If a German Says This... RUN! 3 Phrases That Terrify Americans

[00:00:00]There are a few phrases I kept hearing when I first moved to Germany that stopped me in my tracks because in the US you almost never hear them. Americans are even a little afraid to say them.

[00:00:10]I've lived in Germany for 7 years now and it took me a while to get used to how differently things are said around here. Being a US American, there are just some things you don't say. You could, but you'd be breaking a lot of unspoken social norms. Moving to Germany meant relearning those norms. Over time I landed on three phrases that Germans use [music] pretty often that I almost never hear back home. So today I'm covering those three. Stick around till the end and I'll tell you the one I hear the most in Germany. But before I break these down, if you're new here, my name is Liz and this is my channel Untold Abroad. I go over cultural contrasts between the US and Germany and how I'm building a life in Germany. If you like this kind of stuff, go ahead and give me a subscribe. It helps me so much. Thank you. So phrase number one, "Nein, das stimmt nicht." Translation, "No, that is not correct." This is one that Germans love to use. Ask any foreigner. Heck, ask any German and they'll tell you correcting people is just part of the culture. Hearing "Nein, das stimmt nicht" was common for me when I first moved here and it still is today if I'm actually wrong about something. In Germany, correcting someone isn't seen as rude. It's sticking to the facts and Germans rarely take it personally. In the US, correcting someone is more of a production. Filler words and phrases, hedges, "I could be wrong, but not to be that person, but" the correction gets buried under sensitivity layers before you even get to the point. I've talked about this before, but Americans default to the compliment sandwich. Something positive first, then the actual feedback, then something nice to close it out. In Germany, that doesn't fly.

[00:01:51]You just tell someone what was right and what wasn't and most Germans would take that trade every time. It's interesting how the same sentence can land completely differently depending on the language. That's something a textbook can't teach you. That's part of why I've been getting back into watching German TV and listening to music to just retrain my ear. I've been trying to just surround myself with real spoken German content to immerse myself. And it's actually really been helping. There's this app I've been using called Lingopie and it has these interactive subtitles you can see on the screen there. You can use those on your favorite movies and shows. It's quite easy for learning. You click a word, get the definition, and save it to your vocabulary on the side.

[00:02:35]So you're actively learning as you watch. But to be honest, the thing that has made this app the most seamless is that Lingopie has an extension for Netflix and Disney Plus. So you can watch all of your favorite shows and movies on any device with all of Lingopie's features. And I know a lot of you watching are native German speakers already, but Lingopie offers this in 16 different languages. So some of my German friends use it to learn French, Spanish, or to even brush up on their English. And it's not just TV and movies. They also have books and music, all of the stuff you need to really immerse yourself. I've been using it to rewatch Dark on Netflix and I've also started singing along to some Helena Fischer songs. I'm really becoming German now. If you want to try it out, click the link in the description below for a free 7-day trial. And if you like it, their annual plan is 55% off right now. Thank you so much to Lingopie for helping support this video. Phrase two.

[00:03:32]Das steht dir nicht. That doesn't suit you. This one caught me off guard the hardest because it isn't about rules or correctness. It's about how you look, your outfit, or your haircut. And it's delivered as a plain observation.

[00:03:45]There's a creator who creates these skits where he pretends to be a European going around and always telling his friend his outfit doesn't suit him. I'll play the video.

[00:03:53]>> Oh, my god. Is that what you're going to wear?

[00:03:59]My god. Why did you wear the flip-flops?

[00:04:03]Your foot shape is not ideal for this type of shoe. Your big toes look like a hand grenade. Your hair is not cut, your beard is not shaped, and today you said, "I want to try something new with my fit."

[00:04:17]Shoes, scheiße.

[00:04:19]The top, also scheiße.

[00:04:22]>> I think this time we're really going to break up, bro.

[00:04:24]>> Yeah.

[00:04:24]>> Day and night we've been fighting all the time.

[00:04:26]>> Man, I'm just This is such an emotional story, but man, your breath it really smells like like scheiße and scheiße right now.

[00:04:34]Did you brush your teeth with like scheiße this morning or Wow. My god, it smells like burning.

[00:04:41]>> I think I'm just gaining weight.

[00:04:43]>> Yeah.

[00:04:43]>> More and more every day.

[00:04:44]>> think it's maybe like all the chocolate that you eat?

[00:04:47]Cuz even the sides, your belly's getting fat.

[00:04:50]>> Ach, meine Gott.

[00:04:52]>> Meine Gott. Not a huge fan of your build right now.

[00:04:56]>> It's actually quite funny that he says he's a European, but his accent is clearly German, and he's using so many Germanisms. Also, another thing that I noticed is he's not just criticizing the outfit, he's also pointing out that his friend has gained weight. I have noticed this among Germans, especially family.

[00:05:14]They'll tell each other when they think they've put on weight, and it's not meant as an insult. It's more just like you're looking out for them. I don't think talking about weight is as taboo in Germany as it is in the US. I've really never seen Germans comment on someone's weight to somebody that they barely know, or even close friends. You have to have a very intimate relationship, I think, but I do think most Germans will tell you exactly what they think if you ask. In the US, commenting on someone's weight or someone's appearance, invited or not, is not that common. Body image obviously carries a lot of baggage here, tangled up in diet culture and decades of messaging that your appearance says something about your worth. In Germany, that filter just doesn't exist the same way. This phrase isn't meant as cruelty.

[00:06:01]It's delivered the way you deliver any other fact. Whether that makes it land any easier is a different question. And I really have to preface that like Germans aren't going around commenting on people's appearances all the time.

[00:06:16]I've just noticed that they are more likely to. They will tell you what they think if you ask. So, yeah, I think it's again just rooted in honesty. And finally, phrase number three, "Das ist nicht möglich." That is not possible.

[00:06:32]This is the phrase I have heard the most in Germany. I have expat friends who lived in Germany for 3 years and they told me this was the first phrase they learned in German. In the US, there's a sense that everything's possible for fee. In Germany, that's the end of the negotiation. There's no manager to escalate to with a different opinion because the answer isn't a judgment call. It's usually a regulation, a Vorschrift. And the person telling you no didn't write it and can't override it and normally won't. In the US, not possible is usually like the opening move. You push back, you ask for a manager, find a workaround. Of course, that can sometimes come with a higher price tag, but there's always more motivation to find a possible solution.

[00:07:16]I've talked about this in my other videos, but customer service in the US has the attitude that businesses will bend over backwards for their customers and that the customer is always right.

[00:07:26]In Germany, the customer isn't always right and "Nicht möglich" is allowed to just be the final answer. So, none of these three phrases are meant to be rude or hurtful. I found that US American communication protects feelings [music] first and delivers information second.

[00:07:42]German communication does the opposite.

[00:07:45]Information delivered on time without a cushion. [music] So, tell me in the comments, Germans, do you use these phrases? Americans, internationals, what else have you heard that wouldn't fly back home? I'm reading everything. I'm trying to respond to as many comments as possible. So, please put your thoughts down below. And if you haven't already, go ahead and check out my Becoming Unamerican series. I go over just how German I've become. Thanks for watching and see you all next Bye.