Seeing the funny side of the German language | DW English

1,575,969

45,746 1,108

Published 2018-10-10

False friends, ridiculous grammar and never-ending nouns. German is by no means an easy language, but it has its funny side too, as we find out in this week's episode of Meet the Germans.

Rachel Stewart is on a mission to investigate the quirks and idiosyncrasies of daily life in Germany. Every two weeks she explores a new topic - from beer to nudity to complicated grammar - and heads out to get some tips from the Germans themselves.

Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. You'll find more from Meet the Germans on YouTube or at dw.com/MeettheGermans.

And don’t forget to comment with your own experiences!

For more news go to: www.dw.com/english

►Facebook: www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/
►Twitter: twitter.com/dwnews
►Instagram: www.instagram.com/dw_stories/

Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: / @dwdeutsch

All Comments (21)

@xenius1619 5 years ago

Mh hm = Ja Mh mh = Nein Mhm = Ich weiß nicht
@eierkarton4051 5 years ago

Der, die, das. Wieso,weshalb warum? Wer nicht fragt bleibt dumm. Und jetzt in englisch The the the. Why why why?
@kylo8307 3 years ago

Others: German is hard Germans: No, not really Also german: „Umfahren“ ist the opposite of „Umfahren“
@ducktylus1820 3 years ago

As a German person I wanted to read the reactions of people who can‘t speak German… But like 99% of the people in this comment section are German too.
@recki1090 5 years ago

You dont want to receive a "Gift" from Germans
@alexanderkayser5779 4 years ago

das Gegenteil von umfahren : umfahren
@geisterfahreruberholer2171 3 years ago

Der König von alledem: "Nein?" "Doch!" "Oh!"
@Phoenix-zu6on 4 years ago

you forgot the most important word of them all: tja - the german reaction to anything from getting caught stealing cookies to seeing the apocalypse
@rainglow4481 5 years ago

"Dings" a german word you say when you forgot the actual word in hope that people will understand what that "dings" is.
@CuteLittleHen 4 years ago

I can't believe you didn't mention in the false friends section that "Gift" means poison in German.
@Indyday 3 years ago

"Doch!" - Best german word EVER. If you have an argument with somebody you just say "doch" after he/she finished. That's a single short word for "It doesn't matter what you say and I also don't care about your opinion. You are just completely wrong, bro!"
@laywhite817 3 years ago

I'm thinking of the false friends: German: Gift -> English: Poison English: Gift -> German: Present
@attiladerhunne2998 4 years ago

Title has something to do with Germany: Germans: Hans es geht wieder los
@joyas38 5 years ago

English: Sea Dutch: Zee German: Meer English: Lake Dutch: Meer German: See German is so confusing to me
@erdmannelchen8829 3 years ago

Be sure to not confuse ß and SS. If you want to drink modestly, you need to drink in "Maßen" If you want to drink yourself under the table you need to drink in "Massen"
@geronimo3123 3 years ago

Ja der klassische Moment im Schlafzimmer: "Warte! Hast du ein Präservativ?"
@stephenbitterlin2549 5 years ago

the trickiest of them all is "doch"
@lukasdittrich5867 4 years ago

"This is a Flammenwerfer - it werfs Flammen."
@lysanne1309 3 years ago

never forget our words for "im sorry". we say "Es tut mir leid" which actually means "it does me pain", very poetic!
@paulg8157 4 years ago

„Welches ‚Das‘ meinst du?“ „Ich habe dir doch gesagt, dass das Das das Das ist, das ich meinte!“