u/Rude_Membership_1578

As an International student planning a trip back home I was shopping in a local DM supermarket earlier and I realised how funny the price differences are. I threw a few totally standard things into my basket to take home, like a tube of Balea skincare, some Ritter Sport, Milka chocolates, and a few other everyday German drugstore/grocery staples that cost pocket change here.

Back home, people treat imported German products like they're high-end luxury goods and pay way too much for them, even my Praktika tutor cant explain why 4 Euro Nivea skin cream has such a cult following abroad lol, whereas here they're just sitting on the bottom shelf next to the generic brands.

Besides the usual chocolate and drugstore cosmetics, what are some other everyday German items, brands, or snacks you know that locals consider completely ordinary and cheap, but people abroad lose their minds over?

Im currently learning German along with my Fiance and wanted to know this. The way you have cute nick names for your wife/GF like "baby", "honey", "cutie Pie", "sweetie", what are some alternatives in German that actually have a good meaning to it or is stupid but cute. It can be something you made yourself as well and why you came up with that name.

I love calling my fiance different names, its like a thing between us and she finds it cute that I put effort in it. Felt kind of embarrassed to ask this from my German teacher or tutor on Praktika so asking here.

(Doesn't specifically has to be for wife, It can be for husband also)

As someone who grew up learning English as a second language, I still remember I had to go with intense grammar and tenses exercises as a child, memorising structures like past perfect continuous, present participle, and conditional clauses.

I was always curious for native speakers of English that when you guys speak or write casually, do you actually have those tense categories in your head, or is English just so naturally integrated that the rules feel completely invisible?

It’s honestly funny comparing that to how we train now using apps and structures where you're often thrown straight into natural conversation rather than memorising textbook labels. As native speakers, did you even learn the technical names for all these tenses in school, or do you just say whatever sounds right?

Im originally from Asia, getting my masters degree here and working in an office in Berlin. Although I’m used to seeing cultural differences at work and university, but I experienced something recently that puzzled me.

We visited some friends in Saarland as a group and coming from a background where chipping in for shared expenses or bringing contributions is considered very basic and standard courtesy. But every day, the people that hosted kept insisting we eat at their place, drove us all over to local villages and fairs, and flat-out refused any money for gas or expenses. When we tried slipping some cash to the host and giving gifts, they refused and I felt like they did not like us insisting on it as well, and it felt like we actually offended them. To me it was a little surprising because where I grew up, sharing costs and showing mutual financial respect is normal. But here, it seemed like refusing our money was a strict point of pride in their hospitality.

This was a totally new experience for me. Since I am not a native and learned most of my German and cultural stuff from movies, social media, apps and communities like AskGermany, Languagehub, Learninglanguages etc etc before moving, regular textbook study just doesn't prepare you for the real-life dance of German etiquette and hosting.

Is hosting guests just treated as a strict rule here where trying to pay your way is considered rude?

I'm from Asia and have been living in Germany for the past few years while doing my master's and working part-time. Growing up, most of what I knew about Australia came from movies, YouTube, memes and the internet and I'll admit that I had a pretty stereotypical picture in my head. I imagined everyone calling each other "mate," spending weekends at the beach, and somehow being completely unfazed by spiders or insects the size of dinner plates.

Then I moved to Germany and started interacting with more Australians through university, work, online communities and language exchange conversations with students learning German same as me, and it made me realise how much I'd oversimplified an entire country.

One thing that surprised me was how different people sounded depending on where they were from. I also expected everyone to be extremely outgoing and extrovert because that's the stereotype you often see online, but the people I've met have all had very different personalities. It made me wonder how much of what foreigners think about Australia comes from social media and entertainment rather than real life.

So I'm curious what are some usual stereotypes that foreigners almost always get wrong until they actually spend time talking to Australians?

One thing I've realised while learning German is that vocabulary and grammar are relatively easy to measure. You can see how many new words you've learned, or whether your grammar exercises are right or wrong. On the other hand speaking feels completely different. Some days I feel like I'm making good progress, and other days I sound like a complete beginner. It's hard to tell whether I'm actually improving or just getting more comfortable.

