/r/German

Photograph via snooOG

/r/German is a community focused on discussion related to learning the German language. It is also a place to discuss the language at large.

New visitors, please read the FAQ: /r/German/wiki/faq

This is a community for students of German and discussions pertaining to the German language.


Check our Wiki for materials, tips, and the FAQ before posting.

Feel free to contribute materials, questions, tips, guides and anything else to our Wiki!


Additional Resources

If you need something translated or transcribed, ask for it over at /r/translator.

If you'd like to know how you sound speaking in German you can ask /r/judgemyaccent.

Both German-language subreddits and subreddits for learners of German can be found in the DACH wiki.

/r/Kurrent focuses on Kurrentschrift and Sütterlinschrift.


Flair up!

Green For natives only. Pick if German is your mother tongue.

Blue For non-natives and learners only. Pick a flair according to your level.

Gold If you have a German/linguistics degree, request this special flair from the mods (no proof needed).

Make sure to edit your flair so it also contains some info about your region (natives) or your native language (learners).


Posting rules:

No Off-Topic Posts: Submissions which are not about the German language are not permitted. We are a community focused on discussion related to learning the German language. It is also a place to discuss the language at large and we welcome submissions that elaborate on the reasons why we're interested in the German language.

No Low-Effort Homework Requests: Please do not post homework requests with no signs of effort - we are happy to make corrections and suggestions, but we won't do the work for you. So you have to have done some work already for us to critique. This also include images of text from text books, classwork, or exams. If you wish to ask about school work you need to submit them as a self-text posts.

No Promotion or Advertising: All forms of advertising and promotion are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: for-profit language learning courses; non-free and/or proprietary programs, applications, or websites; external social media channels; and fundraising or crowdsourcing campaigns.

No Translation Requests: This community is focused on learning German. Please post unrelated translation requests to /r/translator. Please be aware that /r/translator has specific formatting requirements for submissions, so check their rules before submitting anything there.

No Low-Quality or Low-Effort Submissions: This includes: Memes, image macros, images of text, and any other low-effort submissions. These are not suitable for our community. There should be an opportunity for discussion or feedback on your post.

No Surveys, Questionnaires, Petitions, or Polls: All surveys, questionnaires, petitions, polls, contests, or other similar content are not suitable for our community.

No Personal Attacks or Trolling: Be respectful to fellow posters – name-calling, rudeness & incivility, slurs, vulgarities towards other users, and trolling are not welcome here.


/r/German

365,074 Subscribers

1

Was versteht ihr von diesem Satz?

Eine Funktion ist ausgezeichnet.

Context ist ehrlich gesagt eine Informatik Vorlesung. Normalerweise sagt man ausgezeichnet wenn man etwas sehr gut/ perfekt finde. Aber es würde hier keinen Sinn ergeben.

2 Comments
2024/11/01
20:53 UTC

1

Do i understand berücksichtigen vs einbeziehen correctly?

Hi - I have been trying to become more familiar with using these terms in the correct context and understanding the subtle difference between the two. Can you please look the sentence below and tell me if i have chosen the correct word for each one? Or alternatively, am i just plain wrong in all of them

  1. We must take into account/include the childrens choice in our decision (einbeziehen)

  2. We must take into account the weather in our choice (berücksichtigen)

  3. We must take into account the feelings of our friends in our decision (einbeziehen) - this is the example I am least confident in

  4. We must take into account that they are poorly behaved (berücksichtigen)

I know I wrote these in English - but that was to make the nuances of my sentences as correct as i could - i might have messed that up in German.

Thanks

Al

7 Comments
2024/11/01
19:15 UTC

1

dort vs da drüben vs da rüber

hi i watched short german war film and they kept saying "da rüber" when I expected to hear "da drüben". i looked up the difference but cant make much sense of it. when would i use each?

i saw someone say online that "da drüben" means on the other side. but the german soldiers in the short film said "da rüber" in the same way, to refer to the american soldiers who were on the other side.

merci sehr

14 Comments
2024/11/01
19:03 UTC

1

geradeaus vs vorwärts?

i understand "gerade" means straight so "geradeaus" means straight ahead, which means forwards relative to your vision. but "vorwärts" already means forwards! so whats the difference??

hakuna matata danke beaucoup very much

30 Comments
2024/11/01
18:38 UTC

1

What are some good sources to improve my spoken German?

hi ! I am planning to study in germany and learning Deutsch for 4 months from duolingo and through youtube in my native language. The main problem is pronunciation and limited access of words and grammar.

