  Germany — In Their Language |
Courtesies: A handshake is the most common form of greeting. A man waits for a woman to extend her hand before shaking it; in mixed company he shakes a woman’s hand before a man’s. In groups, several people do not shake hands at once; crossing someone else’s handshake is inappropriate. By tradition, only family members and close friends address each other by their first names. Others use titles and surnames, although this is changing among young people.
Pointing the index finger to one’s own head is an insult to another person. Instead of crossing one’s fingers for luck, German’s ‘squeeze the thumb’ between the index and the middle fingers. Only the thumb tip is between the fingers; allowing it to protrude is an offensive gesture. In some areas, public displays of affection are not appropriate. Germans wear their wedding rings on their right hands, not on the left.
In some areas when men reach the age of 30 and they still do not have a girlfriend that they have to sweep the stairs of the city hall. All their friends will throw rubble on the stairs and when the man is finished they will throw some more rubble there. This way every girl can see that this man reached the age of 30 and still doesn't have a girlfriend (and that he can clean a house very well!).
Languages: German
However, the German taught in school and used in the media is often not the German spoken daily. Various dialects have a strong influence in most areas. English is widely understood and many Germans from the former East Germany speak Russian. |
| | | English | German | | | Alphabet | |
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German Alphabet |
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a ah
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b beh |
c tshe |
d deh |
e eh |
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f eff |
g ghe |
h hah |
i ih |
j yot |
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k kah |
l ell |
m em |
n en |
o oh |
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p peh |
q koo |
r err |
s ess |
t teh |
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u ooh |
v fow |
w veh |
x eks |
y üppsilon |
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z tset |
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| Vowels with a hat ^ indicate the vowel sound is short
| | | Greeting | | Do you speak German | Sprechen Sie Deutsch? (SHPRÊ-Hen zee doytsh) | | Excuse me | Verzeihung | | Fine / Good | Sehr gut (zehr gût) | | Good afternoon | Guten Tag | | Good evening | Guten Abend (gûtn AH-bnt) | | Good morning | Guten Morgen (gûtn MÔR-gn) | | Good night | Gute Nacht | | Goodbye | Auf Wiedersehen (ouf VEE-der-zehn) | | Happy New Year! | Glueckliches Neues Jahr! | | How are you? | Wie geht es Ihnen? (vee geht êss EE-nen) | | I'm pleased to meet you | Sehr erfreut | | Merry Christmas | Froehliche Weihnachten | | Please | Bitte (bi-tub) | | See you later | Bis Bald | | Thank you | Danke (DÂNG-ke) | | Welcome | Willkommen | | Yes / No | Ja / Nein | | Do you speak English? | Sprechen Sie Englisch? (SHPRÊ-Hen zee ÊNG-lish) | | Days | | Sunday | Sonntag (ZÔN-tahgk) | | Monday | Montag (MOHN-tahgk) | | Tuesday | Dienstag (DEENS-tahgk) | | Wednesday | Mittwoch (MÎT-vôh) | | Thursday | Donnerstag (DÔNRS-tahgk) | | Friday | Freitag (FRY-tahgk) | | Saturday | Samstag (ZÂMS-tahgk) | | Months | | January | Januar (YÂ-nû-ahr) | | February | Februar (FEH-brû-ahr) | | March | Marz (mêrts) | | April | April (ah-PRÎL) | | May | Mai (my) | | June | Juni (YOO-nee) | | July | Juli (YOO-lee) | | August | August (ow-GÛST) | | September | September (zêp-TÊM-ber) | | October | Oktober (ôk-TOH-ber) | | November | November (nô-VÊM-ber) | | December | Dezember (deh-TSÊM-ber) | | Numbers | | one | eins (eyns) | | two | zwei (tsvigh) | | three | drei (dry) | | four | vier (feer) | | five | fünf (fuunf) | | six | sechs (zeks) | | seven | sieben (ZEE-bin) | | eight | acht (akht) | | nine | neun (noin) | | ten | zehn (tsane) | | fifty | fünfzig | | eleven | elf (êlf) | | twelve | zwölf (tsvuolf) | | five hundred | fünfhundert (FUUNF-Hûn-dert) | | thirteen | dreizehn (DRY-tsehn) | | fourteen | vierzehn (FEER-tsehn) | | fifteen | Fünfzehn (FUUNF-tsehn) | | sixteen | sechzehn (ZÊH-tsen) | | seventeen | siebzehn (ZEEB-tsehn) | | eighteen | achtzehn (ÂH-tsehn) | | nineteen | neunzehn (NOYN-tsehn) | | twenty | zwanzig (TSVÂN-tsîgk) | | twenty-one | einundzwanzig (AYN-ûnt-tsvân-tsîgk) | | twenty-two | zweiundzwanzig (TSVY-ûnt-tsvân-tsîgk) | | twenty-three | dreiundzwanzig (DRY-ûnt-tsvân-tsîgk) | | twenty-four | vierundzwanzig (FEER-ûnt-tsvân-tsîgk) | | twenty-five | fünfundzwanzig (FUUNF-ûnt-tsvân-tsîgk) | | one hundred | hundert (HÛN-dert) | | one thousand | tausend (TOW-zent) | | Seasons | | Winter | Winter | | Spring | Frühling | | Summer | Sommer | | Fall | Herbst | | Colors | | Black | schwarz | | Blue | blau | | Green | grün | | Orange | orange | | Pink | rosa | | Purple | lila | | Red | rot | | White | weiß | | Yellow | gelb |
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