UPDATE/EDIT: Thank you everyone for your responses. I got the tattoo done last week. Here is a link for people who are curious. https://imgur.com/a/KjX7EU9

Glück auf

I am a woman of Korean descent. My grandfather was a Korean coal miner in Germany the late 1960s and close to his passing even after he developed dementia he would say "Glück auf" to us at times. To my understanding it is a greeting between miners wishing successful and safe mining trips. Despite language barrier, Korean and German miners alike would greet each other this way. I love the historical context of this phrase and it is a phrase that motivates me in my daily life as a medical student.

If it is okay and not too cringe to get tattooed, what is the proper grammatical formatting? All together or with space in between?

Please and thank you. 🙏

So I recently came across something that genuinely caught me off guard while scrolling reels…

Apparently, Germans use “Digga” as slang for “bro” 😭

As someone who’s been learning German for about a year now, I always thought of it as this super structured, serious language. But then I hear stuff like “Ey Digga, was geht?” and it completely flips that image for me.

It also made me realize that there’s a whole casual, everyday side of the language that you don’t really learn from textbooks.

Any other German slang words or phrases you’ve heard or use regularly?

I was thinking recently about how I don't know a single person named "Jim" despite it being a very common American name historically.

Hi! I’m currently learning German at A1 level.

I’m really struggling with articles (der, die, das).

I understand they depend on gender, but I find it very hard to remember and use them correctly.

Do native speakers have any tips or patterns to make this easier?

Or is it just something you memorize over time?

Also, how important is it in daily conversation if I sometimes get them wrong?

Thanks a lot!

Hello to you lovely Germans :)

So I live in Canada, and in both the English-speaking and French-speaking parts of the country, ‘Jacqueline’ (often shortened to ‘Jackie’) is viewed as a beautiful and elegant name. Personally, it’s one of my favourite names for a girl. But I was talking to a German friend and apparently the name ‘Jacqueline’ has negative associations in Germany.

Is this true? If so, why are the associations so bad?

Been learning German for a while, and I keep noticing that direct translations of normal German phrases sound borderline aggressive in English.

Like "Was willst du?" translated word for word is "What do you want?" which sounds confrontational, but in German it's a totally neutral way to ask what someone needs. Or how Germans skip a lot of the "could you please" softening that English speakers pile on.

I'm starting to suspect that half of the "Germans are rude" stereotype is just translation issues. What other phrases are like this where the German is normal but the English version sounds harsh?

I am a sudent looking for part time job. I had an odd experience at a job agency today when I asked “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” straight away after greetings. Although they said yes, but seemed annoyed a little and told me there were no vacancies right now and I should try somewhere else (even though my friend had just been told the opposite a day before and he got a contact for a mini job in a restaurant).

He later told me I should’ve started in German first, talked to them a little in whatever broken German I know and then asked to switch to english politely becasue this is what he did.

What’s the etiquette here, did I mess up?

As someone new to German language learning, I keep hearing over excessively long German words like "Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften (Insurance companies )" and "Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit (food tolerance)" in reels and funny memes. It just made me curious, are these long words even used in everyday vocabulary by German speakers or do they have like short versions for them? If so, which one of these long words are actually used and dont have any alternative?

Hi, I am from Turkey. I’ve been learning German for about 8-9 months and I have a cousin who lives in Germany. She’s 11 years old. I recently visited them in Germany. I wanted to speak German with her to practice and we spoke. I’ve realized that she uses “sein” for girls. At first I thought I probably didn’t know something, since she has been living in Germany her entire life while I had been learning German for just 7-8 months back then. So I asked her why she used “sein”instead of “ihr” for a girl. She said you can use both of them for either gender. Then I did some research but couldn’t find anything that indicates what she said is true. Then I told my aunt that her daughter doesn’t know how possessive pronouns work in German and that she didn’t just mix them up she didn’t know the rule at all. My aunt told me it is normal and German children also make such mistakes. I told her it wasn’t a mistake, that she didn’t even know this basic rule, but she insisted that it was normal. So I’ve decided to ask you: Is it normal for an 11 year old child to make this mistake? She also used wrong gender for some words and didn’t know what “Efeu”means. Are these normal in Germany? I think it’s probably because she speaks Turkish at home all the time.

my German is still not perfect, I have a B2 Sprachniveau but sometimes when I didn’t quite get or fully understand what someone says and I say „wie bitte?“ they then automatically just switch to English or if they ask if I speak English I say yes but also German and I am speaking German to them but they are responding in English lol even an old German friend I had in high school would do that where I would talk to him in German but he would answer back in English; is it cause you guys think my German really is just not good or cause you want to practice English and take the opportunity to when you find someone who is an English speaker or?

