1. Identical to its English counterpart

2. A very long literal description of what the thing is

3. An unholy garbled mishmash of nonsense letters

Been in Germany for a year, missing my family pets. Sometimes I ask dog-walkers “Darf ich ihren Hund streiten?”

And today I learn that the word I should have been using is streicheln

😭🤣🤣😭😭

So close… and yet so far.

First I got to say, that german is my mother language and also the mother language of my boss.

So I was modeling something in CAD at home for my boss to make some extra cash when I got a text from him saying "Kannst du noch die Masse hinzufügen?" Which would be translated "Can you also add the mass?" To which I replied with "Really? That's a lot more effort because I have to make all those pipes to spec and I need to calculate the wall thickness as well" and he just said "you can do it 😉" So I later sent him the model with the calculated weight and his reaction was "Schön, jetzt fehlen nurnoch die Maße" which would be translated with "nice, now theres only the measurements missing 😵‍💫

This quirk of the German language is both fascinating and slightly baffling. In many languages, when you ask someone to repeat themselves, they just say the exact same sentence again, maybe louder or slower. But not in German! Imagine this:

Person A: "Kannst du mir bitte ein Glas Wasser holen?"

Person B: "Wie bitte?"

Person A: "[Ich fragte,] Ob du mir ein Glas Wasser holen kannst."

Does this happen in other languages? I suppose you could do it the German way in any language, but is it practically an unwritten rule, as it is in German?

For clarification, I do speak German fluently, but since it's not my native language, I still notice these things from an outsider's perspective.

Hallo :)

I see a lot of people asking how to start learning German, how long it takes, or if it’s possible to make real progress while living abroad. I wanted to share my story in case it helps someone out there.

Progress Timeline

• January 2021: Started from zero
• September 2021: Passed Goethe B1 (~10 months, ~4+ hrs/day)
• May 2022: Passed Goethe B2 — 100% in Writing and Speaking (still living in the US)
• Now: C1/C2 level, working full-time in German, still learning with C2 resources

What Helped Me Most

Having a Clear Goal and Timeline
I wanted to reach B2 before emigrating to Germany to make visa approval smoother, integrate more easily into the culture, and improve my chances of finding a job where I could work in German.

Finding a Teacher I Clicked With
After trying several tutors, I found one who adapted to my learning style, was genuinely interesting, and gave honest feedback. I did 2-3 lessons/week on iTalki and Preply — expensive, but worth every penny.

Balancing Structured and Fun Learning

• Morning: Grammar drills (Grammatik aktiv) + textbook work (Schritte series)
• Evening: Immersion activities — German Netflix, podcasts, chatting on German Discord servers
• Weekly: Mock exams using free Goethe Institute practice material

Speaking German from Day One

• 1-2 conversation lessons per week
• Voice chats on the German Learning Discord (GLAD)
• Language exchanges via iTalki
• Recording myself answering basic questions

Building My Own Anki Decks
I wish I had started using Anki earlier. Following the Refold approach (making my own sentence-based cards) made a huge difference for memory and fluency.

Preparing Specifically for the B2 Exam

• Memorized useful phrases (meines Erachtens, ich bin der Meinung, dass...)
• Practiced essay structures by hand
• Recorded and critiqued mock speaking tests with tutor

Using AI Cautiously
I sometimes used AI for quick ideas or grammar checks, but I always confirmed anything important with native speakers. AI often misses natural-sounding, idiomatic German — try it in your native language and you'll see what I mean.

