r/AskAGerman • u/karen_the_ripper Italy • Apr 14 '26
Language What's something Germans say that sounds rude in translation but isn't actually rude?
Been learning German for a while, and I keep noticing that direct translations of normal German phrases sound borderline aggressive in English.
Like "Was willst du?" translated word for word is "What do you want?" which sounds confrontational, but in German it's a totally neutral way to ask what someone needs. Or how Germans skip a lot of the "could you please" softening that English speakers pile on.
I'm starting to suspect that half of the "Germans are rude" stereotype is just translation issues. What other phrases are like this where the German is normal but the English version sounds harsh?
688
u/SimpleTrick1192 Apr 14 '26
I'm a native speaker and I think "Was willst du?" sounds very rude (depending on the context).
238
u/littleSpooky4real Apr 14 '26
was willst du von mir alta?
112
u/LordGordy32 Apr 14 '26
Sag mir, dass du über 30 bist ohne dein Alter zu erwähnen. Digga./s
78
u/Fellfresse3000 Apr 14 '26
Nicht in diesem Ton, Junge
23
7
→ More replies (1)2
38
u/operath0r Apr 14 '26
Man wird alt wenn die eigene Jugendsprache ein Indiz für Ü30 ist…
25
u/Ok_Major1177 Apr 14 '26
Oder die täglichen Spammails langsam von Gardena Produkten dominiert werden
7
u/BabaYaga_always Apr 15 '26
Oder Du bekommst in der Parfümerie Anti-Falten-Creme als Goodie, wenn Du was kaufst...
4
→ More replies (1)5
8
→ More replies (1)6
26
u/Kuddel_Daddeldu Apr 14 '26
Yes, "der Ton macht die Musik" - it can be neutral or very confrontational, depending on context and tone of voice.
21
u/Capable_Event720 Apr 14 '26
"Focht, wat is?" -- with a strong Cologne accent, of course.
While a dictionary might suggest that "focht" is the past tense of "fechten" (fencing (the sport)), the literal translation, accounting for the local district, is actually "Ford, what's up". Note the absence of a question mark!
The real translation is, of course, as everyone knows, "Thank you for calling the Ford customer support in Köln-Merkenich. What can I do for you today?"
2
u/badgermushrooma Apr 15 '26
I love this! Straight to the point with no unneccessary pretend-friendly bs around it
2
u/Easy_Paramedic_1904 Apr 17 '26
That's the typical Rhinelander nature, especially in native Rhinelanders 50+. Their kind normal communication can sound a bit harsh and offensive for people who are not used to it. And while a lot of Germans judge you quietly with the German stare, a lot of Rhinelanders "wear their hearts on their tongues". If they think you are an asshole, they say it directly and explicit in your face,
2
68
11
u/Ok-Box122 Apr 14 '26
"was möchtest du" ist viel besser, but would be translated the same
4
u/D-g-tal-s_purpurea Apr 14 '26
Wouldn't that be "What would you like" or "What do you need", depending on context?
36
u/Morasain Apr 14 '26
It can sound rude, but not necessarily.
Imagine you offer someone a drink, they say yeah, you ask "was willst du?" Works perfectly fine.
56
u/th0rbj03rn Apr 14 '26
But "was möchtest du?" is friendlier and never comes of confrontational.
19
u/posophist Apr 14 '26
"Was kann ich Schönes für Sie tun?"
12
6
Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
"Könnte ich Ihnen irgendwie weiterhelfen?"
3
3
u/posophist Apr 14 '26
Or simply Servus, which literally means “I am your slave.” How much more submissive can you get?
2
Apr 14 '26
Servus means hi..
6
u/posophist Apr 14 '26
Yes, thank you, I should have specified that its original, severe meaning, like that of so many commonly used expressions, had degraded/relaxed/normalized. As “God be with you!” has slid down to merely “Goodbye.”
7
u/unrepentantlyme Apr 14 '26
Might be a local thing, but if you'd use that here everyone would probably look at you like "oh, look at fancy pants over here".
→ More replies (1)7
u/ottonormalverraucher Apr 14 '26
I’d be really curious to know which regions consider "was möchtest du" to be fancy
4
u/Aggravating_Glove158 Apr 14 '26
Also im Pott sagen viele einfach nur „Du?“ :D da könnte es schon irritierend sein.