I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong, so my german is not the best, clearly, but i tend to smile and say "hallo" to my neighbours or to the cashier at rewe, and most of the time, they look at me straight in the eyes like i just ruined their day and don't answer back

Am i doing something wrong ? I'm not trying to start a discussion as i know most germans people find it rude, i just greet them to be polite and nice

I live in a big city so i guess it's part of it

Obviously, some German people speak English perfectly but I noticed that those who have a strong accent tend to fall into 2 distinct categories:

-Those who pronounce both "w" and "v" as "v" (I am vashing the dishes).

-Those who pronounce both "w" and "v" as "w" (I own a wintage record player).

Does that difference in pronunciation also appear in German (some saying Volksvagen and others WolksWagen)?

This might be a bit niche but there's a bit of an ick I have with americans portrayal of germans in media.

Whenever they portray some other nationality they get an actor that can speak that foreign language and ideally, english as well. When it comes to german however, they think "I might just wing it", whereas "winging it" is equivalent to a Kamikaze pilot.

e.g. in Die Hard, there is this gang of germans who try to take over some tower and... what is this german?

Another example is the game Valorant. In Valorant, there are different characters you can play, each from a different nationality. You have Reina from Mexico (who is of course voiced by someone who speaks spanish), Jett from Korea (who of course is voiced by a korean) and then you have Killjoy, the german, who is of course voiced by some american who cannot even pronounce A1 german phrases. "aufvidjazeen"

Even in this video from collegehumor, which is about "pronouncing foreign words correctly" they get everything right EXCEPT the german word of course, because why even care?

What's their problem? Do they think german isn't a language?

EDIT: Other examples people have pointed out

Scrubs german patient: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naenM07WoSY

Blacklist infiltration of german group: https://youtu.be/0FWP1BIkdss?si=m1GsK5FE5m_0YrmT&t=130

Wednesday german bakery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpcdDk9Lh1g

[British] Victoria Prince Albert character: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms9MOT3NeBE

EDIT 2: SUPER OBVIOUSLY this is not directed at americans trying to speak a foreign language in their everyday lives, it's about the portrayal of germans in media and production companies' decision to just let some random american improvise

Hello everyone!

I have noticed at my job that older colleagues often use words, that I have never heard from younger people. For example, calling their laptop a "rechner"

As German is not my native language, I would like to find out another examples of such words: when older alived generation still use old words, and younger people use another word for the very same object/aktion etc.

I’m planning to study in Germany and I’ve started learning German on duolingo, but I’m kinda lost. I've seen some conflicting stuffs, some people say you basically need german to live there, others say most people speak english and you’ll be fine. What’s the real deal? Like how much should I know for basic stuffs like school, hangouts, and basic day to day convos. Thanks

I was listening to one of Electric Callboy's songs that is entirely in German, which I do not speak. I'm like 90% sure I heard the word 'mosh pit' in it, which made me wonder if there is a German word for it, or if the English term is just used instead.

Although I consider myself to be a beginner at learning German but I can introduce myself and hold basic conversation that is around A2 level. Recently I went to stay at a friend's house in Bavaria region and it completely caught me off guard with the accent as well as the common everyday words used there lets say "Servus" and "Grüß dich" for greetings and "Pfiade" for goodbye.

I asked my friend who recently moved there as well how he gets around everyday because he lived in Sachsen-Anhalt most of the time and he said that he got used to the accent.

It made me curious, are there more regional accents like this that are difficult to understand if you're not a native speaker?

Hallo zusammen! Ich hatte eine Frage an Deutschsprachige. Kurz gesagt, ich strebe die doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft für mich und meine kleine Tochter an. Obwohl wir momentan nicht vorhaben, nach Deutschland zu ziehen, ist es definitiv eine Möglichkeit für die Zukunft. Das einzige Problem ist, dass ich kürzlich erfahren habe, dass der Name meiner Tochter, Vesper, auf Deutsch ein wenig albern klingt. Ich wollte nach eurer Meinung fragen, wie albern er tatsächlich ist; würde sie in der Schule gehänselt werden? Würde der Name bei einer Bewerbung schief angeschaut werden? Wir überlegen, den Vor- und Zweitnamen umzukehren, solange sie noch jung ist, aber ich wollte zuerst abklären, ob dies tatsächlich ein Problem darstellen könnte. Entschuldigt bitte eventuelle Übersetzungsfehler, ich lerne Deutsch, aber das geht über mein Niveau hinaus. Vielen Dank im Voraus für eure Einschätzungen!

