u/UsamaBhai_101

I had a funny moment at work today that made me curious when my manager asked if I could take on an extra task, and I replied with something like, "Yes/maybe?" becasue it was something I was unsure if I could do. So she heard it and laughed and said, "That's basically like saying jein" and to her surprise I'd never heard that word before even after living more than a year in Germany.

When I got home, I looked it up online and also checked a couple of language learning resources I used when I was learning German like chatgpt, praktika, gemini, youtube, and they all explained it as a blend of "ja" and "nein" basically when the answer is somewhere in the middle of "Yes" and "No". Although it did make sense by the definition, but now I'm wondering how common it actually is beacuse I have never heard anyone say it. I have also taken German language classes upto A2 and its basically 90% of German speakers in the town where I live but this was something that never passed my ears.

Do people genuinely say "jein" in everyday conversation, or is it more of a joke or internet slang like "Digga" and "Brudi"? Also would you use it at work or only with friend?

As someone who moved to the US a few years ago for studies, I've noticed that people online and abroad often have surprisingly strong opinions about America. For example things like Americans being overly loud in public places, fake-friendly, or obsessed with work culture.

Before I actually moved here, most of what I knew came from YouTube videos, online forums, Movies/series and random conversations with people I met online while practicing English on subreddits and apps like Englishlearning, Praktika, Memrise etc etc. Now that I’ve been living here for a while, I’ve realized a lot of those stereotypes turned out to be completely wrong or just totally misunderstood once I arrived. Especially the work culture obsession and being overly loud one.

As an American, what stereotype about your country or the people here annoys you the most? Is there one you constantly find yourself having to correct when talking to foreigners?

I came to Germany a couple of years ago 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 knew about Germany came from online forums, YouTube videos, conversations with people living abroad, and trying to understand the language and culture through different communities on reddit and learning German from apps like Babbel, Busuu, Praktika, etc etc. Of course, I expected things like good infrastructure, public transport, and the famous “German efficiency” stereotype. But after actually living here, the things that surprised me are much more everyday.

For example, coming from a place where cities are 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 in germany for a few years now, and every once in a while when talking to my family back home in Asia I'll mention something that seems completely normal to me (now) but they react like I've described life on another planet for example markets closing at 9 pm and also the silent rule from 10 to 6 that germany has etc etc.

Before moving overseas when I was applying for masters in different countries and exploring my options, I used to talk to people from different countries online to get to know how life abroad is like and also while learning languages through various communities on reddit and apps like Babbel, Busuu, Praktika. One thing I noticed pretty quickly was how many everyday assumptions we all have without realizing it.

After moving abroad, It made me realize that every country probably has its own version of this, things locals never think twice about but that seem strange, fascinating, or even unbelievable to outsiders.

So I'm curious, what's something that's completely ordinary in the US that foreigners often find surprising or strange?

As someone who’s been thinking about possibly spending time in Australia in the future, I’ve noticed something interesting about how countries look from the outside compared to how they actually feel in everyday life.

Before that, most of my impressions of Australia came from social media, travel videos, and conversations online while learning English. I also spent some time practicing language and general communication skills through apps like Duolingo and speaking practice tools like Praktika, mainly because I wanted to feel more comfortable understanding real conversations if I ever ended up there.

From the outside, Australia often feels like it’s mostly about things like surfing and beaches, wildlife (as we see all over social media lol) and also relaxed lifestyle and always sunny weather.

But I’ve noticed that when people actually talk about daily life in different countries, the focus is usually very different from these stereotypes. Most of the time, real conversations seem to revolve around much more ordinary things like work routines, housing costs, public transport, groceries, local sports, or planning weekends.

It made me wonder how much of what outsiders focus on is just a “highlight version” of a country compared to what life actually feels like for people living there. So, it made me curious. Is there something people outside Australia are really obsessed with or always mention, but locals barely think about in everyday life?