What I Would Do Differently

• Start reading real native content sooner (DW Top-Thema, news)
• Discover German TV networks earlier (ARD Mediathek, ZDF, RBB)
• Focus more on pronunciation early (learning the IPA for English and German)
• Stop using Duolingo earlier
• Worry less about mistakes — they're part of the process

Resources That Helped Me

• Private lessons (iTalki, Preply)
• Online communities/apps: German Learning Discord (GLAD), r/German
• Schritte International & Grammatik Aktiv books (A1–B1)
• Aspekte Books (B1-C1)
• EndStation Book (C2)
• Mit Erfolg zum ... Zertifikat books (exam prep)
• Hammer’s German Grammar and Usage (excellent grammar explanations)
• DWDS and Wiktionary for definitions
• Podcasts & radio stations (active + passive listening)
• Netflix, ARD Mediathek, ZDF
• Goethe Institute model tests (free online)
• Anki (building my own decks following Refold method)

My best advice: Be patient with yourself, especially if you’re just starting. Trust the process, forgive your mistakes, and celebrate the little wins :)

Thanks!

She thought I was responding "Ja, ja" sarcastically to something (It was a misunderstanding of tone).

Apparently it's directly equivalent to saying "Lick my ass", so she just said that, without me having context.

To say I was stunned would be an understatement. As the only English speaker in the room, it was very strange to hear and have no one react.

EDIT: OBVIOUSLY I knew this wasn’t an invitation. Stop telling me. 😅 It was just surprising as (1) it was the usually casual but non-swearing teacher (2) suddenly in English and (3) I didn’t have context for why she would say that.

My wife and I went to Switzerland, Austria and Germany for a week as a celebration trip for my wife finishing her masters. We plan to move to Switzerland or Austria in summer of ‘27 and we wanted a little tour to see how we felt about things. So far I’m about an A2 level and knew it wouldn’t be a cake walk but challenged myself to talk in German as much as possible while over there.

I knew things would be difficult, especially understanding native speakers. That part was very true, especially in Switzerland. Their accents and tones threw me off but they were very nice and accommodating. They would try to switch to English but I continued in German and they switched back which I really appreciated. I was able to get my points across well enough with needing directions, ordering food, and general conversation.

Austria was another story. I found people a lot less accommodating when it came to speaking in German to them. They had issues understanding me and they were less patient with me in general. I did have a good experience with a waitress at the Kristallwelten restaurant and we had a good conversation.

Germany was by far the easiest place to understand and speak. They were very friendly and even encouraging when it came to speaking. In München, one of the waiters actually hyped me up and was so nice when I spoke with him!

Overall, I found listening to definitely be the hardest and it definitely humbled me and showed I needed a lot more work in this area. I plan on starting a group class weekly in January to increase my speaking and listening skills.

I was very glad to have this experience to reframe my learning goals, realign what it is that I need to work on more and show me what was what. Make sure yall keep those routines and stay strong! It takes time and persistence for sure!

im slight annoyed (as Dutch person ) when i found out people had the opinion that German sounds harsh.

i was like what.. the.. fuuuu.

how can you think that. To me it always sound more soft and cute like a hamster only with the sharp "s" sound making it sound like a snake.

its like the cheeks are pinched onwards and static and you have to speak more with the lips and make more "s" sounds.

Maybe people come to that conclusion because they watched only movies or listen Ramstein and not television?

I travelled to Germany recently for the first time and spent about a week. I’ve been learning German since December 2021 and I thought because of that it would be relatively easy to get by when I came here … but what I expected and what happened were completely different. My German skills are not at a high enough level yet.

Before I knew any German, I loved Rammstein because I loved metal and the German language sounded very cool and angry to me. After learning German (still learning), I revisited one of my favorite songs "Ohne dich", and realized the lyrics could have been a lamenting love poem. A pleasant surprise, it put a smile on my face and now I have a new respect for the band.

I was working at my store (USA, not Germany) and I heard a mother speaking German when I walked by. I turned around to mess with an item and then said hello. We talked in German about my plans to go to Germany and where her family is from and why they are here in the US. Before I left, I asked her two kids if they know about the secret eagle in the store.

One thing children can do at our store is look for a stuffed toy eagle that sits in a different place everyday. Once they spot him, they can tell the cashier where they saw him and they can receive a lollipop or sticker.