So, I want to ask you what are some resources to improve my pronunciation of letters and words, as well as some resources to practice reading for beginner to intermediate level.

0 Comments
2024/11/01
18:11 UTC

1

kannst du mir helfen

Ich versuche, Deutsch zu lernen. Ich bin in der Klasse A1.2 und übe das Hören mithilfe von „Easy German“-Videos. Außerdem möchte ich meine Lesefähigkeiten verbessern. Können Sie mir Materialien empfehlen, die ich lesen kann und die meine Lesefähigkeiten verbessern, wie Comics für die Klasse A1 oder Mangas für die Klasse A1? Schlagen Sie mir aber keine Kindergeschichten vor, denn die sind so langweilig.

0 Comments
2024/11/01
17:33 UTC

1

Book ideas for intermediate level

I have been learning German for a while and recently read my first German book "22 Bahnen". I understood pretty much everything. Now I am reading "Homo Faber" which is a bit too difficult for me and I don't enjoy it.

Any ideas of books I could read regarding my level in German? I am looking for something without too much descriptions and precise words but if possible more deep than 22 Bahnen (I am usually reading classical literature and philosophy in my mother tongue).

0 Comments
2024/11/01
16:53 UTC

1

Seeking Online German Private Tutor [Question]

Hey, so as the title says, I know about preply and similar sites but I have never used them before, and I know they have their own paywall.

The thing is (for my own reasons) I don't want to pay as I go, class by class, as I assume those websites work. I want to pay for example, €1000-€1200 for starters (in advance) and devise a plan on the dates of the sessions. I know it is a trust based transaction, all I need in return in an invoice and maybe a good reputation to put my mind at ease.

Can I do this through these websites like preply / Are there maybe any available tutors on this subreddit? Or any suggestions on where I should be looking?

Thanks

6 Comments
2024/11/01
17:20 UTC

7

Bavarian dialect help

I was walking around the neighborhood in Munich with my family when I noticed someone that needed help. I asked her, she didn’t say yes or no, but it was pretty obvious she needed help, so I jumped the fence and helped.

Long story short, she’s fine now, but the whole time she was talking to me, I couldn’t understand much of anything she was saying. I’m already not fluent in German, and even less so in the Bavarian dialect.

I would like to visit her from time to time because I understood enough to know that she’s alone, but it wouldn’t be very meaningful to visit if I can’t understand 90% of what she’s saying to meZ

Is there a recommended resource on at least basic Bavarian? Also, are Erste Hilfe lessons here free?

15 Comments
2024/11/01
15:46 UTC

3

"Bitte gebt mir jungen Menschen (21 Jahre) mal ein bisschen Einblick was besser wäre für mich und meine Zukunft!

What does "mir jungen Menschen" mean in this context?

12 Comments
2024/11/01
15:32 UTC

8

"Nach deutschland" oder "in deutschland"?

Frage: "wo" und "wohin"

6 Comments
2024/11/01
15:29 UTC

2

Kann ich es so sagen ??

Kann man zwei Konnektoren zusammen nutzen ? z.b : (Als Nachteil kann man sagen, dass wenn das Wetter schlecht ist, ..... ) oder (dass ich zwar krank bin ....) (dass weil ich .... )

7 Comments
2024/11/01
13:48 UTC

1

Er oder Ihm?

So I've just started learning German and I'm at a point where this situation happens to me frequently. how should I answer a question like this: "Redert ihr mit Paul?"

should i say "Ja, wir reden mit ER" or "Ja, wir reden mit ihm". Because I don't know I would just say wir reden mit Paul lmao but I would like to know.

2 Comments
2024/11/01
13:09 UTC

1

YouTube channel with great visuals for grammar explanation

Herr Ferguson produces super intuitive German grammar videos which I found very simple and helpful. I wonder what graphic software he uses and if there are other language learning channels or resources using the same or similar visuals for grammar explanation.

3 Comments
2024/11/01
13:20 UTC

18

"Ich muss zum Arzt. Mein Bein tut weh." Is a "gehen" simply implied at the end of the first sentence, and can you do this in other contexts?

I saw this example sentence in my practice materials. In the first sentence, is there a "gehen" simply implied at the end? Could I say "ich muss zum Supermarkt" or "ich muss zur Arbeit"? Is omitting this final verb common in informal speech?

