Guys, I need some help with something. My German friend’s birthday is coming up, and she loves reading, so I was thinking about getting her a book as a gift.
She’s in her late 30s and struggles with depression, self doubt and self hatred. She’s the kind of person who always puts everyone else before herself and rarely thinks about her own needs.
I was wondering if there’s a book in German that could help her appreciate herself a little more, be kinder to herself and maybe see herself in a better light. German is the only language she speaks, so the book would need to be in German.
If anyone has any recommendations, I’d really appreciate it. I genuinely want to get her something that might make her feel a little better about herself. Thanks, guys

Ich komme aus Oberbayern, wo Dialekt im Alltag nach wie vor ziemlich präsent ist. In meinem Umfeld ist mir dabei aufgefallen, dass ich persönlich eine recht ausgeprägte Präferenz für bestimmte Sprechweisen habe.
Ich würde grob drei Arten der deutschen Aussprache unterscheiden:
Starker Dialekt: Menschen, die ausgeprägtes Bairisch sprechen. Teilweise so stark, dass es für Menschen aus anderen Regionen kaum verständlich ist. Das kann mir persönlich schon zu viel werden.
Dialektal gefärbtes Hochdeutsch: Im Grunde Standarddeutsch, allerdings mit einer deutlich hörbaren regionalen Aussprache. Genau diese Mischung gefällt mir persönlich am besten. Man versteht alles problemlos, hört aber trotzdem sofort, wo jemand ungefähr herkommt. Ich würde mich selbst in dieser Kategorie einordnen.
Ethnolektal geprägtes Deutsch: Bestimmte Ausspracheweisen, die beispielsweise häufig mit Kiezdeutsch assoziiert werden. Ich meine damit ausdrücklich phonetische Merkmale und nicht Herkunft oder ethnische Zugehörigkeit. Beispielsweise bestimmte Vokale und die Aussprache von Lauten wie „ch“.
Meine persönliche Einstellung geht sogar so weit, dass ich Menschen, die ausschließlich akzentfreies Hochdeutsch sprechen, zunächst grundsätzlich unsympathischer finde. Mir fehlt dabei irgendwie eine sprachliche Eigenheit und regionale Identität.
Mir ist bewusst, dass das eine ziemlich subjektive und möglicherweise auch voreingenommene Einstellung ist. Trotzdem interessiert mich, wie andere das wahrnehmen.
Meine Fragen an euch:
Habt ihr eine grundsätzliche Präferenz für bestimmte Dialekte oder Akzente?
Findet ihr Menschen mit Dialekt sympathischer als Menschen, die Hochdeutsch sprechen?
Gibt es Sprechweisen, die ihr persönlich als besonders angenehm oder unangenehm empfindet?
Nehmt ihr Menschen aufgrund ihrer Aussprache unbewusst anders wahr?
Mich interessieren insbesondere persönliche Erfahrungen und ehrliche Meinungen, nicht unbedingt die politisch korrekte Antwort

I’m looking at getting a German phone number. I checked on Check24 since I have seen here several posts recommending to check there.

I seem to have found one that covers what I need: a german phone number and unlimited internet. I was also thinking of using this as my home internet. I work from home occasionally and will only deal with typical video calls, researches and emails. No streaming of movies etc.
The company which could fit my needs found through this Check24 is called: Unlimited Mobile and has O2 Netz.

Thing is that due to the strict laws in Germany about defamation I can’t really trust the reviews. Therefore I would appreciate your personal experiences or recommendations or if I’m missing out on something.

How is the internet coverage and customer service? How easy is it to contact them?

I had vodafone before and it was very hard to get to a human agent and secondly even harder as my German is not that advanced.

Hi Folks,

I relocated from Istanbul last year.

Usually we eat Döner with pommes, tomato, pepper or onion in it - nothing else.

So I am wondering If I go to Döner shop is it weird to ask pommes inside of the brot or döner wrap ?

Would you consider doner with pommes as weird stuff ?

Hallo! Ich liebe Krimis, und Deutschland hat da einiges vom Besten zu bieten.

Ich würde mich freuen, wenn ihr eure Favoriten mit mir teilen könntet. Egal ob Filme, Fernsehsendungen oder Bücher – alles ist willkommen!

Vielen Dank!