This might be a hot take and I know language apps are useful, but I think they can create a slightly misleading sense of progress. Especially when you’re doing lessons every day, getting streaks, and recognizing more vocabulary, it genuinely feels like you’re becoming fluent.Whereas in real conversations, the gap becomes very obvious. The reason being you don’t have time to “think through” answers like in apps. You either respond naturally or you don’t.

That gap became obvious for me after a few real-life situations, for example standing in a bakery trying to order something simple and the sales person asks me something and suddenly I realise I couldn’t form a sentence even though I knew all the words spearately.

Since then, I’ve been trying to balance input with actual speaking practice. I still use apps for structure, but I also force myself to produce sentences immediately using new vocabulary. Sometimes that’s with people around me like my roommates and friends, and sometimes through structured speaking sessions on Praktika. The key being speaking and putting myself in environments where I cannot predict the answer or the sentence that the person is about to speak and I have to think spontaniously.

It made me realize fluency isn’t about recognition, it’s about reaction speed.

Curious if others feel the same or think apps are enough on their own?

I've been learning German for a while now, and for the longest time I measured my progress by what was happening inside the apps. For example, I was keeping my streaks alive, finishing lessons, recognizing more vocabulary, and getting most answers right. Every week I felt like I was improving because the numbers and progress bars kept moving in the right direction.

The reality check came when I tried using German outside of the app.

A few months ago, I went into a bakery and wanted to ask a simple question about one of the pastries. It wasn't even a complicated interaction, but I completely froze when the person there asked me a question. I knew most of the words individually, but putting them together into a sentence while someone was waiting for an answer felt very different from tapping the correct option on a screen.

That's when I started wondering whether I was actually learning German or just getting good at the app.

Since then, I've changed my routine a bit. I still use vocabulary and lesson-based apps, but after learning new words I try to use them immediately in conversation practice. Lately I've been doing that on with my roommates, friends or even on apps like Praktika because it forces me to respond rather than just recognize the correct answer. It was honestly humbling at first because words I thought I knew suddenly disappeared when I had to produce them in real time.

The interesting thing is that my weakest areas became obvious almost immediately when I have to speak them in a sentence. I realized there was a huge difference between "I know this word when I see it" and "I can actually use this word in a conversation."

Don't get me wrong, the apps helped me build a foundation. But I've started thinking that recognition and speaking are almost two separate skills.

Has anyone else had a moment where you realized you were getting better at the app faster than you were getting better at the language itself?

As there are going to be so many people traveling for the World Cup, this got me thinking after seeing a few travel videos recently onsocial media.

Whenever I visit a new country, I always worry about accidentally doing something that locals instantly recognize as "tourist behavior." Before my first trip abroad, I was convinced my language skills would be the biggest giveaway. I spent weeks learning basic phrases, practicing pronunciation, and trying to understand local etiquette through language learning resources like Praktika and other online resources about travel experiences and scams, because I wanted to feel more prepared and blend in as much as possible and make my visit memorable.

But once I actually arrived, I realized the language wasn't what gave me away at all.

It was things I never even considered:

• Stopping in the middle of a busy street to look at Google Maps.
• Taking photos of things locals walk past every day without a second glance.
• Looking up at buildings while everyone else was focused on getting somewhere.

The funny thing is that locals can often spot visitors within seconds, even when they're speaking the language well.

What are the dead giveaways in US that someone does and people immediately recongize they are tourists?

People who went on to learn a new langauge, did you feel that you are losing proficiency in your native language? As I am progressing in learning German, I feel like I need to think some extra to remember words in my native language. Doesnt happen really often but I feel like it takes me a little more time to remember some words and they are not like at the top of my head as they used to.

Is this a common thing when learning a new language?

As someone living in Germany, there are slang words that are specific in some regions. For example "Dicker" or "Digga" is commonly used in Berlin for "Bro" and Northerners use "Jo" instead of "Ja" for saying "Yes". Similarly there are different region specific greeting words as well in Germany for example "Sevrus" in Bavaria region and "Moin" in Hamburg region for saying "Hello".

