A guide to making small talk in Germany | Meet the Germans 

Guide to making small talk in Germany: Don't.

German here… its all true. Benzin kostet grad 1,27, meine Wohnung ist 87qm groß / 12€ pro qm warm, meine Stadt hat 199000 Einwohner und ich liebe Stoßlüften. Wetter ist wie immer scheiße.

"Und?" "Muss." "Top." "Bei dir?" "Läuft." "Schick." "Man sieht sich." "Tschö."

How to open a really long conversation in Germany? Like this: "When I travelled with DB last time..."

when I moved to England from Germany and was searching for an apartment, I found it very annoying that almost no landlord or agency could tell me the exact measurements of their properties.

Wow, German small talk is my kind of small talk. You're actually exchanging some useful information, instead of automated superficial niceties.

I had the shock of my life when I first discovered the 'kippen' option with a window here in Germany. I thought the window was falling in on me...I'm sure my neighbours heard me scream in fright.

Norddeutschland's longest conversation... -Moin! Moin! -Tschüss! Tschüss!

Germany: 4 degrees celsius outside. Open all the windows every half an hour for "fresh air".

Every start of a German conversation: "Na?" "Na?"

When I first moved to Germany and was introduced to friend of a friend I made a faux-pas, one of many I would make in the learning phase. We were saying our goodbyes outside of a restaurant and as we left, she going one way, I the other, I said "see you later". In Canada its common to use this phrase. She stopped dead in her tracks and started to walk towards me. She thought she'd missed something because she was sure we hadn't made plans for later that night.

3:31 wait. Other countries don't have windows you can put "auf kipp"? How do they survive?

Had I not been to Germany I would have thought this was a comedy piece. But I have been there and know, in fact, that this is 100% factual

German weather/ seasons in a nutshell: Diese verdammte Kälte Diese verdammten Pollen Diese verdammte Hitze Dieser verdammte Regen

When you want to end a long conversation where you are sitting down, you‘ll have to smash your hands on your thighs and say: „SO“. Very common thing 😂

there is literally a war between students if the window should be opened :D

- Hey, it's cold isn't it? - Yeah it's now 8 degrees , this morning wow 4 degrees with 30% humidity. ok bye

I remember as I was checking in at JFK first time to Frankfurt I wanted to start a small talk with the agent at Lufthansa air and asked how is the weather in Frankfurt? I expected she would say good or rainy etc, she looked at me with straight face and said “ you want the weather forecast, one minute please” she printed out the weather forecast for me for the entire week 😂

0:35 Rachel: "They want facts, they want stastics" Me:"I want your number"

3:16 "Kurz l*u*ften Keine Schwäche zeigen.

House size/Town population 200m²/720 160m²/12000 73.6m²/342000 70m²/500000

Never understood the american/english kind to ask "How is it going?" and to don't expect a real answer to it - doesn't make sense. I mean, I neither ask a store clerk "How much is this?" and don't expect him to give me the price of the item. Don't ask if you don't want an answer.

I‘m from Germany and can tell you this is pretty accurate, except of the supposed „favorite question“ of how much it costs to fill up the tank. I never heard that question after a journey. Yeah sometimes you talk about gas prices but not in that context.

Of course you can have some Smalltalk with us. But then be just honest. Don't ask us "how is it going?" when you're actually don't wanna here it. That's it.

"Drop the niceties." Yep, you nailed our biggest small talk issue.

Man kann in anderen ländern keine fenster kippen? Wie überleben die??😂

I'n CRYING THIS O IS SO ACCURATE. I DIDN'T EVEN REALISE THAT ALL WE DO IS ASK FOR FACTS. But it's true.

I present you an often used german phrase when entering a room *MACHT MAL FENSTER AUF, HIER IST DENKLUFT*

North german smalltalk: "Moin" "Moin" "und?" "jo" "jo" "bis denn" "jo"

Me in Kenya: small talk means politics in Germany: small talk means giving details of your house, compound and its environment.

When you talked about "Lüften" my coworker just walked into my office and said "Hier ist es stickig" and opened the Windows. I guess you are right then.

I'm German, and this is all true. Well, 90 percent true. Or more precisely, 88 percent. We like numbers, so what? :-)

I think this video is very accurate haha. But please don't just start a conversation with: Hey how big is your apartment ? Also Germans will look at you funny. But it's a good thing to know, if it comes up.. However, the thing with drafts is 100% true

Common Smalltalk in my area: "Hey, alles klar?" "Jo bei dir?" "passt" The End.