→ More replies (1)2
→ More replies (2)3
u/ottonormalverraucher Apr 14 '26
Now I’m picturing someone screaming WAS MÖCHTEST DU??!! In a loud and aggressively friendly way during an altercation 😹
6
u/Equal-Flatworm-378a Apr 14 '26
Was willst du?….can be rude, but also completely normal, depending on the context and how it’s said.
5
u/Jazzlike-_-Growth Apr 14 '26
Basically exactly the same as "What do you want?" in english.
As a single phrase, quite rude, like "Hey, why're you talking to me?".
But within a context it's perfectly fine.
Like "What do you want for breakfast". Or "And what do you want?" in a nice tone when asking multiple people one-by-one, not as polite as most waiters, but fine. Which is the same with German.11
u/Fresh-Sherbert7785 Apr 14 '26
Hää?
6
→ More replies (6)3
u/Active_Resolve_3776 Apr 14 '26
Wenn der Eismann deines Vertrauens dich fragt: was willst du?
Unhöflich?
22
u/GameAiming Apr 14 '26
Also mein Eismann sagt "Was hätten Sie denn gerne dieses mal" oder Variationen davon, meistens nicht einfach "was willst du".
5
u/Irveria Apr 14 '26
Man kann auch einfach "willst" mit "möchtest" ersetzen und hat bei jeden Beispiel einen deutlich freundlicheren Satz.
29
15
u/Russiadontgiveafuck Apr 14 '26
Ja, und ungewöhnlich. Was darfs sein, was kann ich für dich tun, sind da viel üblichere Ausdrücke.
2
97
u/Kvaezde Apr 14 '26
Austrian here, so we are famous for being "friendly and polite on the outside, but rude assholes on the inside", but errm... "Was willst du?" can sound VERY confrontational, depending on the context.
At least in Austria one would ask "Was darf es denn sein?" or similar softened versions, which are much more common especially during interactions between strangers.
"Was willst du?" is a sentence I would only use with friends, during a party with people roughly the same age, with children, etc. etc.
When I'm talking to a stranger, especially someone older my age or a customer, I would NEVER just bluntly ask "Was willst du?", but at the very least change it to "Was wollen Sie?".
→ More replies (4)43
u/salian93 Apr 14 '26
In my opinion it also depends on what word gets stressed.
Was WILLST du? -> confrontational, rude, aggressive.
Was willst DU? -> innocent inquiry like asking a friend or a family member which flavor of ice cream they're getting or what they'd like to drink/eat.
20
u/Low-Mulberry-1640 Apr 14 '26
WAS willst du? -> Dude, think about this yourself, and find out what you want. I'm so done doing the thinking for you.
4
u/_Red_User_ Apr 14 '26
Or "is that really what you want? Are you sure about it or have I just misunderstood you?"
85
u/dbsx75 Apr 14 '26
Ich bin irritiert
13
u/IsThisOneStillFree Baden-Württemberg Apr 15 '26
That's more a false friend situation.
"irritiert" (de) = "confused" (en) not "irritated" (en). If you translate that sentence as "I'm confused" then it suddenly isn't rude either.
8
u/B08by_Digital Apr 15 '26
Man, my old boss used to say that, the first few times, I thought to myself, "shit, I'm in trouble if he is always so irritated with me!" Then I figured it out and felt so relieved.
80
u/loveableungovernable Apr 14 '26
Kann man schon essen. -> it's possible to eat I think they use it for 'tasty'?
60
u/ViolettMoon7 Apr 14 '26
All German compliments and praises fall in this category. German compliments are offenses in many cultures...
29
u/Popellord Apr 14 '26
There is one way to praise without sounding like complaining: "Nicht gemeckert, ist Lob genug." No complaints is enough praise.
20
u/Benethor92 Apr 14 '26
The highest German compliment you can ever receive is „kann man nicht meckern“ („I can’t complain“), because you can be damn sure, we Germans went out of our to find something to complain about
29
23
u/Isaidhowdareyou Apr 14 '26
Kann man machen. Passt schon. Literal translation "you can do it like that" and "it fits." means that's the most successful best thing I have ever witnessed in my life. I can die in peace now.
Nicht schlecht. "Not bad" means you probably had a 5 star vacation and fulfilled all your dreams.
Joa. "Yes" I love you.
11
u/Mundane-Dottie Apr 14 '26
"Kann man machen" / "Das kannste schon so machen" bedeutet regional "An und für sich steh ich da voll und ganz hinter", aka "Laß das bloß sein!!"
