely abolished. Anyone presenting an Albanian ‘diplomë universitare’ should specify ‘Bachelor of Arts / Science’ or ‘Master’, not ‘Diplom’.
Magjistër
✗ Magister
✓ Master
Same logic as ‘Diplom’: ‘Magister’ used to be a German humanities qualification, replaced by the Master under the Bologna reform. Today’s Albanian ‘magjistër’ corresponds to a Master of Arts or Science, and should be translated accordingly.
Pension
✗ Pension
✓ Rente (state retirement pension)
In Albanian, ‘pension’ refers exclusively to the retirement benefit (or to a nursing home). In German, however, the state retirement benefit is called ‘Rente’; ‘Pension’ is the civil-servant equivalent or a small family-run guesthouse. ‘Unë marr pension’ therefore becomes ‘Ich beziehe Rente’, never ‘Ich bekomme Pension’ (which would mean: full board at a guesthouse).
Akt
✗ Akt
✓ Akte / Dokument (administrative); not ‘Akt’ in the artistic sense
Albanian ‘akt’ stands for an official document or a legal act. German ‘Akt’ can also denote a legal act, but it has an additional, very salient artistic sense (Aktmalerei, Aktfotografie: depictions of the nude body). When ‘akt’ refers to an administrative document, the safe term is ‘Akte’ (feminine): the official file.
Avokat
✗ Advokat
✓ Rechtsanwalt / Anwalt
‘Advokat’ is archaic in modern German usage (still partly alive in Austria and Switzerland). The standard term is ‘Rechtsanwalt’, or ‘Anwalt’ for short. There is also the phonetic risk of confusion with ‘Avocado’ (the fruit), which can lead to misunderstandings in spoken contexts.
Fakultet
✗ Fakultät
✓ Fakultät / Fachbereich
Apparently identical, but modern German universities increasingly use ‘Fachbereich’ instead of ‘Fakultät’ as the administrative unit. ‘Fakultät’ survives mostly at classical full universities. For application paperwork, it is often more accurate to copy the exact term used by the target institution.
Kontroll
✗ Kontrolle
✓ Kontrolle (general) / Untersuchung (medical)
Lexically close, but the collocations diverge. ‘Kontroll mjekësor’ does not mean ‘medizinische Kontrolle’ (which sounds like a police check in German); it means ‘ärztliche Untersuchung’, or ‘Vorsorgeuntersuchung’ for routine screening. When booking with a GP, you ask for an ‘Untersuchung’, not a ‘Kontrolle’.
Praktikë
✗ Praktik
✓ Praktikum (work placement) / Praxis (medical office)
‘Praktikë’ can mean ‘praxis’ (professional practice), ‘Praktikum’ (internship) or ‘Übung’ (exercise) depending on context. German keeps these three fields cleanly apart: a study placement is ‘Praktikum’; a doctor’s activity is ‘Praxis’; the location of that activity is also ‘Praxis’. Anyone translating ‘praktikë mjekësore’ most likely means ‘Arztpraxis’, not ‘medizinische Praktik’.
Bibliotekë
✗ Bibliothek
✓ Bibliothek (public) / Bücherregal (private)
In Albanian, ‘bibliotekë’ covers both the public institution and a private bookcase at home. In German, ‘Bibliothek’ is almost exclusively public or academic; the piece of furniture is called ‘Bücherregal’ or ‘Bücherschrank’. Talking about a ‘family library’ calls for something more specific: ‘die Bücher meiner Familie’.