I am a Greek that lives in London and it is very fascinating how much German small talk resembles Greek small talk! From the weather, to the knowing your numbers, to the airing position of windows!! On the other hand i just realised that my small talk habits have become British! :D

This was actually pretty accurate. And I'm the kind of person who needs fresh air in every room all the time. Other countries need to step up their window game.

3:19 The art of "Stosslüften".

My tips about germans and small talk is simple. Don't !. If you have to say something, use a polite conversation starter that dose not end in a question ment to be awnserd. Then come straight to the point. Say what is to be said and say exactly what you want from them. You will perceived as polite, and professional. Scoring high on those two qualities is most important. If you turn out to be reliable, you just scored 100% of the social points. Business or family dose not matter, you will be respected and liked.

"The hinge technology must be really strong to cope with the constant opening and closing" That got me good :D

It's late spring or early autumn and you say to a German you went swimming in a lake. They'll ALWAYS ask what the water temperature was (expecting an answer in degrees!) and question you on the water quality (clarity, odour, if there was algae present and if so, what types!)

As a German, I can confirm most of this. Very good representation of German small talk =D

Its kinda impressiv when she´s speaking german. She doesnt sound british at all .Its like she´s a real german person.

This is so accurate 😂 -Grüße aus Deutschland

Bei alten Menschen vielleicht noch "Wie geht's dir?" "Schlechten Menschen gehts immer gut, du weißt ja wie es ist"

My sister always runs into my room, says something about the sticky air, opens my window and goes back to her room without me saying anything, it's pretty weird actually 😂💁 (I'm from Germany)

I like this series. It's not an easy place to adjust to, Germany, but understanding the culture is absolutely key to softening the culture shock. Thanks for making another great video!

You should explain the term "Stoßlüften" - can it get any more German than that? ;)

Comparing prices of cellphone plans is also is a great small talk subject!

Great, now I need to measure my apartment before I can visit Germany :)

As an American, it is such a pet peeve when people say "Hey how are you?" in passing knowing they really don't care. If I ask, I genuinely want to know if you're alright. Crazy I know

Her accent seems to be a mix of German and English.

I find this series to be absolutely delightful! Many thanks to all of you at DW for your hard work in producing it!

Why wasn't there any mention of football in small talk? I am pretty sure Germans are more crazy about their love for football than English people, and would love to have an opinion on the club they support. I love this series DW, and would love to see more videos on this in future. Thanks.

As an American I would love to visit Germany. I hate small talk in a casual way, I too love facts & details.

How to small talk in Germany: You don't. Seriously. You don't.

Germans are like real life Vulcans from star trek.

Now i’m convinced i was German in my previous life .

What are your experiences about small talk with Germans?

I just like this series. Rachel has captured the german soul perfectly 😁

I didn't realize that we're that specific in smalltalk 😂😂

Sounds like heaven to me. I hate hot weather, I don't cope in the heat at all. If it gets above 33 degrees I will feel like dying and only be able to think about the weather forecast for the week.

"drop the niceties" was hilarious! As a German I deeply enjoyed it! 98% accurate (or 97,8) HAHAHA

As a German this hits too close to home. I'm gonna binge watch your channel now. Thanks...

INTROVERT ME: I would like to live in Germany.

I feel like this is my actual hometown 🤧 love from China

as a Brit who lived in Bonn, Germany for nine years, I can relate to literally all of this

Funny and insightful. I'm really enjoying these 'Meet the Germans' videos with Rachel Stewart. When an English language DW video is not presented by a German it is usually presented by an American, so it's nice to get a British perspective for a change.

German is my spirit animal I guess, due I do most of those things (even open the window during winter). A had a german boss who said "you are more german than the germans". Never knew if it was an insult or compliment 🤔 Greetings from Chile 🇨🇱

Third video of this series i watched in the last 30 minutes. Definitely gonna binge. So much fun.

I'm German and I love this. Everything's so accurate! 😂😂❤

I love this channel

I have been watching Rachel for a while and I guess I came to a conclusion why Germans are so good industrial-wise. Their society revolves around numbers and seriousness. Smart guys no matter what nationality they hold, must be equipped with numbers most of the time. In addition, i'm working in a project that involves public transportation buses manufactured by M.A.N. I have been receiving blueprints for the buses which are called by Germans "Datasheets". While it is not a datasheet but rather a blueprint, it gave me an insight into how Germans work in general. Along with that, these buses are equipped with electronics from the japanese NEC Company. NEC sent me real "Datasheets" not blueprints called datasheets. I came to a conclusion that Germans are top in mechanics, suffer in electronics while Japanese are the opposite. One reason Germans might be less good in electronics even though they are top in electrical equipment is their conservativness when it comes to digital solutions, cash over CC and so on. Anyway, I really like this. Keep going Rachel.