23 Comments
2024/11/01
12:35 UTC

11

Ratet meine Muttersprache! (Feedback zum Akzent wäre wünschenswert)

Hallo zusammen. Ich lebe seit ein paar Jahren in Deutschland und werde immer seltener gefragt, wo ich denn eigentlich herkomme. Das könnte daran liegen, dass die meisten, die ich neu kennenlernen, zu höflich sind, als dass sie auf diese Weise auf mein Ausländersein aufmerksam machen würden, aber ich bilde mir schon langsam ein, dass sie davon ausgehen, ich wäre Deutscher und hätte daher eine “langweilige” Antwort auf die Frage nach meiner Heimat.

Ich wollte daher anonym etwas Feedback holen und habe einen kurzen Text vorgelesen und aufgezeichnet. Es wäre super, wenn ihr euch die Aufzeichnung anhören und ggf. Verbesserungsvorschläge zum Akzent geben könntet. Ihr könntet auch gerne mein Heimatland bzw. meine Muttersprache raten!

Den Text, den ich vorgelesen habe, habe ich dem Wikipedia-Artikel über Kaffee und Kuchen entnommen.

https://voca.ro/1g8r9qB9e0qp

Kaffee und Kuchen oder das Kaffeetrinken bzw. regional das Vesper oder die Kaffeejause ist eine traditionelle Mahlzeit zwischen Mittagessen und Abendessen in Deutschland und anderen Ländern (z. B. Österreich, Finnland, Luxemburg), nicht aber in der Schweiz. Im Bergischen Land wird diese nachmittägliche Mahlzeit als Bergische Kaffeetafel bis in unsere Tage hinein aufwändig zelebriert.

Am Sonntagnachmittag wurde der Tisch je nach sozialem Status gedeckt, der selbst gebackene Kuchen aus dem Ofen geholt und die Kaffeetafel eröffnet. In Deutschland werden zum Sonntagskaffee oft Kuchen oder Torte gereicht, oft zusammen mit (Fein-)Gebäck.

Kaffee kam Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts nach Europa, war jedoch der Aristokratie vorbehalten, denn wegen des Importes war Kaffee teuer. Wenig später wurden dann öffentlich zugängliche Kaffeehäuser eröffnet – zuerst in Italien, dann in anderen Ländern Europas. Diese Kaffeehäuser begannen schnell, das leicht bittere Heißgetränk mit allerlei süßen Speisen zu servieren. Von dieser Kombination waren die Menschen so begeistert, dass sie auch Zuhause Kaffee und Naschwerk als Zwischenmahlzeit kredenzten. Das erste Kaffeehaus in Deutschland wurde im Jahr 1673 in Bremen eröffnet.

35 Comments
2024/11/01
12:34 UTC

1

Goethe Dueselldorf Results

Hello everyone,

Anyone has experience with getting B1 exam results from Goethe Duesseldorf. On their website, they mention 2 weeks as the time limit to release the exam certificates. It's been 19 days since the exam, I wrote to them and all they did was to point me to their website which says 2 weeks is the time frame lol.

There is no communication that results will be delayed or any anything. Email are replied with standard responses not even reading what I wrote.

Has anyone gotten B1 results from this centre, and can you please share how many days was it for you. I have a deadline in 5 days to submit the certificate, and I am blaming myself to trust their timeframe they have published themselves.

Thank you so much for reading.

2 Comments
2024/11/01
12:09 UTC

12

Gönn dir

Gerade im kleine Imbiss bestellt, und glaube ich dass der Besitzer hat mir “Gönn dir” gesagt als er meine Essen am Tisch abgesetzt.

Vor ein paar Tage, habe ich dieser Ausdruck wie “Treat yourself” ist, aber in diesem Fall fühlt mich bisschen anders. Ich frage mich ob er wirklich “gönn dir” gesagt hat.

Meine Frage: passt “gönn dir” in dieser Situation?

edit: danke euch für alle Erklärungen

25 Comments
2024/11/01
11:38 UTC

0

Umlauts

Why did German decide to use these things. They are so unnecessary, confusing and deeply unserious. Arrgh.

24 Comments
2024/11/01
09:53 UTC

1

Recommendation on Phonics books for a five year old?

We are based in England and are a bilingual family. My son is learning English with the help of phonics books at school. Simple stuff like Sit, Pat, etc.

Does anyone know if there's a German equivalent so he can keep up his German at the same time?

Thanks!