To tackle this issue, I've tried quite a few apps over the years. For example Duolingo was great for building a daily habit in the beginning and expanding my vocabulary, Babbel helped me understand grammar and sentence structure a bit better. Similarly I've been using Praktika recently, and one thing I found interesting is that it gives separate feedback for pronunciation, fluency, and rhythm after each conversation. I expected pronunciation to be my weakest area, but it turns out rhythm is where I struggle the most.

How do you measure your progress for speaking? Do you record yourself or ask native speakers for feedback, use AI tools or do you just judge it by how confident you feel when speaking?

I'm curious because I've met and worked with a few American colleagues here in Germany in the past couple of years, and one thing I noticed almost immediately is that conversations seem to come much more naturally to them. Whether it's chatting before a meeting, talking to strangers, or making small talk while waiting for coffee, they always seem comfortable keeping a conversation going. As someone whose first language isn't English and mostly interacts with Germans, I've always found that interesting.

For a long time I would say I only knew and spoke "Textbook English" because I learned initially in formal classes and then most of my English came through through apps and self learning materials like Duolingo, Babbel, Praktika, but meeting and interacting regularly with native speakers made me realise that real conversations are very different. My American coworkers seem able to strike up a conversation with just about anyone, and they often ask questions or share little stories that keep the interaction going. Sometimes I wonder if that's just because they're outgoing individuals, or if it's actually a cultural thing.

So it made me wonder, are Americans generally as talkative and comfortable with small talk as the stereotype suggests or Is it something most people grow up with? Or is it more of a personality sort of thing?

As someone who moved to Australia a while ago, and before coming here I thought the biggest challenge would be understanding the slang and accent. That's definitely been part of it, but honestly it wasn't the hardest thing. What surprised me more were all the little social rules and everyday expectations that nobody ever explains you just somehow seem to be expected to know them.

For example, I quickly learned that if someone says "How's it going?" they're usually just greeting you, not asking for your full life story. I also discovered that Australians love shortening words (servo, arvo, brekkie, bottle-o...), and everyone seems to know them without thinking. Another thing was how much friendly banter and taking the piss is part of everyday conversation. As someone who lived in Germany for a couple of years prior to that, it took me a while to realise people weren't actually being rude. 😂

None of these things are really written down anywhere, but once you notice them they suddenly seem completely obvious.

Just curious now, what are some other unwritten rules or little everyday things in Australia that foreigners usually only learn the hard way?

I moved to UK some time ago after living a couple of years in Germany, and before moving here, I thought the biggest challenge would be understanding all the different accents and while learning English properly before moving, the media, language learning and stereotypes made me believe that but honestly It wasn't. For me the harder part was figuring out all the little social rules that nobody ever explains.

For example, I quickly learned that if there's even the slightest hint of a queue, you join it without asking questions. Accidentally skipping the line feels like you've committed a crime. Another one was how indirect people can be. Someone saying, "You might want to have another look at that," doesn't always mean it's a small suggestion, it can mean you've completely messed it up and someone who used to live in Germany, this was a big change from the directness 😂 .

None of these things are written down anywhere, but once you notice them, they suddenly seem completely obvious.

So I'm curious, what can be some other unwritten rules in the UK that foreigners usually discover the hard way?

I've been learning German on and off for about a couple of months, but I only started practising speaking consistently over the last few weeks. Until now I never really had a way to judge my pronunciation. I mostly measured my progress by how much vocabulary I knew or whether I could understand grammar.

I saw people have been trying Apps like TalkPal, Elsa etc etc to get a measure of their pronunciation. So, the other day I actually tried one of those features from Praktika that gives you scores for pronunciation, fluency and rhythm after speaking. I got an overall score of 85, which honestly surprised me, but my rhythm score was much lower than everything else .

So do these scores actually improve noticeably over time, or do they stay fairly consistent unless you specifically work on pronunciation?

For anyone who's been practising speaking for a few months, did you notice a real improvement?