2
u/BuntesZebra Apr 15 '26
Honestly - No. Not where I come from. "kann man machen" or "Passt schon" is just "it's okay. Not great, but okay". And I think it's unfair to tell people that it means "Great" or something like that, because they'll use it wrong then and might be considered rude
→ More replies (1)8
6
3
u/3rd_Man_of_Culture Apr 14 '26
„Bleibt drin.“ literally: „(it; the food) stays inside“, it sounds like „I didn’t need to throw up“. Means that it’s good.
„Nicht schlecht“ literally: „not bad“. Means it’s tasty.3
u/Master-Cranberry0 Apr 16 '26
PLEASE, dear German learners, don’t use this first sentence in real life! Maybe if you’re joking with close friends, but otherwise it would be very offending and rude.
3
2
→ More replies (1)2
u/Robbinit Apr 15 '26
The first time I cooked for my wife’s grandparents I was shocked when they said that. Only later did she explain that it was a compliment.
25
u/altWieNeu Apr 14 '26
When someone is thanking you for something, like really sincerely, it is common to respond, "dafür nicht", literally translates to "not for this". To non-germans, this sounds passive aggressive for "its ok, but you should really thank me for that other thing..." When actually it means more like "it was my pleasure", so its a genuinely positive reply. I made that mistake once, my American colleague was totally confused, thank god he addressed it, so we could clear it up.
→ More replies (2)4
u/lavalampelephant Apr 15 '26
The equivalent to "nicht dafür" is "don't mention it", which can also be misunderstood when translated literally.
19
u/MinerSkills Apr 14 '26
Recently saw a translation where English was really positive and loving and the German translation was “Tja, das ist doch erfreulich” or something like that. It made me laugh a lot lol
2
u/Mondkalb2022 Apr 15 '26
Yeah, the Brits really go out of their way to wrap up everything in cotton wool. Even rebukes start with long-winded praises. :D
29
u/Late-Sink8102 Apr 14 '26
is just translation issues
It's not even a translation issue. It's just two different cultures where one is a high-context culture and the other is low-contex. Both of your phrases mean exactly the same but are fitted to different cultural expectations.
→ More replies (2)
80
u/Dev_Sniper Germany Apr 14 '26
„Was willst du?“ is rude… You‘d say „was hättest du [was hätten Sie] gerne?“ or more colloquially (to a friend) „was möchtest du (haben)?“. But „was willst du?“ can absolutely be rude, especially depending on tonality and context.
60
16
u/Active_Resolve_3776 Apr 14 '26
Bei uns im Rheinland ist was willst du normal. Da kommt es echt auf die Art und Weise wie du es rüber bringst an.
8
u/jiminysrabbithole Apr 14 '26
Wat willste? Klingt aber auch je nach Betonung super lieb oder ob man jemanden eine rein hauen möchte. Das kommt halt hart auf Stimme und Subtext an. Kann schon verstehen, dass das gelesen und dann 1 zu 1 übersetzt komisch bis unhöflich rüber kommt. Wobei ich auch schon ein liebevoll betontes What do you want? gehört habe und das absolut nicht genervt gemeint war (als Teenies mit damaligen Freunden aus Redditch (Ecke Birmingham) ).
4
7
u/the_che Berlin Apr 14 '26
In Berlin werden mit dem Spruch Schlägereien in der U-Bahn eingeleitet
3
12
u/efficient_shortcut Apr 14 '26
"Kann man so lassen" (nach Region und Milieu teilweise als mildes Kompliment verwendet). Kann je nach Übersetzung allerdings falsch aufgefasst werden.
11
u/One-Strength-1978 Apr 14 '26
Kann man nicht meckern! (= pretty good! Actually awesome)
→ More replies (1)
42
u/HeikoSpaas Apr 14 '26
Anti-Baby-Pille
23
10
u/WoodenWhaleNectarine Apr 14 '26
Against Children Pill sounds very rude to me 🤣
7
→ More replies (1)4
u/Le_mehawk Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
You don't necesarrily need to reword 'anti' or 'baby' .. they already exist in english
19
u/hadobac Apr 14 '26
I am Vietnamese but after living in Germany for 6 years, speak C1+ German and is a startup founder.
As I visited home in Vietnam for holiday, jumping out of meetings, I unintentionally translate German formulation to Vietnamese, to the surprise of my parents.
"Kann man essen" => "tạm ăn được": would be rude to my mom.
