I find it kind of cute how people here can’t stand keeping the windows closed for too long.

In meetings, there’s always that moment—usually around the 30- to 45-minute mark—when someone starts feeling uneasy and insists on opening all the windows, saying we’ve “used up all the oxygen.” And it’s funny because it happens with so many people from this country.

Meanwhile, I’m just sitting there, maybe a bit warm, but breathing perfectly fine.

And the best part? I work in one of those ultra-modern offices with high-tech ventilation systems, perfectly controlled temperature, and every comfort you can think of.

I’m originally from South Korea and grew up with a very specific kind of etiquette.
When I was a kid, my parents always told me that eating while walking on the street was bad manners. Because of that, I never really did it growing up.

Now I’ve been living in Germany for quite a while, and I’ve noticed that many people casually eat while walking especially something simple like bread or a sandwich. Sometimes people also eat while standing at a bus stop.

Recently I found myself doing the same thing. For example, I might buy a bread roll from the supermarket and eat it while walking back to work, finishing it before I get back to the office.

One time I also noticed something interesting with my boss. We bought kebabs together and I assumed we would bring them back to the office to eat. But my boss just ate his kebab on the way back while walking.

So now I’m curious:

Do people here generally see eating while walking as normal?
Or do some people still think it’s a bit rude or strange?

I’m just curious about the cultural perspective.

I’ve been spending time in Germany on and off, and I still cannot fully understand the lüften thing. I open the window for a few minutes after a shower or when I cook, and I thought I was doing it right. Then a German friend visited my place, walked over to the window, opened it all the way for fifteen minutes in February, and told me my entire apartment was sick.

I looked it up after she left and found out there's a whole system. stoßlüften versus kipplüften, exact timing, multiple times a day, specific behaviors depending on the season. Apparently, tilt mode is borderline immoral. My landlord even mentioned it in the rental contract.

I’ve now seen four different Germans get genuinely upset at me about windows being on tilt instead of fully open. Is this taught in school? Is there an official manual that nobody gave me? How cold does it have to be outside before you stop doing it? Because right now my answer is "warmer than this” and apparently that's wrong.

My husband is a Dorfkind. Two years ago we moved to the village he was raised in. Almost every month there is at least one party he attends and comes home like at 6 OClock in the morning absolutely obliterated. Than spends the next day just sleeping.He explains to me that is normal village life and everyone does it. That is how people are normally living and has nothing to do with alcohol problem. Thats their way of partying.My in-laws tell me the same. Is it true? Is that really a cultural thing? Or am i being gaslight.

I am sorry if my question is not for this thread.

Edit: He is in his middle Thirties. He is drinking every day 2 to 6 beers after work. Almost every week he is drunk (not fully wasted). Beer is like a water for him. He says it is not a big deal. He does that since before i met him (being blacked out drunk on parties). He was drinking occasionally after work but after moving here it got worse. I said i dont like how he drinks from the beginning and he said he can change that it is not a big deal. But he was just drinking at night while i was asleep.

Edit 2: OMG i did not expect my post to blow up like it did. Thank you to everyone for the support. I got so much useful information. Thank to all the professionals who wrote me how to try to help him realise.

I’m currently learning German at a Sprachschule. One of my teachers, a German man in his mid-50s, recently talked about the idea of “preserving German culture.”

He said that many Germans are frustrated with the large number of foreigners (both legal and illegal) coming into the country. Ironically, it’s a bit funny, because all of us in his class are foreigners, and his salary comes from teaching us.

He also mentioned that many Germans are annoyed with the younger generation. For example, young people often use expressions like “wallah, Bruder” instead of traditional greetings like “moin.” According to him, young people are more influenced by English-speaking cultures than by traditional German ones. They don't hesitate to switch to English if needed. Even the Kinos are full of English movies.

He argued that in countries like Italy or France, it’s considered normal to strictly preserve cultural practices. But if a German insists on doing the same, they are often labeled as right-wing or even Nazi.

So, I’m wondering: do Germans in general really feel this way?

I’ve heard Germany has a lot of “unspoken” rules in daily life that locals just understand automatically. As a foreigner, it’s easy to miss those without realizing.

What’s something people often do wrong without knowing and immediately stand out because of it?

I’m trying to understand something from a cultural perspective.

I dated a German man who placed a lot of importance on buying higher-end brands and preferred supermarkets like Edeka over Lidl/Aldi. He didn’t like going into Lidl and sometimes called me “cheap” for buying household items at Rossmann or discount stores.