The way the says "in square meters" it soulds like it is something strange to know. In fact I don't know a single German who can not tell you how big or small their flat or house is. Every apartment viewing comes with exact square meters, always. I think it's also required to have it written down in the rental contract. So of course you know it. And if you're going to move people ask about it.

I'll be honest, if a German asked me the following; - How many people in your household? - How much fuel did you fill up, give me numbers? - Tell me the route taken and any roadworks or obstacles on the route? You can bet I'd be evacuating the country within the hour.

I'm in Ireland right now and I just can't handle the 'how's it going' and people run away. What should I answer? One or two times I actually answer about how I'm feeling right now and then people give you strange looks ...

3:35 I'm Lithuanian and I thought all windows had this airing position.

Imagine an American engaging in a trivial chat with a German yet has to carry a calculator to convert those imperial units to the metric ones on the one hand and a GPS on the other hand. Life's never been easier ^^

"und ?" "joa" "bei dir" "muss ja"

Wenn du in Deutschland jemanden ansprichst musst du auch bereit sein, das Gespräch zu führen. Wenn du angesprochen wirst, ist "ich habe gerade keine Zeit" und "ich habe gleich noch einen Termin" immer ein guter Retter.

Wow... I just learned new things about Germans even though I am German. 😂 I was like: "No no no. That's not true." *asks a few questions Me: "Okay... wow..." 😂

Saved under "Favorites".

I’m American. People complain about the weather everywhere.

Im an indian student and living in germany. The most awesome fact is that they take more than five minuits for wishes, lol.. Like danke schoen...Bitte.. tschuuuuuuuss(still im not perfect in it)..but im in love with this,becoz it shows the attachments between people...And they are really helpful too....I think if you have a good sprache, then you will find germany, the perfect destination for international student... ❤

You forgot the most important topic, discussing personal medical problems. Wie geht’s is usually taken as an invitation to discuss personal health in great detail.

Germans: We don't like small talks. Filipinos: Gossips are the best.

I mean those are basic questions... who doesn‘t know how big their apartment is🤷🏼‍♀️

Loved it👍

wait your windows don't have special airing positions

But seriously, never try to outcomplain a german. We are bred to complain. About the weather, taxes, politics, sport, food, family and the list goes on. We love to complain we even complain if we can´t complain.

I‘m from Germany and I‘m not sure wether I watch this for fun or because I still have no idea of how to interact with the others

Okay I am an Indian but I can totally relate to the Germans . We like the numbers and statistics too. 🙏

1:55 "It's fluctuating right now"

If they get shocked with the "how are you?", how would they feel about the Brazilian "Let's meet someday" then? Haahhaha We say "yeah, we have to meet someday" as a form of saying goodbye, but we really don't mean it, sometimes even saying "right, let's invite everybody" but actually, most of the time we wish that none of the parts take it seriously hahahah.

The German equivalent to "How are you? - Fine, how are you?" is "Wie geht's? - Gut und dir?".... The start of every whatsapp convo ever.

Small talk is offensive. Don't talk if you have nothing to say. Silence could be so meaningful.

I laughed out loud hahaha oh my word this is so true 😂 I’m realizing how German I am lol this made my day thank you 😂😂

1:09 Her "three" gesture is the correct "german style", which of course she did on purpose. In the Anglo-Saxon world, people would more likely show their pinky, the ring and the middle finger. Also, it's very true that Germans ask you financial questions in your face. They ask you how much you earn, how much this or that cost, etc. They do so shamelessly and, at the same time, not in a disrespectful way to them. They're genuinely curious when asking those questions. One last thing, did I say that this lady Rachel Stewart is really pretty? She can teach me more about German culture any time she likes.

My class (and often also the teacher ) fights about the draft literally everyday lmao

I love that how they won’t let you get away with it and how they expect numbers and facts it’s really remarkable and that’s why I love it ! Good people !!!!

Ich war mal in der Stadt als ein random alter Mann zu mir kommt und sagt: "ich wollt mir ne Curry Wurst kaufen, 6,99 wollen die, können sie das glauben?!". Wir haben daraufhin 30 Minuten über Curry Wurstpreise in ganz Deutschland diskutiert. Deutsches Small Talk vom Feinstem.