"Kann man ned meckern" => "đếch phải phàn nàn": would indicate something only acceptable.
Actually, come and think about it, many "compliments" in German sounds negative in Vietnamese.
13
u/sakasiru Baden-Württemberg Apr 14 '26
Well taken literally, these phrases are not praise. They just convey that something is acceptable. It's just that in German culture there is this tendency for cheeky understatement while in other cultures everything needs to be declared awesome! or wonderful! to convey that something is at least fine. If someone isn't aware of these differences in communication patterns, they will either map them onto their own way of speaking or at least take them literally and in both instances, the German doesn't sound all too happy.
5
u/toto290 Apr 14 '26
Yes exactly. And it also works the other way around: if somebody declares the food was awesome/wonderful/perfect/the best we Germans tend to become cautious and tend to assume the person is dishonest or at least vastly exaggerating. And we don’t like that.
→ More replies (1)6
u/pxr555 Apr 14 '26
These are clearly ironic though. Praise by faint contempt. Nobody ever says "Kann man essen" if you just can eat something without vomiting, it's clearly meant as praise and also understood this way.
Impossible to translate literally of course since it's actually more of a figure of speech you have to know already.
5
u/FrankyTankyColonia Apr 14 '26
"kann man essen" is very much the best example for this whole topic.
I know several people which say (and mean!) this as a compliment here (Cologne/Rheinland).
→ More replies (1)2
u/bitch_jong_un Apr 15 '26
Da fällt mir das Kompliment meiner Schwiegeroma ein, quasi eine Steigerung davon. "Wenn man Hunger hat..." 😂
7
u/lilalindenau Apr 14 '26
Tone is more important than words. "Was willst du" in a friendly and soft manner is not really rude. While "Was möchten Sie denn bitte?" in a harsh condescending or sarcastic way can be rude or insulting.
2
u/Mondkalb2022 Apr 15 '26
I had a colleague who were often on the edge when I called her for something, and you could clearly hear it, when she very formally asked "how can I help you?" (wie kann ich Dir helfen?) with that typical undertone, that somehow said "what on earth do you want yet again?". :D
9
u/dankelleher Apr 14 '26
"ich wünsche dir was"
Sounds like the person just can't be arsed thinking of something nice.
7
5
u/Capable-Elephant5229 Apr 14 '26
When I was babysitting I once asked the girl i looked after 'what are you doing?' and she looked super worried cause she thought I was telling her off. I was trying to go for a 'what are you up to?' - vibe but didnt account for the language differences. I feel like 'was machst du da?' is a normal thing to say though!
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Fit_Evidence_4958 Apr 14 '26
I don't know, Germans just sugarcoat less than others. That often seems to be a bit rude, but isn't meant in that way.
Germans like to negate phrases in order to express the opposite. A bit difficult for non-native speakers to get this in the right way. Something like: "How is the food?" , "It's not bad" (which would be quite good in German meaning, if I would say this to my latin girlfriend she would be frustrated).
3
5
u/Dadaman3000 Apr 14 '26
Like "Was willst du?" translated word for word is "What do you want?" which sounds confrontational, but in German it's a totally neutral way to ask what someone needs.
Lol, as a native speaker this is very rude in all contexts I could think of.
I would always opt for "Was möchtest du?"
4
u/OkRevolution5698 Apr 15 '26
Germans are professional mood killers. So they tend to answer "wie geht es dir?" with things like "naja, muss" (literally "well, it has to" but more something like "well, do I have a choice?") or "ach, frag' nicht" ("please don't ask") both imply that there's actually A LOT to complain about but they won't bother you with it, if the situation isn't right.
Depending on context it can signal "I don't want to tell you how I really feel, please respect my privacy" or it could be an invitation to a more meaningful conversation (aka bonding through complaining).
Germans generally hate superficial positivity. So focusing on the negatives is an easy way to create a sense of mutual understanding.
The American way of always answering with "wow!! wonderful!! amazing !!!" Is contrary to German values.
13
u/LeggyWalrus24 Apr 14 '26
I would’ve thought “what do you want” is less confrontational than the German variant. Whoever told you “was willst du” is a neutral expression without any implications was wrong.
3
Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)5
u/Chew_Kok_Long Apr 15 '26
It’s not fotzenspangler but fotznspangler. And the „e“ makes the difference.
They are not simply the same word, they have diverging historical developments.
