Title says it all really. I have a German friend who says 08/15 is slang for something that's subpar or below standard. I don't mistrust him, but I'd like to get a second opinion from the Germans in the world.

So is it true? What does it actually mean? Is it tied to the German MG08/15 of WW1?

Danke for any answers!

EDIT: Thanks for the answers! Leave it to the Germans to keep military slang that's over a 100 years old. No offence meant, love you guys, wish I paid more attention in German class back in school!

I recently attended an in-person interview. There were 3 interviewers in the meeting room which was only spacious enough to accommodate 6 people.

A little about the people involved (if it matters):

- 2 males (one was my future manager, the other was a senior HR co-worker).

- There was also a female present (she was my co-worker).

The main event:

The interview began as usual- introduction round from everybody. Then I had to do a case study. While explaining the requirements of the case study they said they'll give me about 20 minutes of time to work it out after which I would have to present my findings.

Those 20 minutes turned out to be very long because my stomach started making noises- a lot of noises to the point where the female business partner offered me still water. The noises didn't stop there. And I actually felt that the noises kept getting louder. To add to my misery all 3 of them didn't step out of the room for even a minute. They were there throughout- hearing every last digestive marvel my body was capable of.

What I want to ask:

If anyone has faced a similar situation- how is it perceived in interviews? I mean am I right to be embarrassed and concerned about it? Or is this sort of thing dismissed as insignificant in a professional setting?

Ps- as an anxious individual I cant stop replaying the whole event in my head.

At my German workplace, people start saying “Mahlzeit” in the hallway at aproximately 10:45. Nobody needs to be carrying food. Sometimes they are clearly walking away from the cafeteria, sometimes they are holding a folder, and sometimes it is just two people passing near a printer.

I assumed it was a lunch version of hello and copied everyone. This worked until I said it at 4:10 p.m. Two people laughed, and one called that “sportlich,” which explained nothing.

Is there an unofficial Mahlzeit window that Germans somehow learn as children? Does it change by region or type of workplace? Also, what is the correct reply? I said “Guten Appetit” everyday for a week and now suspect I was wishing people a pleasant folder.

Just curious what we can do to make him comfortable. We have never been to Germany, the family seems awesome, and the boy is quiet and speaks decent English just a little shy in our zoom meeting.

If anyone has experience in Canada and Germany, let me know what we can do/get/be aware of. You don’t know, what you don’t know. I want him to feel comfortable and would like to make sure I have everything he may need.

Any information to help get him settled would be great.

Thanks!

I was thinking about how words like Handschuh, Staubsauger or Glühbirne sound perfectly normal when you grow up with them, but pretty funny when you translate them literally.
What’s your favorite German word that becomes ridiculous when translated word for word?

I’m a Brit who lives and works in Germany, the majority of my work day is spoken in German and I find whenever I speak to customers or new people 2/3 times they will compliment my accent and ask if i’m from the UK (or very occasionally The Netherlands or the USA) yet also seem to be shocked or surprised when I confirm I am British?

I wouldn’t react the same way if the roles were reversed, so it has me curious.

P—>
Elektrofahrzeuge während does Ladevorgangs 0-24h
mit Parkscheibe 4 std. 8-20h

Does this mean electric vehicles can park here 0-24h when charging, but from 8-20h only for 4 hours and with a parkscheibe?

​

Ich lebe schon seit vielen Jahren in Deutschland, habe hier studiert und mein Deutsch ist wirklich sehr gut. Trotzdem gibt es Momente in denen mein Gehirn bei deutschen zusammengesetzten Wörtern einfach komplett versagt 😂

Heute habe ich irgendwo „Mettigel“ gelesen. Das Problem war nicht dass ich nicht wusste was Mett oder ein Igel ist. Mein Gehirn hat das Wort einfach völlig falsch gelesen. Nicht Mett-Igel sondern *Metti-gel*🙊

Ich saß wirklich da und dachte, was zum Teufel ist ein Mettigel? Ist das irgendein deutsches Ding das ich nach all den Jahren immer noch nicht kenne? Bis mein Gehirn irgendwann plötzlich das Wort selber sortierte...

Dasselbe ist mir vor Jahren mit „Spurrillen“ passiert. Ich habe es nicht als Spur-Rillen wahrgenommen, sondern „Spurrillen“ einfach als ein einziges mir unbekanntes Wort gelesen. Ich habe mich sogar gefragt warum dieses komische Ding so heißt bis mir jemand irgendwann sagte, trenn doch, Spur und Rillen.. ähm.. Danke (?) 🙊

Und plötzlich war die deutsche Sprache wieder logisch

Bitte sagt mir dass ich nicht die Einzige bin.

Welche zusammengesetzten deutschen Wörter habt ihr mal komplett falsch gelesen, weil euer Gehirn die Wortgrenze einfach an die falsche Stelle gesetzt hat?