After starting a new job in a multinational company, I've been working with quite a few Americans, and I've noticed there are certain phrases that seem straightforward at first but often mean something slightly different in real life. To be honest, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of English. Although it's not my first language, but I'd say I'm fluent since I have been speaking and practising it from a young age. Nevertheless, I still enjoy consuming content and practising through YouTube, ChatGPT, and apps like Babbel, Busuu, Praktika, but I've realised understanding the language and understanding how people actually communicate are two different things

What still catches me off guard are the expressions that depend entirely on context. For example, last week I heard a co worker say "We should grab coffee sometime," to someone or "You should come over sometime." At first I assumed those were actual plans, but after a while I realised they can sometimes just be a friendly way of ending a conversation. On the other hand, I've also had people say exactly the same thing and genuinely mean it.

It made me curious, what are some American expressions that sound completely literal but actually depend on context, tone, or the relationship between the people?

I started using Praktika app a couple of months ago to learn German as my goal is to be able to hold a conversation. I have had experience from learning language through other apps in terms of vocabulary and flash cards etc but speaking to an AI tutor was something new to me. At first I thought all the AI tutors would basically be the same, but after using Praktika for a while, they actually feel quite different.

For example, Skye feels more relaxed and conversational to me, while Tama seems a bit more structured and challenges me more during conversations. Maybe it's just my impression, but I find myself choosing different tutors depending on my mood. When im just chilling and want to practice I use Skye and when Im actually in the mood to learn and all charged up, I use Tama.

Has anyone else noticed this? Which tutor do you think is best for improving speaking confidence?

One thing that really fascinated me when growing up and learning English is how differently people use "sir" and "ma'am" in the US. Where I am from, we only use it to address teacher/principal or a highly respectable person. A lot of learning materials like youtube, books, cartoons for children and even AI language learning apps like babbel, praktika present them as the polite way to address someone, especially older people, customers, or strangers. But when I read discussions online, I see very different opinions. Some Americans say they use them all the time because it's simply respectful, while others say they almost never use them unless the situation is very formal.

It made me curious that what everyday life is actually like. If a stranger asks you something, would you naturally reply with "yes, sir" or "no, ma'am," or would that sound too formal? Or does it depend on where you're from, your age, your family, or whether you grew up in the South?

I've always found these small language habits fascinating because they aren't really taught in textbooks, instead they’re more about culture and social norms.

As soon as I got my Masters Visa last year, I started to spent a lot of time worrying about language skills because the university I got the admission in, is located in a small town in Harz and I knew language would be a big hurdle in blending in as not alot of people in my town speak proper english. I worried alot about grammar mistakes and accent and spent so much time watching youtube videos learning language and practicing vocabulary with flash cards on aps like Anki, Memrise and speaking/pronunciation score on Praktika etc etc trying to cover all bases and to be able to be fluent to blend in, but some of my biggest social mistakes had nothing to do with language at all.

Now that I've been here a while, I realised something funny. My biggest social blunders had absolutely nothing to do with the language itself. On my first week, I got aggressively side eyed by an entire queue at Netto very early in the morning because I tried to make friendly, slow small talk with the cashier instead of throwing my groceries into my bag at lightning speed. My German was grammatically fine, but my cultural timing was completely wrong. From where I am, its quit usual to make small talks like that and I thought it would be a good opportunity to practice a little bit of my speaking skills and I was wrong lol.

So, I want to ask here. If a newcomer wants to actually integrate here, living in a small town where its necessary to speak German, what is the very first habit or thing they should stop or start doing?

As soon as I got my Masters Visa, I started to spent a lot of time worrying about language skills because the university I got the admission in, is located in a small town in Harz and I knew language would be a big hurdle in blending in as not alot of people in my town speak proper english. I worried alot about grammar mistakes and accent and spent so much time watching youtube videos learning language and practicing vocabulary with flash cards on aps like Anki, Memrise and speaking/pronunciation score on Praktika etc etc trying to cover all bases and to be able to be fluent to blend in, but some of my biggest social mistakes had nothing to do with language at all.