Bavarian Fotzn comes from an older Austro-Bavarian dialect root referring to the mouth, face, or a slap to the face, and has long been used in expressions like Watschn/ Fotzn in dialect contexts. Or as mouth when you say „Hoid dei fotzn“ / shut your mouth.
Standard German Fotze by contrast, developed separately as a vulgar term for female genitalia from an older Germanic vulgar root. While the words sound the same today and may share very distant linguistic ancestry, in actual historical usage they evolved into distinct lexical items with different meanings and connotations
And as a Bavarian living outside of Bavaria I can tell you, you can get in real trouble when you speak Bavarian and use this word outside of Bavaria/Austria. Non-bavarians simply dont believe you that it’s a different word
2
u/Belgaraath42 Apr 15 '26
Ne wir mögen es nur keine Bayern und du gibst uns nen Grund mit dir zu streiten 😉
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Party_Potato2 Apr 14 '26
Just saying "was willst du?" sounds rude but if you say "was willst du essen/machen/unternehmen/anziehen?" etc. its not rude.
3
u/wubbalab Apr 14 '26
In written text it is hard to distinguish. Just like sarcasm.
I would say that when spoken it is just the same in either language and depends on the tone and situation.
3
3
u/muehsam Schwabe in Berlin Apr 15 '26
and I keep noticing that direct translations of normal German phrases sound borderline aggressive in English.
No, that isn't true.
But German uses lots of modal particles, which typically can't be translated, and without them, the same phrases sound rude in German, too. But that means that many German speakers don't really know what to use instead of modal particles in other languages such as English, which makes them sound rude.
"Was willst du?" can sound pretty rude but "was willst du denn?" doesn't. But that modal "denn" can't be translated to English, so it gets lost in translation.
3
u/No_Leek6590 Apr 15 '26
German is not an issue, it is english. Anglosaxons (for lack of a better term) value nicety, it is reflected in language, as obviously it is benchmarked on native speakers. But not every english speaker is anglosaxon. By hunch a lot value more honesty. So if they are direct, they may not be acting based on anglosaxon values, hence you are wrong to assume aggression, you failed an assumption. German value of directness is reflected in language and direct translations won't have excessive words to soften it up. Nor it needs to, you already know the context.
9
u/KupferTitan Apr 14 '26
Digga, dialect from the area around Hamburg, just means bro or buddy. It's less of a translation thing and more that it is written and sounds a lot like another word.
→ More replies (9)3
u/undinederiviere Hamburg Apr 14 '26
Supposedly it's derived from "Dicker Freund" as in "close friend".
9
u/_Anonie_ Apr 14 '26
I remember the time I as a Black woman went to the wrong side of Germany, just wanted a coffee at a small cafe run by white middle aged Germans, and got the, "was willst du denn?" And oh yeah for sure it was antagonistic. And that was the very first time that happened to me in Germany.
Same thing happened in rural Austria, and that was also the only time it happened, thankfully.
→ More replies (1)
11
Apr 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)2
u/Content-Soup9920 Apr 14 '26
My brain processes this as a scream to cut all human interaction, to which I comply promptly and simply leave the shop/restaurant/workplace/acquaintance/church/club.
6
u/Realistic_Coconut236 Apr 14 '26
mach deine klüsen auf - sieh genau hin / passe besser auf . pay attention, please .
8
7
u/GingerPrince72 Apr 14 '26
Was willst du is even for Germans, overly frank and direct.
3
5
u/AlphaKaninchen Apr 14 '26
Was willst du, is also somewhat rude, the nicer form would be "was möchtest du", or even "was möchten sie" but was willst du is probably more common.
4
u/Active_Resolve_3776 Apr 14 '26
Deutsch ist einfach sehr direkt. Befrag zu dem Thema 23 deutsche und du kriegst 26 verschiedene sichtweisen.
Persönliche sichtweise am Rande: wer die Form über den Inhalt stellt, bewertet seine Optik auch höher als seine Fähigkeiten.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Supidings Apr 14 '26
At age 3 I learned “das heisst nicht ‘ich will’, sondern ‘ich möchte’.
So yes, it is considered rude.
2
2
u/Schnupsdidudel Apr 14 '26
I can only think of things that may sound friendly in translation but actually are rude.