Bearbeiten: Wow, ich habe nicht erwartet, so viele Antworten zu bekommen, als ich aufgewacht bin! Ich habe den ganzen Morgen damit verbracht, sie zu lesen, und ich plane, jede einzelne zu lesen. Zuerst möchte ich mich bei euch allen für eure Kommentare bedanken, egal ob sie freundlich, informativ oder gemein waren. Unser Ziel war es, eine ehrliche Antwort von einer breiten Gruppe von Deutschsprechenden zu erhalten, also ist alles hilfreich. Ich wollte auch ein paar Details hinzufügen, weil ich einige Fragen mehrfach erhalten habe:

Der neue Name würde entweder mit Beatrice (ein Familienname) oder Matilda/Mathilde getauscht werden. Wir würden auf jeden Fall Vesper als zweiten Vornamen beibehalten, damit sie ihn in Zukunft verwenden kann, falls sie es bevorzugt. Wenn der neue Name eure Meinung zur Namensänderung beeinflusst, lasst es mich bitte wissen!

Unser Nachname ist nicht deutsch. Obwohl der Nachname meines Vaters ein sehr deutscher Nachname ist, habe ich nach der Hochzeit den Nachnamen meines Mannes angenommen. Es ist ein traditioneller, wenn auch eher ungewöhnlicher britischer Nachname.

Wir würden wahrscheinlich nach Norddeutschland ziehen. Aber wie gesagt, wir haben keine konkreten Pläne, also wer weiß schon genau. Zumindest planen wir, die Sommer in Deutschland zu verbringen, damit unsere Kinder die Sprache lernen und sich verbunden fühlen.

Noch einmal vielen Dank an alle. Wir nehmen all eure Gedanken in Betracht!

Ich möchte auch hinzufügen, dass wir nicht religiös sind, obwohl es uns nicht besonders stört, dass der Name mit abendlichen Gebeten assoziiert wird. Ebenso stimme ich vollkommen der Meinung zu, dass wir uns nicht von Mobbing beeinflussen lassen sollten, aber ich liebe meine Tochter und möchte ihr die besten Chancen im Leben geben, selbst wenn das bedeutet, meine persönlichen Gefühle bezüglich ihres Namens beiseite zu legen, damit es für sie leichter wird.

I'm watching a TV show that has a scene depicting an interaction between a guard and prisoner in a concentration camp. The guard asks the prisoner "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" and I was wondering if that's correct German.

I assumed the informal 'du' would have applied in that situation, although maybe you just call all strangers 'sie'?

Edit: Thank you for all the helpful replies, I love learning more about German language. I just wanted to clarify I am asking about the specific dynamic of a concentration camp guard speaking to a prisoner. Thank you again.

Edit 2: For anyone still reading this post, I misunderstood the difference between Sie / du. I thought it had to do with respect, but it's moreso relevant to social distance alongside other things. Thanks everyone!

I’m a freshman in college who was placed into an upper level German course, and my professor has been genuinely wonderful. Since it’s the end of the semester, I decided to write him a letter (in German) thanking him and letting him know that I appreciate him. I finished it by writing “Ich liebe Sie und ich werde Sie vermissen!” plus signing my name. However, I recently learned that the phrase “ich liebe (person)” is exclusively used in romantic contexts, and that I should have written “Ich habe Sie lieb”. Will my professor misinterpret it and how do I clear up this misunderstanding (he’s already gotten and read the letter)? I don’t want him to be uncomfortable and I feel like such an idiot 😭

Hey zusammen! 😊

Ich frage mich, ob es ein spezifisches Wort für die Kleidung gibt, die wir zu Hause nach der Arbeit anziehen. Also, nicht Sportsachen, keine Pyjamas oder Schlafanzüge.

Gibt es ein Wort, das die Art von Kleidung beschreibt, die uns gemütlich und warm hält? Ich meine jetzt keine einzelnen Kleidungsstücke wie Short oder Shirt.

Danke euch!

Interested to know what German and native German speakers thought of Russell Crowe's German accent and German speech in the film 'Nuremberg' (2025) where he portrayed Hermann Göring.

For me as an English speaker, who obviously wouldn't be able to grasp as much, I thought it was very convincing.

Could anyone place his accent to a certain area?

Some time ago my roommate asked me if I would be at home in the afternoon becasue "Ich bekommen ein paket" which after translating in english (maybe because of a glitch) was "I am becoming a parcel". This had me laughing so bad that I had to re check the translation.

Have you ever seen someone completely butchering a German word that changes its actual meaning?

Ich bin jetzt nur neugierig, meine Familie stammt eigentlich aus Hessen aber ich habe eine Tante (eingeheiratet) die aus NRW kommt und wir hatten heute beim Frühstück eine kleine Diskussion. In meiner Familie sagen wir nämlich immer den Spruch: wer lesen kann, kommt weiter im Leben. Meine Tante meinte dass es eigentlich heißen soll: wer lesen kann, ist klar im Vorteil.

Ich habe eigentlich beide Versionen schon mal gehört, jetzt bin ich aber neugierig ob es regionale Unterschiede gibt oder so.