Now that I've been here a while, I realised something funny. My biggest social blunders had absolutely nothing to do with the language itself. On my first week, I got aggressively side eyed by an entire queue at Netto very early in the morning because I tried to make friendly, slow small talk with the cashier instead of throwing my groceries into my bag at lightning speed. My German was grammatically fine, but my cultural timing was completely wrong. From where I am, its quit usual to make small talks like that and I thought it would be a good opportunity to practice a little bit of my speaking skills and I was wrong lol.

So, I want to ask you guys. If a newcomer wants to actually integrate here, living in a small town where its necessary to speak German, what is the very first habit or thing they should stop or start doing?

A couple of years ago I came to Germany for my masters degree and I've been living here in a small town in Harz region for a while now, and one thing I’ve noticed is that the things I appreciate most are often not the big obvious ones people talk about. Before moving here, most of what I had already known about Germany came from online forums, YouTube videos, online conversations with people living abroad, and trying to understand the language and culture through different communities on reddit and learning German from different apps like Babbel, Memrise, Praktika, etc etc. Of course, I expected things like good infrastructure, public transport, and the famous “German efficiency” stereotype. But after coming here and experiencing the life, the things that surprised me are much more everyday.

For example, coming from a place where not just big cities but life in general is always loud and busy, I really appreciate how normal it is here to have quiet spaces. Things like walking through a forest trail after work, people actually enjoying parks, or just having a calm Sunday where everything slows down. Another thing I really liked is the work life balance and Germans really taking time off to spend it with there family. The place where I came from, it wasnt really a norm there.

I also find the culture around planning interesting. At first, I found it funny how much people plan everything weeks in advance, meeting friends, appointments, trips, etc. But eventually I started appreciating it because it makes life feel more predictable. It made me really curious. For people like me who moved to Germany from another country, what is something you appreciate here that your home country didn’t really have?

I've been living abroad for a few years now doing my masters, and every once in a while talking to friends or family back home I'll mention something that feels completely normal to me now, but people back home react like I've described life on another planet.

Before moving overseas for my education, I spent a lot of time researching different countries, watching videos, reading forums, and talking to people online about what everyday life is actually like abroad. I was also learning the language along the way after I got the admission through different communities on reddit and apps like Memrise, Busuu, Praktika, etc, so I ended up hearing a lot of perspectives from people living in different places.

One thing I noticed pretty quickly is that every country has these small everyday things that locals don't even think about. For Australia, from the outside, people often imagine things like beaches, surfing, kangaroos, hot weather, and a very relaxed lifestyle. But there are small everyday things that don't make it into travel videos. For example people going bare feet outside, alot of people learning to swim from childhood and specially how casual and friendly Australians are with conversations, even with strangers.

These might seem completely normal to Australians, but to someone from another country they can be surprisingly different. It made me wonder, What's something that feels completely ordinary in Australia but would probably surprise someone visiting for the first time?

I often hear people complain about certain parts of daily life in the UK, but as someone who wasn't born here and moved later in life, I sometimes end up appreciating those same things.

For example, I currently live in a smaller town and I've heard people say there's "nothing to do" compared to bigger cities. Coming from a much larger and more crowded city myself, I honestly find the slower pace quite refreshing. Being able to go for a walk without traffic everywhere, having easy access to nature, and generally feeling less rushed has been a bigger quality-of-life improvement than I expected.

Before moving abroad, most of my impressions of the country came from social media, forums, YouTube videos, language exchange communities, and language-learning apps like Memrise or Praktika while I was trying to improve my English and talk to people from different countries online. Looking back, it's funny how different the online image of a country can be from what everyday life is actually like. It made me realise after living several years that once you actually live somewhere, people tend to talk a lot more about things like housing costs, commuting, supermarkets, local services, or the weather than the stereotypes outsiders usually focus on.

Im curious to know, for the locals that lived there life here. What is something people in the UK complain about regularly that you think is actually pretty good compared to most other countries?