I know there are slangs that are commonly used all over UK that we see in different series and movies like "Bloke" for "Dude" and "Quid" for "One pound". I am asking about slangs that are region specific that are not very common to foreigners. If so what are the slangs that are only used in your region?

As someone who is currently learning German and would say I'm somewhere around the intermediate level. I can follow everyday conversations reasonably well, but I still struggle with understanding native speakers when they talk quickly or use a lot of slang words. I thought listening to more German music might be a fun way to improve my listening skills and pick up new vocabulary, but I'm not really sure where to start. Most of the German music I've come across has either been very basic learning content (like Nico's or basic German poems for learners) or songs where I can barely make out any of the lyrics because they speak so fast.

I'm open to pretty much any genre, rock, indie, pop, folk, hip-hop, singer-songwriter, even older classics. As long as the lyrics are interesting and not impossible for a learner to follow. It would be great if the songs are the kind that Germans actually listen to rather than content made specifically for language learners.

I'm genuinely curious to see what people in Germany listen to and hopefully discover some new favorites while improving my German. 🙂

I came to Germany a couple of years ago and I live in a small town in the Harz region. I have lived in Nuremberg, Halle (Saale) and Leipzig as well for short period of times. I found each city's vibe different. Bigger cities have better night life and relatively faster pace life. Comparitively where I live, this small town has very less to do but it gives proper German life experience and good nature. As an immigrant who learned some basic German from Duolingo, praktika, youtube sort of stuff before coming here, I found it very difficult to adjust to the language barrier because there are few internationals here compared to cities but I still liked it here as this was the first place I lived in after coming here and it feels like home. Any time I think about where I would move after completing my education, it becomes a difficult question for me.

For the people who have lived in different cities, where would you move to if you had to live there for a couple of years and why?

I was thinking about how languages are taught in schools and how it usually feels like something people just do for exams and then forget.

In Australia, most people I know studied a second language at school (French, Japanese, Indonesian, etc.), but I rarely hear about people actually using it later in everyday life.

For those of you who did learn another language at school , did it ever actually come in handy in a real situation?

Maybe while travelling overseas, meeting someone in Australia who spoke that language, or even at work or uni?

Or is it more of a “school-only” skill that doesn’t really get used much after graduation?

Would be interesting to hear your experiences.

Its very interesting how this plays out in real life for Americans.

Most people in school take a second language (Spanish, French, etc.), but for a lot of people, it kind of stays in the “classroom knowledge” category and never really gets used again.

For those of you who did learn a language in school, did it ever actually become useful later on in real life in the U.S.?

Like maybe at work, while traveling, in a random interaction, or even in an unexpected situation where you thought “wow, I’m actually glad I remember this”?

Or does it mostly fade away after school and not really show up again?

Would love to hear some real experiences.

I’m curious how this plays out in real life for Americans.

Most people in school here take a second language (Spanish, French, etc.), but for a lot of people, it kind of stays in the “classroom knowledge” category and never really gets used again.

For those of you who did learn a language in school, did it ever actually become useful later on in real life in the U.S.?

Like maybe at work, while traveling, in a random interaction, or even in an unexpected situation where you thought “wow, I’m actually glad I remember this”?

Or does it mostly fade away after school and not really show up again?

Would love to hear some real experiences.

Since US will be hosting millions of football fans from all over the world in the coming months, what do you think the fans from other countries will struggle with the most. I have heard the car parking is crazy, also you need to take uber or have a car to go literally anywhere (which would be a struggle for most of the European fans who just walk everywhere), also the English accent some of which I have heard is hard to get for Non English speakers.

In your opinion, what else would the fans have to struggle with when they come for the games?

My native language is not english but still I consider myself to be proficient in speaking English. Recently I saw a youtube documentary about english dialects and it completely caught me off guard withsome of the accents. There were accents like "Cajun" and "Appalachian" really made me feel like it was another language lol.

It made me curious, are there more regional accents like this that are difficult to understand if you're not a native speaker or even for Americans?