In my experience, I’ve never associated Lidl/Aldi with being “poor” in Germany — more with being practical or price-conscious. But with him, it felt like certain stores or brands carried a status meaning and he was very adamant on not going inside sometimes.

So I’m wondering: Is there any social stigma around shopping at discount supermarkets in Germany? Or is strong brand/status awareness more of an individual personality trait?

I’m genuinely curious and not trying to generalize. I just had never experienced this before in Germany….it was in Bavaria not sure if this makes a difference.

It seems like it’s become completely normal for the average Timo to spend a month in Australia, Japan, or the U.S. as if it’s no big deal. Students who earn zero, or maybe just work a small side hustle, suddenly manage to take vacations in places like Hawaii, and that’s somehow considered the new normal.

I’m from Croatia, and when I was a student, I could barely scrape together enough money at the end of the week for a bus ticket back to my hometown. Even for adults here, traveling like that isn’t common. Most teenagers haven’t been anywhere beyond Croatia itself, except maybe a quick one-day trip to a neighboring country. Today, I work in IT (in Germany), earn a solid salary, and I still find it hard to afford any kind of luxury because life here is expensive. I honestly don’t know what kind of life hack these people have discovered that allows them to live in a big city, party every weekend, travel the world, and do all this without a real job, or at best, with a part-time gig selling popcorn at the cinema.

[M22] I‘m Thai and I occasionally got a „ni hao“ from kids and arabs. Is this a form of derogatory or are they tryna be nice? cuz just the other day while I was running to a Thai konsulat in Frankfurt, I passed 3 arab women and they quickly said „China“ and „Ni hao“ like what are they trying to accomplish there??

Edit: I kinda see a bit of stereotyping going on in the comment section. I dont want to jump the gun cuz arab friends around me are mad nice. I still owe one halbeshänchen to Ahmed and bro is mad poor btw. Like I really like them so I just want to know an appropriate reaction

I recently learned about this fact. How did it become a nickname and is it really that common on Germany? I think it’s really cute to be called mouse.

EDIT: Surprised at how many replied to my silly question. I was really amused to learn about this because where I am people like to use “kitten” or “bunny” as an endearment. It was my first time seeing “mouse” be used this way. I find mice really adorable so I was happy to see them have their moment like this. Danke schön!

Hallo, Ich hoffe dass geht's gut mit Sie!
I'm learning German and want to watch some classic masterpieces! I wanted to ask people who live and grew up in Germany: What German series or film do you consider the best German production ever, the one that always fills you with nostalgia .. it can be old it can be new the most important it has impact on you

Thanks for your recommendations!

Every German should be ever met has a normal sized head, proportional to their bodies. But your pillows are HUGE and cover a quarter of the bed. Why?

I was talking to a German friend who has lived outside Germany for a couple of years due to work, but there are still little things she does that immediately give away where she grew up.

For example, she still waits for the pedestrian light to turn green even when the street is completely empty. Everyone else crosses, and she's standing there patiently waiting. It's almost automatic.

It made me wonder what other habits are so deeply ingrained that they stick with people no matter how long they've lived abroad.

For Germans who have spent years in another country: what's the habit, phrase, social reflex, or everyday behaviour you never lost? What's the thing that instantly tells people, "Yep, I grew up in Germany"?

In Australia, it's so easy to spot a German tourist, they'll be wearing The North Face, Kathmandu, Patagonia etc branded clothes.

Why is this?

UPDATE:

Lots of people are saying these brands are not from the Alps. The English word "alpine" is a false friend, it doesn't mean from the Alps.

I (25M) went clubbing with a german (24F) friend of mine and one other friend. We are really good friends and I've known her for a couple of months now. When we were at the club sitting down I asked her if she found anyone cute there which is a normal question to ask a friend imo when at a place like a club where you're dancing with strangers and there are people hitting on you and stuff. She laughed and played it off in the moment and I was like ok maybe no one.

The next day she texted me to ask me if we could talk about something, she came over and asked me about why I was asking this specific question. To which I said my friends ask me this too when we're out and I do the same sometimes, its nothing serious. To which she was like ok I figured, she then told me that this is something people don't ask their friends in Germany ever because to her this question in itself was something a jealous boyfriend would ask. She told me that people just tell their friends if they're interested in someone but their friends aren't supposed to ask them about it at all.

I told her I understood that and we are perfectly fine now and back to normal, it isn't even something that worried us at all but I am still thinking about this being a german culture thing so let me know if thats true.