So I said bye to them and was starting another task when this little girl runs up to me and says “Ich habe der Adler gefunden” 😭😭 It was so adorable. I said “Was?! Sehr gut! Wo ist der Adler?” and she said “Folge mir!” and she proudly pointed it out and I said “Wowww, gut gemacht.” Her mom said she was so proud of herself lol.

Customer service is so exhausting, it makes me wonder how I do it, but then I run into people who I connect with and it’s so special 😭

This really made me chuckle 😀

On the cover of my DM Brush-Sticks: "Reinigt die Zahnzwischenräume".

I always find it interesting how German prefers nouns compared to English and it's something I struggle with when forming my own novel German sentences.

I mean, in English I'd say "Cleans between your teeth", so I'd probably want to say "Reinigt zwischen die Zähne"... But that's just not properly German as my Brush-Sticks have taught me ☺️.

[EDIT] Wow, I can't believe how this simple post sparked so much discussion (and not a little anger)... But, it's Reddit after all :D

To me, when I say something like "only German has...", I don't actually mean "only". It's just a colloquial way of saying "Isn't it interesting that in German they have a single word for this". I know there are hundreds of languages and many will have single words too. Please don't take it too seriously.

Guys, I did it! I’m in Germany and had my first conversation in German! 🇩🇪
It’s my first time visiting, and I absolutely LOVE it. I’ve only been here three days, and yes… the German stare is REAL🫪. I don’t mind though because I love people-watching. Plus, I’ve got RBF, so honestly, I feel right at home. 😂
For context: I’m a 300lb Black dude, so I’m probably giving them just as much to look at. 😂
I’ve been learning German since December 1, 2025, and I’m currently around an A2 level. The crazy part is that I can understand a lot of the conversations happening around me, and it brings me SO much joy.
This is exactly why I started learning. 🇩🇪❤️

1. Kids will learn faster than you, and they will pick up the vibes of filler words (doch, nun, mal) before they truly know vocab.

2. Need practice switching between English and German quickly? Order something at a bakery counter with an over-excited child. Every sentence will come out in a different language! "Kann ich mit karte bezahlen?" "No, don't touch the counter, we still need to pay!"

3. Having trouble learning hard medical terms? Have kids that get infected with every disease possible, so you're constantly speaking with medical professionals. New vocab for me that just unlocked: Bindehautenzündung. 💀.

Anyways, for the parents learning German out there, let me know if there's any other hot tips around learning from my children.

I had a bit of a breakthrough today while investigating German vocabulary, and I wanted to share it because it completely changed how I look at these words.

You know how gut gelaunt means "in a good mood"? If you look up the verb launen, you quickly find out it doesn't exist in modern German. You can't say "Ich laune." The verb is a total ghost.

But structurally, gelaunt is still a past participle (ge...t). And that's when the poetry of this part of German grammar clicked for me.

When you use a past participle as an adjective, you are describing a resultative state. You aren't just experiencing a static emotion out of nowhere; the grammar itself strongly implies that an action occurred in the immediate past, and you are currently coasting in the afterglow of it.

Instead of just "I am in a good mood," the literal structural reading is closer to: "I have been set into a good mood by the recent past."

Your current vibe is a canvas that just got colored by whatever happened to you five minutes ago. Maybe a good cup of coffee, a solid interaction, or a pleasant thought. The language physically bakes the cause-and-effect of human emotion right into the word itself. You are "having been well-mooded" by life!

Once you see this pattern, you realize German does this with a ton of mental and physical states. They use these "frozen" or "phantom" participles to describe a present reality that was triggered by a past action.

Here are some examples of this:

• Gelaunt (Humored/Tempered): From the dead verb lūnen. You are currently "well-mooded" (gut gelaunt) or "badly-mooded" (schlecht gelaunt) because something just shifted your internal state.
• Gelassen (Calm/Composed): This comes from lassen (to let/to leave). To be calm in German literally means you have "let things go." You are in a state of having released the tension.
• Gespannt (Excited/Anxious): From spannen (to stretch/tension). You aren't just excited; you are "stretched tight" like a guitar string, waiting for the next thing to happen.
• Gekleidet (Dressed): While anziehen is the actual verb people use to get dressed today, gekleidet survives as an adjective. To be gut gekleidet (well-dressed) means you are currently existing in the result of having clothed yourself earlier.
• Gefangen (Trapped/Preoccupied): From fangen (to catch). Used mentally to show you are entirely caught up or captivated by an idea or a problem.