5 Comments
2024/11/01
08:18 UTC

0

Learn German

Hello there , i want to learn German language, i don't have any background on it , so how could i start and any tips or resources help me to study the language

1 Comment
2024/11/01
09:08 UTC

0

I'm willing to do my b2 exam in February,

i am looking for someone who can help me to improve my speaking, maybe we can speak every now and then

3 Comments
2024/11/01
06:22 UTC

6

Anyone here tried language tandems or online tutors for German?

Hey everyone!

I’ve been on this German-learning journey for a bit and recently started feeling like I really needed to speak more. Have any of you tried language tandems or tutoring? What’s been working for you all?

I decided to try out online tutoring, and I’ve actually been pretty happy with it. I tried three different tutors on this platform so far. One was…okay-ish, another one was super intense (a bit too much for me), but the third one is awesome! Now I’m doing classes with them twice a week, and it’s helped me feel way more comfortable speaking.

If anyone’s curious about the platform I’m using, they sometimes do discounts—here’s the link where you can get 30% off your first lesson Preply.

Also, I’d still love any recommendations if you know of good language tandems for German!

3 Comments
2024/11/01
06:32 UTC

0

Goethe a1 result

Hello i just got my a1 test result from goethe and i got exactly 60 does that mean I passed? I'm trying to go to Germany as an au pair. Will my test score be sufficient enough for them to give me visa approval? My test score in each section Hören 14.94 out of 25 Lesen 18.26 out of 25 Schreiben 9.96 out of 25 Sprechen 16.60 out of 25 Overall 60.00 out of 100

3 Comments
2024/11/01
05:14 UTC

18

Dative instead of Genetive in spoken German.

Hi everybody! There were plenty of questions already on that topic (and I’ve read all the answers) but I still don't understand fully what case I should use in an informal setting. I'm B1 and I know how to form Genetive and use it properly when writing letters etc. I also use it when speaking because I was taught that way. But should I really used it in everyday conversation?

I’d really appreciate if you could share what YOU personally use in these Genetive/Dative situations. Just a couple of examples from the real life, no need for thorough explanation.

Thank you!

25 Comments
2024/11/01
05:28 UTC

1

german language practicing

Hallo, I m learning german for some time now and currently in b1 niveau, but I feel that I m lacking a lot when it comes to hören and sprechen. I cant find someone to practice with in Tunisia, and have very limited acces to getman on netflix. I have to get at least a b2 niveau within 3 months, any recommandations for clubs, groups or movies / shows / radios, etc ? Thank you ☺️

0 Comments
2024/10/31
21:01 UTC

1

Why Use "An" Instead of "Neben" in This Sentence?

I was playing a grammar game on the Fluenday app and came across this sentence “Möchten Sie an Ihrem Stammtisch sitzen?”. It uses an instead of neben, and I’m curious why. I thought they had the same meaning. Can anyone explain the difference?

3 Comments
2024/11/01
02:09 UTC

6

How do you differentiate between akkusativ and nominativ in some sentences?

I'm trying to understand how to distinguish the subject (Nominativ) from the object (Akkusativ) in some German sentences, especially when context isn’t clear.

Take this sentence as an example:
Ganz Osteuropa hat die Sowjetunion ja schon unter Kontrolle.

Here, it’s clear that the Soviet Union has Eastern Europe under control, not the other way around. But how do you figure this out in sentences where the meaning isn’t so obvious?

I’m especially curious about sentences where the Akkusativ object is feminine (e.g., die form), which can look identical to the Nominativ, making it harder to tell who is doing what.

11 Comments
2024/11/01
01:51 UTC

12

"Dienst" und "Dienstag"?

I've noticed recently that the word "Service" as in work or duty (military service), translates to "Dienst". I've also noticed that the word "Tuesday" translates to "Dienstag". Is there any connection between the two words? Does Tuesday actually mean Service Day? As in, a day to remember military veterans or anything? I'm very curious. Antwort auf Deutsch oder Englisch, das ist mir egal.

44 Comments
2024/11/01
00:18 UTC

0

Native speaker

Looking for Native speakers

26m aus Ägypten und glaube ich bin rund das niveau B1 oder B2. Ich ziele darauf ab, meine Fertigkeit sprechen zu verbessern, deshalb suche ich ein paar Gesprächspartners und dann können wir vielleicht Freunden werden :)
Wir können auf Discord chatten

Mein discord: amrhassan4836.

Vielen Dank im voraus! Ich wünsche Ihnen einen schönen Tag! /Eine schöne Nacht!

1 Comment
2024/10/31
22:03 UTC

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