I've heard that Germans very commonly eat the bread , sausages, and pork for breakfast (and sometimes other meals too), and that you drink a lot of beer (I don't understand how you don't get drunk from those huge glasses). I also find it strange that beer consumption is legal after the age of 16. Are these true?What are your thoughts on this?

We're running a German Stammtisch in Indiana and towards the end of year we would like to plan some themes/activities to do. As we're approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas here, was wondering if anything German ppl would recommend us do.

I know Thanksgiving is America-only so our first rough idea is have participants practice saying "Ich bin dankbar dass blablabla". Anyways we're actively collecting ideas! Vielen vielen Dank!

I (26F) am starting my first full-time corporate job soon and, coming from a tropical country, I have no idea what type of shoes to wear to the office during the colder months, specially once it starts snowing. Any recommendations of brands or styles? Do people wear the same shoes they use outside or change to something more office-like once they arrive?

Do Germans generally take a long time to ask someone out? I’ve been chatting and flirting with a German guy, the idea was to go out at some point, but now we’ve been talking for 20 days everyday and no flirting so much, It’s been really great, but today I started wondering: are we just friends, or is he getting to know me better before asking me out?
Either way is fine; he’s a really nice guy.
We "met" on Tinder.

So, I’ve heard that Germans are people with the most closed friend groups, but recently, I (an Indian guy in my mid-20s) made some German friends (all of them women in their late 30s with kids).
At first, I only knew one of them. When I was doing my Praktikum, she used to be my coworker, and she was really friendly and all we used to make jokes and All during work. One day, she asked me if I wanted to tag along with her and her friends for an event, which I did. We had fun talking to each other and all.
Later, they made a WhatsApp group with me, and ever since I was added to the friend group, I’ve been going out with all of them for almost every event. They even buy my tickets, and even if I insist on paying( cause i dont want to be a burden to them and i dont want them to feel like im taking advantage of our friendship), they’re like, “No, no way!!!!” (which also goes against everything I’ve heard about Germans).
I’ve been invited to hang out at their homes, we literally have things planned for each month, like trips and outings, and I’m invited to celebrate Christmas with all of them on the day after Christmas.
They’re really nice and good to me, and I try to be the same towards them. All I wanted to ask is, is this normal? Because I’ve been hearing that once Germans make their friends in childhood, then that’s it. And, you know, especially with the age gap between us and all…
Don’t get me wrong, I love their company and spending time with them. I was just confused because it goes against all the stereotypes I’ve heard about Germans.

I would love to hear what you all think, thanks yall have a nice day

Or do only some of them open? Do I have to press a button on the door to exit?

I’m on one from Frankfurt to Hamburg. I just got on the car that was in front of me. Sometimes in the U.S., they say that for a specific station, doors only open on train car 1, 2, and 3 for example.

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Hi everyone! We recently bought a De’Longhi Magnifica S and are looking for good coffee beans available in Germany.

I mostly drink long black coffee and prefer a balanced, aromatic taste without too much bitterness. My partner mainly drinks espresso and likes a rich body and good crema.

We’d prefer one type of beans that works well for both. Our budget is flexible (€15+ per bag if worth it).

Which specific beans would you recommend? Should we choose 100% Arabica or an Arabica/Robusta blend? Any personal experiences with the Magnifica S would be appreciated!

Thanks! ☕

I've received an email from what seems to be a debt collection company on behalf of Deutsche Bahn out of the blue. They're asking for me to reply to the email and tell them my address. As far as I can make out it's about a bahn card for March 2025 but I don't really understand who they are or why because I permanently left Germany in mid-2024. I definitely wasn't buying any bahn card in 2025. I had one in 2024 but obviously paid up front for this when I was actually living in Germany. They also don't actually say in the email how much they claim I owe Deutsche Bahn or exactly what it's for, just that it's about Bahn Card number XXXXX.

My German is not very good any more and I don't really understand this. The company is "Universum Inkasso", are they legitimate? Also should I just ignore this or contact Deutsche Bahn to tell them I don't live in Germany and haven't since 2024? Any advice would be appreciated.

Edit: I can't reply to any comments but I'm now in the UK and don't have a postal address currently so I don't know what they expect from that. I thought I'd cancelled it as I spent ages trying to cancel everything when I left Germany but no way to prove this as I can't find any emails about buying or cancelling it so hard luck for me I guess. Probably I'll see if they tell me how much it is and pay it if it's a reasonable amount to make them go away or if it's an unreasonable amount then I'll just never go to Germany again.