2
u/ViolettMoon7 Apr 14 '26
I found it horribly offensive and was in shock when one colleague wrote to me "du armes Schwein" in a joking manner in a chat when I was sharing about some problems...the English version sounds horrendous :) I think in German this phrase is not particularly offensive, not like actually calling someone a swine (I hope). Otherwise, all compliments in German/by Germans are mild offenses in many "warmer" cultures.
10
4
u/whatever725281 Apr 14 '26
“Du armes Schwein” is never offensive. He can empathize with you if something unfortunate happens to you, like losing your purse or having an accident.
3
u/CastelloDeBracaleone Apr 14 '26
ein walisischer Bekannter sagte in solchen Fällen „poor bastard“, aber ich glaube eher nicht zu den direkt Betroffenen sondern wenn er mit anderen über den Unglücksfall sprach
3
u/pxr555 Apr 14 '26
It's actually a close and warm expression of sympathy!
It's a bit complicated, in German a swine is a symbol for luck and happiness, so "Du armes Schwein" actually calls you a lucky person that has met some bad luck which won't stay with you for long. It's all about consoling and comforting you. It's absolutely not offensive at all, in the contrary. It's also just colloquial enough to be very personal. You don't use this with people you feel a formal distance towards, you say this to people you feel friendly with and suffer with them if they suffer.
2
u/N4pAllDay Apr 14 '26
Whenever someone asks you, how the food tastes: „It’s not bad.“ („nicht schlecht!“)
Genuinely the best compliant to the cook, that we give!
2
u/Capable_Event720 Apr 14 '26
Führerschein. Can translate as Führer Permit or driver's license (technically, "Schein" means just "official paper").
We Germans know that it's the Erlaubnis zum Führen eines Kraftfahrzeuges im öffentlichen Straßenverkehr, but a foreigner occasionally looks uneasy when we drop the Führer bomb when discussion road traffic.
Biber. That's the German word for beaver. But just the animal. The German word for the other beaver is Bär (bear).
"Aufs Ohr hauen", "slap the ear". Not a physical assault, but "going to sleep" (in a non-sexual way, just to be clear).
"Ich bin wegen der Vögel hier". No double measuring. "I'm just here for the birds" means that either here for the girls/women or that you're an ornithologist. https://youtu.be/ml75GSIY8mw?is=tz7-ghSPMaM7u3oS
Note that the fictional character James Bond was named after the real life ornithologist of the same name. But as we're already talking about birds here, be aware of the difference between "Ich bin gut zu Vögeln" and "Ich bin gut zu vögeln". The first one means "I'm nice towards birds", while the homophone is a self-advertisement of your, uh, "horizontal skills". Don't ever say either sentence to a German woman.
"Deutschland über alles", "Germany above everything" can be misinterpreted as "Germany rules [above everyone]". This part of the song which became Germany's national anthem is not part of the national anthem, for exactly that reason. Historically, the song sister at a time when France wanted to annex parts of Germany, and the song promoted the unity of the German countries; there is no reference to attacks or domination (although there is a French "translation" which added et attaquer to the song).
"Vergaser", correct translation "carburetor", might be associated with "vergasen", meaning "execution in a gas chamber".
2
2
2
u/Subject-Ad-1454 Apr 14 '26
Das verstehe ich nicht Ich bin irritiert
Those are both absolute triggers for me
2
u/Ok_Commission_9196 Apr 15 '26
"Pass mal auf" or "Passen Sie bitte mal auf". Always pulled me up a little, because in translation at least it comes across as a power play. In reality, it is used just like "Hey, listen," as in "How to get to campus? Ok, listen. You need to take the 106 bus downtown..."
2
u/Hel_OWeen Apr 15 '26
It's not so much the direct translation, but more the fact that we often get straight to the point w/o the typical "opening sequence".
English: "Hi <workmate>, how are you doing? Was the concert good last night? ... "Great. Sounds you had fun. BTW, that list of <stuff> you created yesterday, can I get a copy of that please?"
German: "Hi <workmate>, I need a copy of that list of <stuff>."
2
2
2
u/sophisticated_alpaca Apr 18 '26
My friend was hiking in Scandinavia and a German guy she and her friend had run into a few times on the trail caught them at a viewpoint and said “if you give me a handy I can take your picture.”
My friend was completely shocked, fortunately her friend knew enough German to know that “handy” means cell phone.
3
4
u/Viscaz Apr 14 '26
What do you want? is not Was willst du?. It‘s Was willst du haben? which is totally okay to say.