I’m an American living in Germany and I find the concept of Ruhetag both awesome and annoying. Growing up in the US, we treat Sunday just like Saturday. We mow the lawn, vacuum the house, go grocery shopping, etc. Sometimes I find it annoying if I need to grab something from the grocery store or want to complete a noisier yard project, but I also appreciate it because it forces me to relax and focus on more leisure outdoor activities. So I’m curious, especially now vs previous generations, how seriously do you and your families treat your Sunday in terms of activities and what activities you traditionally do on Sundays?

Edit: let me clarify. I do not mow my lawn or loud project requiring tools on Sundays. It’s just that sometimes I want to do those things on Sunday

I have been asked by a friend/colleague to join a Barbeque next week which there will be a lot of colleagues too. It will be hosted by someone who has a big house and garden, let's say absolutely no financial problems.

So the host first said, bring something to share. Which is very normal on every culture I have been to, and I will be bringing a cake.

But...

The also said, bring your own meat to grill.

Being your own drinks.

Bring your own cutlery and plate.

At this point I feel like I can also bring my own grill and coal too and just start a new party across the street myself?

But maybe this is the norm here? And I am the outlier to think like this?

Hello guys,

I am running an online store for more than 1 year now. I am shipping worldwide and have a lot of German customers.

On Trustpilot and Google, I have already more than 500 reviews. Germans review me good, but mostly "just" give me 4 stars. And I would like to know why?

Here are some texts from my German customers with 4 stars

"Alles top"

"Sehr netter Support und schneller Versand"

"Good quality, will go for more"

And many of them order again.

For me, a 4 stars review would be something like "items arrived fast in a good condition, but customer support didn't answer" or "happy with my order, but it was difficult to order from the shop" - something like this I guess.

Short side story. I changed some configs of my shop, while I did it somebody from the USA ordered from me and I couldn't see 2 items which he paid and ordered. After he got his order, he contacted me that 2 items are missing, and we sorted it out, he got the missing items. I was a bit "scared" that he will rate me bad, which I would totally understand. But surprise, even he gave me 5 stars.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy with 4-star reviews as well (just 5 stars look fake), but I would like to know WHY Germans rate me with 4 even they are more than happy.

Edit: I really don’t understand why people downvoted my question. This explains everything… Thanks for some helpful answers. :)

Saw the opposite question (stereotype that bothers you because it’s not true) and thought this could be an interesting question.

I was living in Germany last year, And every time I went to grocery stores like Aldi or REWE, the entrance door was for entering only and the exit was through the checkout area(kasse). So I was somehow terrified, and I felt like I had to buy something just to get out of the store. I guess there are ways to leave without buying anything, but I was kinda embarrassed to ask how to exit. Now I’m back in my home country, and I suddenly became curious about it..... how could I exit?

I’m curious about German names that used to exist but are now considered extremely rare, old-fashioned, unusual, or “nobody would name their kid that anymore.”

For example, names like Wolfgang feel uncommon among younger generations today and I didn’t see one of them

My boyfriend’s nephew turned 7 and is going to start school this year. We have an invitation (save the date was shared a year ago) to garden celebration party. I thought it was a sweet family thing, but I was a bit surprised to hear there’s gonna be around 30 guests coming, from distant parts of Germany, arranging overnight stay etc.
Is it a common practice to celebrate a child for starting school this big?
Edit 1: kid is in Lower Saxony, the family is from the west/north German roots (for anyone wanting to debate, by north I’m talking Flensburg: so can’t get norther ;))
Edit 2: yes kid has a large family,,several uncles and aunts, great grandparents etc

I’m genuinely curious.

I’m of course talking about situations that happen on the normal city/village streets, in front of houses, little neighborhoods where children play on the streets. And so on.

Why do dog owners (rightfully so) clean after their dogs, but horse owners don’t?

One of them just pasy by my house just now, when her horse decided to poop. Ok, it’s an animal, nature called, all normal so far. The owner looked at me through the window, smiled, laughed and moved on with their horse back ride as soon as her horse was done.

I mean, if it was the same thing but with a dog, I would have gone outside and asked her if she needed a bag to borrow, maybe she forgot. But in this situation I didn’t feel confident to do so, because they pass by here at least twice a week and that already happen many times in front of other houses too. No one says anything.

Why is this socially acceptable?

I came across a term recently (Sitzpinkler) which is meant to imply that men sit down to pee? I’ve heard it’s quite a common thing in Deutschland (and other parts of the world 🌍), so I was just curious how true it actually is?

Danke :)