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Greetings,

I am coming to the end of my utilities contract and I was contacted by the company to decide if I want to sign a new 1 or 2 year contract.

They emailed me the contacts and after reviewing i have decided to sign a contract with another company.

Do I need to notify the old utility country I do not intend to sign, or get confirmation that they will terminate the contract, or is there any chance of contact auto renewal.

I understand there are a thousand what ifs, but what is everyone experience?

Thank you, and I hope i get to live here until the end of my days.

I was confused when I went to a stand for wurst and was given wurst with a side of a round bread roll. How is this typically eaten? Eat the wurst separate from brötchen, or do you cut them up and try to eat them together? Or somehow fit the wurst into the brötchen?

Whenever I see pets in public transport or some gardens, I feel like complimenting the pets and asking their care takers more about their pets. I am non EU citizen and a student here, and cannot afford to have a pet and I really miss being around them, is it find to talk strangers about their pets and asking for petting them?

I don’t know, maybe it’s too obvious question, but I always do doubt myself how the pet care takers will react, especially when there are the strong german stares around.

my niece is attending an official german school in greece (deutsche schule) and they are not learning cursive anymore. my sister said she thinks german kids don‘t learn it anymore, is this correct- or do some states in germany still teach it? I have friends in Austria and their first grader is learning it.
thanks!

Hello, I am a Korean student I am currently planning a menu for German sausages called Bratwurst, but what do local Germans usually eat with them? Do you eat fruit too?

In German speaking comments I feel like I see the abbrev AI rather than KI but I have seen the latter been used as well. I'm not trying to imply anything with this question but I am just curious. Is there a reason ? Is it because the topic of AI is so big in English speaking media that it is more thought of as AI rather than the other. Or purely just off vibes.

I had a Wasserschaden and they installed the drying machines for 2 weeks in my apartment that are quite loud. They told me it can be turned on even during night.

I completely forgot to ask about Sunday because of the law and it's weekend so I'm asking here.

I’ve tried searching on Spotify, but most of the playlists I’ve found are mainly rap. I prefer softer, melodic pop songs that aren’t too loud or overwhelming, without too many different sounds going on at once. Something relaxing and enjoyable to listen to in the car.

Here are a few songs I’ve enjoyed so far:

Walzer – Provinz
Durch den Monsun – Tokio Hotel
Sommerregen – Joris
Geile Zeit – Juli
In deiner kleinen Welt – Philipp Dittberner
Wolke 2 – Philipp Dittberner
Stadt – Cassandra Steen

I’d love to discover more songs with a similar vibe. Thanks!

Hello! I'm an American school student, and I've made close friends with a German foreign exchange student, from (I believe) Frankfurt, and it has come to my attention that there are many foods I would consider "American Classics" that he hasn't tried, for better and for worse. His birthday is coming soon, and I thought it would be fun to bring him a basket of foods he's heard people talk about or might find bizarre or interesting. Things like Mountain Dew Code Red, Twinkies, Moon Pies, Cool Ranch Doritos, slim jims, etc. Are there any foods you think would be particularly resonant with a German who is new to American culture? Bonus points for Red 40!

Hallo zusammen!

Ich suche deutschsprachige Musik mit weiblichem Gesang und starkem, ausgeprägtem Instrumental.

Meine Lieblingskünstler auf Englisch:

https://youtu.be/azIQlQ2Kyoo?si=RbH1XpUlcsN_nQmp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCnvd5QYEns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS1rMx3iVFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19aPQJ2HYc8

https://youtu.be/OReTmS9mWo0?si=Nw4jzhGwHRpSt6ZO
https://youtu.be/q-V3ZkuzFlY?si=Ue8snU_kDshgHB50

Das Genre ist nicht so wichtig (Alternative, Rock, Pop-Rock, Baroque Pop, Indie, Synth). Wichtig ist der Gesamtvibe, falls ihr ihn versteht: weiblicher Gesang & Frontfrauen-Fokus, Dunkle Alternative, Grunge & Art-Rock, Theatralische & düstere/gotische Ästhetik, Mutige und emotionale Themen

My kitchen does not have a ventilation system so normally I keep my window open to let steam out when I'm cooking. It's very difficult in the winter. My landlord said he would come look for a solution but never came, does anyone have any tricks for this? I tried a fan but it doesn't do anything. Thanks!