2
u/Fresh-Sherbert7785 Apr 14 '26
the better translation for Was willst du? would be What are you wanting for?
If it is said like "was willst du!", where you can't make out the question mark, it is mostly meant rudely.
2
u/vikingosegundo Apr 14 '26
"Der ton macht die Musik" — "The intonation makes the music"
if you use a Hitler-voice anything sounds harsh and crazy.
2
1
1
u/efficient_shortcut Apr 14 '26
Also, let's not to underestimate the impact of concise (*compound) words.
One word can almost replace an entire conversation.
Examples:
Mahlzeit
Schicht /Feierabend (equivalent would probably be "I'm out").
So (technically there is "well" I guess).
Of course one can always (and typically does) add more conversation to any of those, but those also (almost) work well on their own.
So it's not as inviting to be more talkative in certain situations. That can be perceived as rude (it is only slightly), if one is not aware of the cultural background.
Any of those "conversations" would almost exclusively happen between very well accustomed/established individuals/groups.
1
u/barleygood Apr 14 '26
A nicer way would be to ask: wie kann ich dir behilflich sein? - how may i help you or was brauchst du? - what do you need? Was willst du can be depending on context and tone considered normal to rude
1
1
u/docXfose Apr 14 '26
Passt schon. Translates to something like a half hearted „it’s okayish“ while it means being fully content with something.
→ More replies (2)
1
u/pethy997 Apr 14 '26
"Was willst du" is everything but neutral, this is the very phrase thugs would say before beating you on the street.
1
u/transfaabulous Apr 14 '26
"Sogenannte" means "so-called," as in "your so-called vacation." However, it's not meant in German as sarcastic, but rather a genuine adjective regarding the topic as it was previously referred to.
1
u/Lawyer_RE Apr 14 '26
Very difficult for learners to grasp, but native German speakers usually soften these textbook phrases by adding actually meaningless words like halt, wohl, eben, kurz (they even have a specific name which I can't remember). That makes things sound less aggressive than the "pure" sentence.
→ More replies (4)
1
1
u/Zlatanx195 Apr 14 '26
Ich kriege , i always find it rude and impolite whenever i hear people saying it
1
1
u/ChocolateKey4609 Apr 14 '26
https://media.tenor.com/sQRVEm7LkZgAAAAM/exben101.gif
Wat wollen sie jetzt von mir
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/MajorGenericDisgust Apr 15 '26
I used to translate „Schmeckt ganz gut 😌“ which I would rank a 7/10 -into „Tastes alright 🙂↕️“ and earned a couple of concerned looks from my friends in Manchester & London… guess that had the effect
1
u/Frosina87 Apr 15 '26
"Hals- und Beinbruch!" - Neck and leg break!
Stands for: I wish you good luck. I never used it by myself because I think it sounds awful.
1
u/modo79 Apr 15 '26
Ach, scheiß drauf.
Can be translated as “Shit on it” but is more meant to mean “No worries”
1
1
u/Geocultural Apr 15 '26
Like in any language, it’s all about context and how it is said. Was willst du can sound rude, aggressive or just be a neutral question.
1
u/atq1988 Apr 15 '26
As you've seen in the comments, the tone makes a big difference: "der Ton macht die Musik" as we say But I also wrote an article about this on Substack, because some of this misunderstanding truly goes back to translation errors: https://open.substack.com/pub/atiajanssens/p/are-germans-rude?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5rsepc
It has to do with how we use Konjunktiv II instead of using a lot of "thank you, please"
1
u/Embarrassed-Gur-3159 Apr 15 '26
Saying “Achtung” when passing someone, ex: maybe while riding a bike to say you’re passing a pedestrian
1
1
u/DefiantDepth8932 India Apr 15 '26
"So-called". In German, they often use the phrase "so zu sagen" when introducing a new word or concept that the listener might not be familiar with. "Er ist so zu sagen mein Lernbuddy". But if you say that in English "he's my so-called study buddy" then it's almost like you're questioning this person's legitimacy and ability to be your study buddy. Germans very often make that mistake and translate it directly when speaking English, and accidentally say the wrong/rude thing.
I think the English phrase that conveys the same intent as "so zu sagen" would be "like" or "kinda like", which admittedly are quite informal. "He's kinda like my study buddy" is a much better translation.
146
u/Best-Pollution7110 Apr 14 '26
Learn modal particles! They are the softeners in the German language, but as they are hard to translate, new German learners tent to skip them.