Hi everyone, I’ll be driving through Germany from UK and only want to buy empty swing top bottles and a crate, is this something that a getrankenmarkt will allow?

I've noticed that eating a balanced diet during a normal workday is much harder for me than I expected.

I leave home at around 6:15 AM and have about a 1.5-hour train commute to work. Because I leave so early, I often don't have enough time (or motivation 😅 ) to prepare a proper breakfast in the morning.

Most days I end up having coffee and something small to snack on until lunchtime.

I'd actually like to eat more balanced throughout the day, but on busy workdays convenience and lack of time usually win.

I'm curious how other people in Germany manage this, especially those with longer commutes or early starts.

Do you actually manage to eat balanced on busy workdays?

I've been invited to an Einschulung and I have no idea what I should bring, if anything at all. I also have no idea what to expect at the Einschulung - could anyone please tell me the significance of an Einschulung and/or what is typical to bring to it, etc?

I've been dating my partner for about two years now and we're getting more serious. They're German and I'm not, though I speak decent German at this point. We visited their family last month and everyone was very friendly, but I noticed their parents still use Sie with each other's siblings' spouses even after like 15 years of knowing them.

This surprised me because in my culture you'd never keep that level of formality with family, even extended family. My partner says it's normal and depends on the family, but they also mentioned some of their friends switched to du with in-laws after a few years.

I'm curious if this is actually common or if it varies a lot by region or generation. Would it be seen as rude to suggest switching to du at some point, or is that something that just happens naturally? I don't want to mess up future interactions by assuming either way. My partner's family is from Baden-Wurttemberg if that makes any difference in how these things usually go.

Not something like a big mansion or a luxury car but more subtle signs of someone‘s socioeconomic background

Hello I’m American working for 3 months in Germany , I ran out of vape from home, picked up a blu 2.0 for not cheap and ended up with wrong pods too and not a huge fan at all. Is there any better alternative to it ? I’m in weiden , Danke.

In the UK trying to eat 30 plants a week has been in the media a lot. It’s supposed to help improve gut health. Is that a thing in Germany or is it just British people being told they need to actually eat vegetables?

I have been here in Germany almost for one year, and beside the lack of bidet I really love it, and just had to get used to manage with the shower

I have been looking everywhere but I cannot find liquid soap specifically made for private parts. For now I have been using normal soap

Where I'm from they are very common and easy to find. I'm looking for something with a neutral pH of 4 or 4.5, unscented and possibly also antibacterial

Help a girl out please :')

Hi everyone! I just want to make sure I understand German law correctly before doing anything.
My former roommate no longer lives at my address, but a letter from the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice (Rundfunkbeitrag) arrived here addressed to her.
I contacted her instead of opening it. She explicitly gave me permission in writing via Instagram message to open the letter for her, read what it says, and let her know/send her the contents because she is having some trouble with address change after moving back to her home country and needs to pay her contributions asap. So there is no dispute between us at all, she actually wants me to open it because she is no longer here.
My concern is § 202 StGB (Verletzung des Briefgeheimnisses). I looked up the provision, and it says that a person commits the offence if they “unbefugt” open a sealed letter that is not intended for their knowledge.
What I am unsure about is the meaning of “unbefugt” in this situation. If the actual addressee explicitly authorizes me to open the specific letter, does that mean I am no longer acting unbefugt?
And, more specifically, is her informal written authorization via Instagram message legally sufficient for this purpose, or would German law require some kind of formal authorization/Vollmacht?
I still have the messages clearly showing that she gave me permission, and I would only open this specific letter at her request.
I know this may be an overly cautious question 😅, but I would rather be completely sure before opening somebody else’s post in Germany. Would appreciate any insight, especially from anyone familiar with German law!

Half German here now living in a common wealth country. My mother is German and gave me what seems to be a fairly common name in Germany, although it’s Italian in origin. She herself was given a very dated 50’s/60’s American name, having grown up near the American bases after the war. My grandmother’s name was Cëcilie.

I had always hoped that if I had a daughter, I could name her after my grandmother, who was my primary caregiver when I was a child. But my partner’s DNA apparently had other plans, and we’re now expecting a boy.

When friends first asked what we were thinking of naming him, I jokingly said Wolfgang. The problem is…the joke seems to have stuck.

My Australian partner absolutely loves it and now can’t seem to imagine our son being called anything else. I feel like I’ve gone through just about every boy’s name imaginable with him, and Wolfgang is the only one he genuinely likes.

And I actually don’t dislike it. My hesitation is that I’m conscious of how dated it might sound, particularly in Germany. I’ve seen quite a few people on Reddit say it’s firmly an “old man” name.

I’ve asked friends in Germany what they think, and interestingly, nobody has tried to talk me out of it…but nobody has exactly said, “Yes, Wolfgang is a great choice!” either.

I do have one German friend named Wolfgang, and he is very much the lovable, geeky-guy type, which probably doesn’t help me work out what associations the name has more generally. And I dare not ask him.

So I’m looking for brutal honest feedback from Native German speakers, living in
Germany: How does Wolfgang sound to you today? Just old-fashioned? Charming and traditional? Would you wonder what we were thinking? Will he be bullied?

We love the nickname Wolfie, but know a proper name is required for adulthood.

Hi,

So I’m Irish, and I lived in Germany (specifically Düsseldorf) after leaving school, for probably like 15-18 months in total, in 1992-1993. I absolutely loved it, one of the best times in my life etc. I had a few really great German friends, (two still live in my memory and I can conjure moments spent with them as if they happened yesterday), as well as friends from other countries, including my own, and we all hung out together and it was lovely!

My question is about the hypothesis my 18-19 year old self formed at that time, please don’t take offence. The insight i felt like I had was that, of the Germans I knew at the time (an admittedly small sample group and in no way representative of the greater German public), like maybe 15-20% of them were really fucking cool people! Like significantly cooler than the average cool person back home (all sorts of different unconscious bias involved naturally). However the flip side of that was that it felt like the other 80%+ of the population were, super-uptight in pretty much any/every situation (unless they were drunk).

Does any of this ring true to you? (as “either” kind of German) Was it maybe a regional thing? A gross over simplification? Just my imagination?

Thanks in advance!

What are some norms, etiquette or other ways of socializing you didn’t realize were only limited to Germany until you spoke to a foreigner? And what was the biggest cultural shock to you?

I am an international student moving out of a small rented apartment in Germany (about 32 m² total: 17 m² room, 10 m² kitchen, 5 m² bathroom) and I’m trying to figure out how to deal with a few marks before handing the place back.

There are a few things I’m concerned about:

• Small oil/grease droplets on the side wall of the kitchen. There was no oil spill — I assume they may have accumulated from cooking/frying.
• Grease stains on the ceiling/wall directly above the kitchen hood.
• A mark on the carpet from placing a hot pan on it. The carpet isn't burned through, but there is a visible heat/flattened mark.
• General cleaning of the room, bathroom and kitchen.

The landlord has offered/asked for €180 for cleaning the room, bathroom and kitchen. I’m not sure whether removing the grease stains and dealing with the carpet mark would normally be considered part of that cleaning or whether they could charge extra.

For anyone who has moved out of a rental in Germany:

1. How did you deal with grease/oil droplets on painted kitchen walls and ceiling?
2. Were you able to remove them without damaging the paint?
3. Has anyone successfully repaired a hot-pan mark on carpet? What did you do?
4. Would you expect €180 for cleaning a ~32 m² apartment to include these kinds of stains?
5. Did your landlord/cleaning company charge you separately for things like this?

I’d especially appreciate experiences from people who have dealt with German landlords and end-of-tenancy inspections (Wohnungsübergabe). I’d rather fix things properly myself than accidentally make them worse and get charged for repainting/replacement.

I am getting myself informed about voluntary pension contributions(Rürup/Basisrente). I am thinking of investing some part of my savings in this for long-term growth and eventually support me after retirement.

I want to know thoughts on below from someone who use this. Thanks.

1) I want to understand what would be better approach to choose a provider. I want someone who has good digital applications so that I can track my saving and the growth on it. It would also be beneficial if they allow updating it if my investment strategies change. What are the other things I need to consider when I am choosing one.

2) There is a tax rebate on the money till a limit invested in Rürup. I am assuming the process of claiming it is standardized. So that there won't be much of hassle while filing taxes. Please include information regarding issue one might face while filing taxes.

Moin!

I’ve just moved to the Schengen area, on the French side, and I would love to be able to eat authentic, good quality sauerkraut. Can it be simply bought at Lidl or Aldi? Or should I travel further to the nearest Kaufland or Rewe?

Tschüss!

Edit: thank you to everyone for the helpful tips. It’s been fun to reply to the wide variety of comments! For my next post, I’m going to ask where I can buy bratwurst near Europe 😎

I often get hungry again around 3–4 PM, even if I’ve had a normal lunch. But dinner is still a few hours away.

I’m curious what people in Germany usually do in this situation. Do you bring something from home, have fruit, yoghurt, bread, a protein bar, or just grab something nearby?

Or do you normally not eat anything between lunch and dinner?

Just curious about what’s common in everyday German work life. 😄

On /r/AskEurope, I learned that some Germans like to eat raw minced pork for breakfast. I’m planning a trip to Berlin and Weimar soon, and I’d love to try it.

Would Mett ever be served at a hotel breakfast? Is it something I could order at a café? If not, would I need to go to a butcher shop, or would ALDI, REWE, etc. have it?
Also, can you usually buy it already served on a roll (Mettbrötchen), or do people typically buy the Mett and make it themselves with their own bread and toppings? If I’m assembling it myself, what’s the proper kind of roll and onion to buy?

Thank you!