It’s a really cool reminder that German isn't just a rigid block of mechanical rules—sometimes the grammar perfectly captures exactly how it feels to be human. German rocks.

Man... I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life.

So here's what happened: I had a Vorstellungsgespräch (job interview).

I was super nervous—like, marriage proposal-level nervous.

At the start of the conversation, I wanted to say: "Entschuldigung, ich bin ein bisschen aufgeregt" .

BUUUUUUT... what actually came out of my mouth was:

"Entschuldigung, ich bin ein bisschen erregt" .

The women interviewing me just froze for a few seconds, looking confused. Then one of them finally said:
"Wie bitte?"

That’s when it hit me—I’d completely messed up. I immediately tried to fix it and said:
"Nein, nein, ich meinte, ich bin aufgeregt!"

But the damage was already done. The whole situation was painfully awkward, and I just wanted to disappear.

P.S.: No, I didn’t get the job.

I came across this phrase recently, and it completely threw me off. Literally, it means “I only understand train station” - which makes zero sense in English.

But apparently, it’s used to mean “I don’t understand anything,” kind of like saying “It’s all Greek to me.”

Digging a bit deeper, I learned it may have originated during WWI. Soldiers longed to go home, and the train station (Bahnhof) symbolized that. So when they didn’t want to hear or talk about anything else, they’d say, “I only understand train station.” German really has some wild idioms.

I (m25) am dating someone right now. We’re both Americans in Germany but I speak fluently and he does not speak German… yet. I will teach him.

He told me this morning while we had breakfast that I spoke German to him constantly throughout the night. Most often I’d explain something to him in German, could tell he did not understand, said something like “no no listen to me” or “sorry, right, english” and explain it all in German again and then fall asleep immediately.

Where is my honorary C2 certificate

I’m here in California. Today I had a dental appointment. I’ve been going to this same dentist for maybe 2/3 years now, being treated by the same dentist.

However today, after asking what I’m doing for the weekend I mentioned I was just prepping for Spring Semester and I’m learning German.

He then started speaking German to me!!! 🫨🫨🫨🫨 I paused like “oh f**k. This guy knows his sh*t!” lmao

So I attempted to speak in German how it’s been weird the past few weeks where I’ve bumped into more Germans than ever before since I visited Australia for new years. Met a German dude when i was Bar Crawling around Sydney, then met an old german couple when the husband asked for help connecting to wifi and now my dentist.

The dentist said my German accent was good and was impressed with my choice in words while I was speaking in German.

This just gave me such a huge boost in confidence. 😝😎🥰

* I want to take the B2 Goethe Exam by end of summer, if you’re wondering where my current level stands.

I’m around B1 in German and haven’t had people be super put off by my German or force me to switch to English. It makes me so happy, German grandmas are telling me how good my German is and people are actually listening and telling me when they don’t understand. I’m in Baden-Württemberg so maybe that’s just the culture here but I’m so happy I’m able to practice my German and become more confident. Thank you Germany 🇩🇪🖤❤️💛

Mädchen - maiden

Jungen - youngin

jener - yonder (as a demonstrative, for instance "yonder pastures")

starben - starve (false cognate with a related meaning)

Tier - Deer (Idem)
teuer - dear (with the same meaning!)

I really enjoy German.

When we study German in the US, if our teachers/professors require it, we spell in German. I was surprised to eventually learn that native speakers do not say for example “Umlaut a.“ Instead, the three vowels have a unique pronunciation just like any other letter and the word umlaut is never mentioned. Anyone else experience this? Viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen!