6 mistakes YOU should avoid when speaking German! 🇩🇪 | Feli from Germany

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German is a tough language to learn - we all know that. Grammar and vocab are things that you'll just have to learn and practice unfortunately, but by avoiding certain mistakes and working on those specific things, you might be able to improve pronunciation and confidence with the language by a lot! That's why I put together a list of 6 mistakes that you should avoid/6 tips as to how to improve that specific issue. I hope it's helpful for you and if you have more tips, please share them in the comments below! :)
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0:00 Intro
0:55 Lingoda
3:02 ie vs. ei
5:22 CH-sound
7:29 Don’t overpronounce R
8:13 More pronunciation
10:21 Capitalization
11:46 Use the present tense
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ABOUT ME: Hallo, Servus, and welcome to my channel! My name is Felicia (Feli), I'm 26, and I'm a German living in the USA! I was born and raised in Munich, Germany but have been living in Cincinnati, Ohio off and on since 2016. I first came here for an exchange semester during my undergrad at LMU Munich, then I returned for an internship, and then I got my master's degree in Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to win the Green Card lottery and have been a permanent resident since 2019! In my videos, I talk about cultural differences between America and Germany, things I like and dislike about living here, and other experiences that I have made during my time in the States. Let me know what YOU would like to hear about in the comments below. DANKE :)
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[@FelifromGermany]

Which of these tips did you find most helpful? :) And what are YOUR TIPS when it comes to learning German or which MISTAKES should people try to avoid? Let me and everyone else know in the comments below! EDIT: Yes, "ick" or "icke" is also part of the Berlin accent/dialect but that's the only place where people say that and in my opinion, it doesn't really work if you only use that one word of the dialect.

[@Gladiamdammit]

Possessed by Beavis and Butthead: huh huh huh she said "dip THONG" Huh Huh Huh HUH. As opposed to Huhuhu. :) Oh, thanks for avenging Rammstein. Ich liebe dich!! xD

[@wetworkxdomain7214]

Guten tag

[@GRT1865]

Did I notice 2 arms and 0 casts?

[@KeyWestChrisRehm]

Today's video was fun! I might suggest you do a comparison of German dialects, at one point? They say that in some areas the people from one town can't understand neighboring towns because of differences in dialect. It also gives an opportunity to explain how hoch Deutsch is the national dialect and how it became into being. Comparing cities that are far apart, such as Munich and Berlin's can be fun. Doing the dialect comparison for "I'm going home" is perfect! Berlin is "Ich gehe nach Hause" where in Munich(Bayrisch) it's " Ie goha Hom" Thanks!

[@adventurecontingency]

Wasser ist Spitze

[@maikehudson333]

Most important: when speaking German, don't try to sound like Nazis in the movies. Talk like a normal human being.

[@beedou2535]

😂😂😂

[@johnrogan9420]

Nein...find a soap box in Berlin und rant und bark like Joseph Goebbels' reincarnation!

[@clray123]

@Hauke Holst Kinda like Trump in private interviews speaks completely different from his public speeches.

[@andyreznick]

Unless Nazi-in-a-movie is what you're going for. But no, don't, really don't.

[@joeferreti9442]

Most of those movies are made in Hollywood without a clue of how German really sounds.

[@98Sabsi]

I'm German. I'm watching an English video how to speak German correctly. Something is wrong with me 😂

[@abelinasalvatore1195]

Same here, ich finde es interessant wie Amerikaner Deutsche wahrnehmen und sie gibt gute Einblicke wie sie es erlebt 😄

[@karasunostherapist]

Same ich auch😂

[@katij2554]

Same, but it is so interesting

[@stupidravenclaw2507]

Ist so, ich dachte es mir vorhin auch 😂

[@Newt_Evans]

Exakt das gleiche bei mir 😅

[@connkahn]

I always think of "Bier" and "Wein" to make sure I pronounce "ie" and "ei" correctly since these words are so similar to the English equivalent.

[@PiepsiPanic]

That's a brilliant mnemonic! :D (

[@kileyslife7541]

It's funny to me that when I started learning the language, those are 2 of the first words I learned😂

[@skyhawk_4526]

@@kileyslife7541 Makes sense to me!

[@patricktinkl4996]

That's actually quite good! Coming from the other (German native speaker), i often despair of people mixing up, or rather mispronouncing, beer and bear. Which is a mystery to me, because both sound pretty much exactly the same in both languages - Bier/beer and Bär/bear...couldn't actually bei much easier 🤦

[@ellatan1097]

Duolingo?

[@bergerle]

Another one: Assuming that an "e" at the end of a word is silent. Like Porsche.

[@jonadam5392]

Yup. Drives me crazy.

[@anthonyfuqua6988]

I've been to Germany and in isolated places I have heard people say the "e" as in Porsha. But almost everyone says Porsche.

[@joeferreti9442]

e at the end of a word is pronounced like an ä in German

[@bergerle]

Yes, Ä is more accurate than A. The sound is the same as the e in many English words like "help" or "memory". Basically every "short" e is pronounced like ä, not only at the end of the word. Like in any of these words: Herr, Herz, Held, helfen, Geld, Pelz...

[@hansmahr8627]

To be more precise, the e at the end of words is a schwa - a reduced vowel like the a in English about or the e in pencil.

[@littlegiantrobo6523]

Learn. Every. Noun. with the. Article. From the beginning. It will save you A LOT of problems later.

[@sofiandi6117]

Too late....😭

[@peters2522]

Disagree. Don't let details keep you from progressing. In almost all situations, people will understand even if you mix up the articles.

[@trevorcorso473]

@@peters2522 But you'll sound like a jerk. Learn the article with the noun. If you don't want to do this study Spanish instead

[@richardcollins1480]

I agree. I found this easiest by learning a noun in the context of different sentences which put them into the different cases so you get used to hearing the noun spoken in different parts of the sentence (e.g. das Haus: ich sehe ein blaues Haus, er ist in meinem Haus, sie ist gluecklich wegen ihres Hauses). If I then forget the gender I just think of a sentence with that noun in and it typically lets me know the gender.

[@Knusper-Knoppers]

Or just doing it the turkish style and say "de" instead of der,die,das. Just de Baum, de Mädchen,... Not very elegant and everyone will know you are foreigner, but you will be understood.

[@mats7492]

EVERY TIME I mention to an American I’m German, they start to yell the 3 German words they know at me aggressively... I usually reply with my best cowboy impression...

[@ShazzPotz]

You mean they yell "volkswagen", "nazi" and "scheisskopf" at you? 😀

[@alannahayden7453]

HAHAHA THE COWBOY 😂😂

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

I sent my kids to German class with a sentence. First day, teacher asks, does anyone know any German? My 15 year old holds up his hand and replies, Meine Bleistift ist gross und Gelb. I can't believe they let me chaperone on the trip from Berlin to Lucerne,

[@janhoelterling4320]

I teach every American I meet the three most important German words: Ein Bier bitte!

[@bbranett2188]

@@FreezyAbitKT7A Now that's a great first impression to make for your son. How did he do in class?

[@magicmaxx6346]

Your english is so perfect its hard to believe you aren't american

[@I_am_Raziel]

I can hear a slight German accent, but ONLY because I am German AND because I know that she is German.

[@ToutCQJM]

It’s a super super slight accent but she sounds lovely.

[@johnappleseed3428]

@@I_am_Raziel same

[@burrito758]

She does pronounce the words good. However, there is a slight accent. The s are a bit sharp. I must admit, I live a long time in America and still have a strong accent. Well, many times people think I am from Austria or England.

[@claraw8940]

@@I_am_Raziel same

[@Custerd1]

My German professor got a huge laugh out of one of us students reading a passage about an amusement park and telling about scheissbuden. Between his laughs he managed to spit out, "yes, a shitting gallery..." (Schiessbuden would be shooting galleries.)

[@MisterTopazz]

Hahahaha

[@JerbilKonai]

The best is Schiss is also a word for shit (so Scheissbuden = Schissbuden but not Schießbuden, where the difference between Schiss and Schieß is how shrt or looooong they are pronounced and potentially if you pronounce the i(e)-sound low in the mouth or in the upper part) It's also used for "Hast du Schiss?" which roughly translates to "Are you shitting yourself (out of fear)?" Or "Chicken?" (literal translation is "Do you have shit?")

[@Crusader1815]

Another embarrassing mistake is to pronounce the musical piece by Mozart as "A little naked music." ("Eine kleine Nacktmusik" instead of "Eine kleine Nachtmusik")

[@kg4zmf]

Ei vs ie is important. In my beginning German course at university, the professor was teaching the use of the word "gern." And we had to form a sentence using it and write it on the board. At the time, I was on the university rifle team, so, I wanted to say that I like to shoot. However, in my haste, I misread the dictionary, and I wrote, "Ich scheiße gern." The professor looked at me and started laughing. He said, "I think you meant "schieße." What you said was that you like to shit." Lesson learned.

[@huawafabe]

lol

[@rabartels]

The same applies for words (ie and ei) in Dutch. (German and Dutch) are closely related

[@tamaskarolyi2106]

When you grow older you begin to appreciate a good shit too... :D

[@dave_n8pu]

@@tamaskarolyi2106 Very true, I'm at that 'older' age so yes. 🤣💩

[@CoryFinn2011]

😱😱😱

[@DruSolis]

My high school German teacher told us "when i and e go walking, the second one does the talking" - never forgot that how to pronounce "ie" and "ei" after that.

[@91msJill]

My 3rd grade teacher told us "when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking" as an English rule.

[@3.k]

91msJill So, if two vowels go on a walk and the first one is English and the second one is German, they’re both talking all the time. Vice versa, they are quiet all the way. ^^

[@lth5015]

I was going to comment the same thing. "When i and e go walking, the second one does the talking" was taught to me in German class in central Pennsylvania, in ~1999

[@pinky69207]

I just added the “ie ei” tip (above) and then I saw you had already written the same tip!

[@DonPedro6901]

@Dru - Fantastic principle, nice that you shared that.

[@yafud965]

In Scotland the "ch" sound is used for words like Loch and its pronounced the same as german

[@UncreativUsername]

Does loch by any chance mean hole in Scottish?

[@fenrirsghost2051]

@@UncreativUsername The German Loch means hole, but the scottish Lóch means lake (German: See). Please note ó instead of simple o. That makes the difference. Greats from Germany.

[@UncreativUsername]

@@fenrirsghost2051 o then the Lochness monster makes more sense

[@UncreativUsername]

@@fenrirsghost2051 there was no ó used in the comment though that’s why it looked wrong ig

[@UncreativUsername]

@@fenrirsghost2051 What does greats mean?

[@hepunk]

I started learning German w/ duolingo about a year ago, and in one of the sections where users can leave comments someone said it helps to think of the "ch" sound as mimicking the hissing sound a cat would make. That helped me a lot to get close to its correct pronunciation.

[@threeofeight197]

I use Duolingo too. I just got a 400 day streak and I think I have 2 years now generally. 15 mins a day with German music and movies has gotten me farther than ever! I’m still only A2 but it’s farther than I got in college as far as speaking/understanding.

[@kevinconnell1272]

"When I and E go walking, the second does the talking". That's the way I was taught a long time ago.

[@BlackAdder665]

Ha, good one!

[@histrion2]

Exactly the opposite of what English-speaking kids are taught. One of my son's old LeapFrog DVDs has a whole "first one does the talking" song.

[@dwightneisler3844]

My last name is of German origin with ei in it. No one pronounces it right.

[@Dirty_Squirrell]

Homeschooled my youngest and he learned (with exceptions, of course), when two vowels go awalking, the first one does the talking. Can still see the printed sheet of two vowels holding hands! 😛

[@fenrirsghost2051]

@@dwightneisler3844 All germans (like me) would do it right by default. There is nothing wrong with your second name at all, you´re just living at the wrong place 😂 But pronounce your first name correct as a german is ....... well ........ forget it. 😂😂

[@hughmungus1767]

The "ei" / "ie" confusion was illustrated in a very amusing way in a documentary I saw some years ago. Some German veterans were interviewed about how they came to surrender to the Allies and one of them recounted an anecdote. His unit had been surrounded by American soldiers who had all been taught the phrase "Hande hoch oder ich schiessen!" ("Hands up or I'll shoot!). One of the Americans shouted this phrase at the German unit but inverted the "ie" in "schiessen" and actually said "Hande hoch oder ich scheissen!" ("Hands up or I'll shit!"). The Germans found this so amusing that they burst into laughter and one soldier who spoke some English shouted back "Anything but that! We surrender!".

[@johnrogan9420]

Schiessen nein scheissen!

[@c.g.3700]

Its "Hände hoch oder ich schieße"

[@c.g.3700]

@@navy_flyer2331 Nah, thats totaly fine. They just wrote "schiessen" wich is grammatically not correct.

[@rodwynrhind5573]

That story is hilarious 🤣

[@colinp2238]

Oddly enough I heard a British soldier challenge us on a relief patrol during a duty at a "sensitive" ammunition site making the same mistake, it's because they hear scheisser more than schiesser.

[@jozoakrap3116]

I don’t know why I’m watching this (I’m a fourth year Germanistics student 🤣), but I can’t stop. P. S. Good job!

[@jledford5644]

Always ask, “Ist es dir kalt”, And never, never say. “Bist du kalt!” As we do in English!

[@samusmfr]

You can also drop the "es" - "Ist dir kalt"

[@hansmahr8627]

Also applies to other expressions of emotion/state of mind: mir ist langweilig (I am bored) as opposed to ich bin langweilig (I am boring) or mir ist übel (I'm nauseous/not feeling well). But it's not a general rule, you can't say mir ist müde for example, you have to say ich bin müde (I am tired).

[@jledford5644]

Bist du kalt means “are you frigid!” Try it for yourself.

[@ichliebebaeumeweilbaum]

@@hansmahr8627 as a German speaker it happens a lot that I accidentally say "mir ist müde" because my mouth is faster than my brain :')

[@petra3926]

As a native German speaker, let me tell you that you either say 'Ist dir kalt?' (without the 'es') or 'Frierst du?'. 'Bist du kalt would only make sense as a statement to someone else to tell him eg. that he has cold hands or to tell him that he is less emotional but as a native speaker you would express the last one differently.

[@brianharrell5326]

In my German class, someone once asked why the grammar were so tricky. He responded that the German language was invented during a long winter.

[@space__idklmao]

I mean, technically, the Little Ice Age was a “long winter”

[@nickmiller7535]

A couple tips that I give my students: 1. Even though it is hard, do not skip learning noun genders. At some point everything else is going to focus on that. You have to know genders once you start applying cases, and then you have to know genders really well once you learn adjective endings. 2. In the same spirit as my first tip, learn the endings that are commonly one gender or another. For example, -er is commonly masculine, -e is commonly feminine (I tell my kids, "if it ends with -e, its probably 'die'"), -ung is always feminine, -heit/-keit are always feminine, -chen is always neuter. There are others, but these are common ones that you encounter early. 3. There are no helping verbs in the present tense. Even though we say "I am playing" in English, you just say "ich spiele" in German (not "ich bin spiele" or something). 4. Word order is important. In a statement, you have subject+verb (du singst=you are singing), but questions are verb+subject (singst du?= Are you singing?) Also, if you have two verbs in one clause, the second one is at the end, not right after the first one (ich MUSS nach Hause GEHEN= I MUST GO home) 5. Be able to understand how nouns function in a sentence. For example, you have to know how a subject, direct object, and indirect object differ (ich gebe dem Kind einen Hund "I give the kid a dog" is very different from "ich gebe dem Hund ein Kind" "i give the dog the child"--notice the endings on the words "the" and "a")

[@davidwise1302]

Yes, word order is important in German, but far more important in English since German still uses case while English doesn't so the meanings given by case are expressed through word order instead (actually, English still uses case, but it just doesn't show, which is why we now have monstrosities such as "between you and I"). So while you can mix word order up a bit in German (eg, "Der Hund beißt den Mann." and "Den Mann beißt der Hund."), the slightest change of word order in English can completely change the meaning (eg "The dog bites the man." vs. "The man bites the dog."). I have also studied other languages which are more heavily inflected than German (ie, languages that have retained case endings; eg, Latin, Greek, Russian) in which you could conceivably mix up almost all the noun phrases (retaining the associations of adjectives and the genitive, of course) and still come up with the same meaning.

[@stricknitt0184]

The translation for "I am playing" is a bit more complex. Yes, I don't need to translate the progressive form into German, but you can do that without an problem. To "ich spiele" you could ad "gerade" oder "im Moment" to make it more obvious. But you could translate it into the progressive form "ich bin (gerade) am Spielen" .

[@ianjehle]

The find the article-adjective declinations almost impossible and the also where to place adverbs and prepositions in the sentence when you use perfect tense or helper verbs. It’s a lot to remember when you’re trying to speak in real time at a normal pace.

[@ianjehle]

@@davidwise1302 but in English you can place a preposition practically anywhere in the sentence and it’s understood. In fact, the placement is largely based on emphasis or poetic effect rather than grammar. Even adverbs can generally go anywhere close to the verbs.

[@WardancerHB]

regarding your second point I urge you to not do that anymore. You only gonna confuse your students. There are NO rules for noun genders! -er is NOT commonly masculine (die Butter, die Mutter, das Futter, etc.) One has to simply learn the gender together with the new word, so don't remember door=Tür but door= die Tür Have a look at this link www.passion4teq.com/articles/der-die-das-genus-regeln/ So many rules, so many exceptions. Forget about the rules and learn the words you need. I am teaching German to refugees and migrants for over a decade now and in my experience that's the only thing that reliably works.

[@Sunnyy9914]

Ich verstehe zwar nicht warum, aber irgendwie fand ich das Video sehr spannend... auch wenn ich Deutsche bin😂

[@user-ut7tc6nv7f]

Ich auch😅

[@levi9957]

Same

[@MisterTopazz]

true

[@lalalari8078]

Jap same

[@janne6247]

Ich schaue mir das Video auch an obwohl ich deutsch bin LOL

[@dirkdreischerf6665]

Speaking of Rammstein: Till Lindemann is rolling the "R" like nobody else.

[@ashjkouy852]

Is he an Austrian?

[@AnastasiaSaenz]

@@ashjkouy852 Nein. Er kommt aus Leipzig.

[@MindscapesUnleashedAI]

@@ashjkouy852 No. He just adopted the so called "Bühnendeutsch" (stage german?) for his pronounciation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BChnendeutsch

[@walterweiss7124]

@@AnastasiaSaenz RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg :)

[@pinky69207]

Regarding "ie and ei" this is what I was taught: "In German, when two vowels go walking, the second one does the talking."

[@Lovethyself887]

How though? In the ie example the first vowel is pronounced. And the ei, gives a new sound. It's neither e nor i, it's "ay".

[@lisaheller1574]

@@Lovethyself887 actually it's true if you consider the english pronounciation of the last vowel :)

[@Treinbouwer]

When you use the normal German pronunciation rules, in most cases you lengthen the first vowel. You don't do that with diphthong. (It's about the same as in Dutch, so it's quite easy to me.)

[@Treinbouwer]

Ei and ie are diphthongs btw

[@pinky69207]

@Harold Potsdamer Exactly.

[@shizukaakatatsu1819]

Another issue that an english teacher pointed out to me: u vs ü. A lot of English speakers ignore those two dots above the ü and pronounce it like the u. They just didn't learn the words schwul and schwül. At that point it would be better to know the different pronunciation of u and ü.

[@johnappleseed3428]

THIS. i just cant comprehend how english people are like "yeah so there are these dots... nah, nvm, theyre probably just decoration and dont mean anything"💁

[@liz1014]

@@johnappleseed3428 you made my day

[@selenajarv8763]

Me an Estonian : ä ü ö õ

[@MadMusicNerd]

Schwul (gay) comes from schwül (humid) because it was thought that gay guys are very warm and "wet". So it's not really wrong per se. Just a bit old timey. Time travel to the 16th century and it would be right... Not today. Never today!!!

[@UncreativUsername]

You don’t want to mix up sultry and gay

[@tub8r]

When referring to letter combinations "ei" and "ie", as in how they are written, they are called digraphs, not diphthongs. Diphthongs are related to how sounds are pronounced. You would say that the digraph "ei" is pronounced as a diphthong /ai/.

[@richardburke6902]

The German word that I like that is now a part of the English language is zeitgeist. The diphthong clue was helpful.

[@flytyme]

You should do a video about compliments and insults. I am sure that there are things that non-Germans unknowingly do or say while in Germany that are insulting or insensitive.

[@haukepowers8491]

I can see the need for compliments but NOT insults...shame shame !! hahahahaha BUT, I have used minor insults in German on coworkers who pushed my buttons once too many tines !!They had no idea what I was calling them..shame one me !!! hahahaha !!!!

[@johnnapper1923]

On my first Army assignment to Germany, I had to live on the German economy; because no government housing was available. The German couple next door sort of took us under their wing. They spoke no English; but I had taken two years of German in college; so we could haltingly make ourselves understood. They invited the wife and I to dinner one night at their house. I decided to get the neighbor's wife some flowers as a token of appreciation. I had been warned that it was against custom to give an even number of flowers; so I bought 13 red roses for her. When she and her husband came to the door, he started laughing. Turns out that you only give red roses to your sweetheart in Germany....good thing Heinz had a sense of humor.

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

dont speak English with a German accent and expect to be understood or appreciated. Dont call the Euro "funny money". Unless by a miracle the American FiFA team is doing really well and you are at the game... never shout ...USA USA USA ....especially in Dresden

[@miklosernoehazy8678]

@@FreezyAbitKT7A ... never, ever, EVER in Dresden... ...(the bombing raids that happened in WWII are still quite a sore point)...

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

@@miklosernoehazy8678 I am very aware. I have visited Dresden and have seen the scars and charring on buildings that remain today. Yes, we bombed churches too. I wouldn't be born for 20 years but I am still deeply sorry.

[@goldminer754]

"Ick" is also technically valid as it is Berlin accent for "ich"

[@marrykurie48]

That's why John F. Kennedy is known so well for his sentence: "Ick bin ein Berliner". XD

[@juno4255]

Icke, not ick.

[@kaitan4160]

dont Forget Claus Hipp and his Catchphrase. "Ganz on Ckemie, dafüre steh ich mit meinem Namen"

[@chrisvanblargan7980]

Regional ch - ck east-west line runs mid-Germany with Plattdeutch favoring ck. In Dutch, which blends more closely with Plattdeutsch than Hochdeutsch, the pronoun "I" is "ik."

[@Kenrp11]

@@juno4255 ick or icke depending on where it falls in the sentence I heard.

[@kixxxxxx]

Beeindruckend wie gut du geworden bist! Locker, natürlich und trotzdem präzise, auf den Punkt und sehr kurzweilig. Respekt.

[@SonOfWillard1968]

Another killer video! Your teaching style is succinct and informative. Great association tips for correctly pronouncing some letters or combos of same as well. Thanks for posting these videos! 🤟

[@jabba6552]

My tip for all foreign language speakers (almost) all over the world: Speak and make your own mistakes. Your hosts will be pleased that you try and will be glad to help you (and to correct you if neccesary)

[@sthondat17]

This is very true! The only thing I would add is that it is helpful to set your mind in advance so that you're not embarrassed by anything you say incorrectly or have to hand-wave about. If it's obvious you are honestly trying, people will treat you nicely and try to help you.

[@chrisk5651]

I don’t think that is true with learning French as native speakers are not just tickled that you are just trying to speak their language. Stereotypically they seem more annoyed that you are mangling it

[@jabba6552]

@@chrisk5651 That's why I wrote "(almost) all over the world" but even that's getting better

[@be6715]

@@chrisk5651 I've always heard the opposite - that French people really appreciate it when you at least try to speak some French. I haven't tried it myself, but it is what I have heard.

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

One of my German language professors told a story that he had a Russian professor that didn't bother with noun genders. He just gave every noun the adjective suffix -"chen" meaning small eg. das Brotchen... little bread... roll/bun

[@michaeldickens3357]

FINALLY, someone explained the ie and ei pronounciation! You are making want to learn German. Thanks for all the great videos.

[@thequeenofitall2093]

The problem of German is not pronunciation but to understand everything of the sentence, it's order is quite different from English and the Gender of the word

[@thequeenofitall2093]

Gender of the word is FUNDAMENTAL to do a proper declination and really important while using prepositions. Some are in dativ and others in akkusative

[@thequeenofitall2093]

Sometimes they even rematk the difference between something which is in motion (akkusative) and something that is static (dativ). But if you master the Cases, it shouldn't be a big deal the rest

[@thequeenofitall2093]

Personally, I have troubles with trennbare verben, since they can be split into the verb and the particle, they are similar to phrasal verbs but the particle goes to the end of the sentence. This particles actually have some meaning but depends on the verb. In non trennbare verbs, there's a preffix which is not splitted from the verb but adds some meaning which I don't understand either

[@thequeenofitall2093]

But it's really a language which is worthy to be learnt. It's challenging at first but it doesn't sound as **making a bunch of weird sounds** it's different and they usually go to the really smallest detail. So I encourage you to take German classes if you are really interested. It really changed my mind

[@Tobi78M]

Was eine Arbeit für das Video! Toll geworden.

[@redrosestwo]

I took classes in high school and community college to learn to speak German. Thank you for a refresher course. You brought back nice memories.😊

[@lequrage1084]

Finde es als Deutscher immer wieder lustig durch die Kommentare zu scrollen haha l’y mach weiter so ❤️🙏🏻

[@freagle123]

Ich glaube die meisten ihrer Zuschauer sind deutsch...😂

[@jinushaun]

Pronouncing pure vowels is probably the biggest tip for improving your accent. It’ll help you out in so many other languages besides just German.

[@walterweiss7124]

nevertheless the vowels are not spoken everywhere the same like in German, even Germans are not aware of this fact

[@juliab3326]

@@walterweiss7124 Most people trying to learn German are learning Standard German, not a dialect, so pure vowels it is.

[@jacquelinegiordano432]

Thank you for clearing up the ei ie! That was very simply explained and will make my duolingo lessons much easier!

[@SUPATWIN1]

The present tense and the capitalization of nouns are a very helpful tip. Especially the difference between ei/ie. Thank you for your help

[@galier2]

ch has a third way of pronounciation. When it is followed by a s it is pronounced like ks or x. Achse (axle), Ochse (ox), Fuchs (fox), Lachs (salmon), Luchs (lynx) etc.

[@j3nn3s]

Bachstelze... :-D Into a similar category fall Häuschen, Hoffensterchen and so on.

[@j.m.w.5064]

@@j3nn3s no... now you mixed all three of them together... :-P Fuchs is the x/ks, Bach the rasping sound and Häuschen the soft hiss of air. (the word Hoffensterchen does not exist. Sorry!)

[@j3nn3s]

@@j.m.w.5064 I mixed those up intentionally. The last words are hard to read and understand at first sight even for native speakers. Bachstelze is pronounced Bach-Stelze (it's a bird), Häuschen - Häus-chen (CH Like in ich. That's diminutive, so it's just a small house), Hoffensternchen is actually Hof-fenster-chen - a little window towards the front or backyard

[@ThomasNimmesgern]

@@j3nn3s "Hoffensternchen" is such a great trap! ;-) I'm a native speaker myself, but I didn't recognize that it didn't mean "Hoffen-Sternchen", but "Hof-Fensterchen". However, I can easily pronounce "Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmützenaufhängung". What a great word. ;-)

[@colinp2238]

I think German pronunciation is easier for the Scottish than the English because the Scottish accent is already half way there.

[@thkempe]

The Scottish also shouldn't have any problem with the German "ch".

[@OldQueer]

I'm from North East England and many non English folks think I'm either German or Danish. Had some Germans I met on holiday randomly switch to German at one point due to my accent haha

[@colinp2238]

@@OldQueer Geordie?

[@colinp2238]

@@thkempe Och aye.

[@OldQueer]

@@colinp2238 Indeed. The way we say words such as opal isn't like any other English dialect as far as I'm aware. That 'o' noise is what causes the confusion.

[@CowboyStag]

You are a teacher. I taught for years so I know. Nice presentation

[@johnburgon8597]

Nice, clear and simple explanations. Great video. Thank you.

[@doman9891]

I've been living in Germany for 7 years and you just helped me shock my German friends with my "ich" pronunciation :D thank you

[@maikbaumann1250]

dont get too good thou, i love for example love the accent 😉

[@CrankCase08]

@@maikbaumann1250 'though'

[@maikbaumann1250]

@@CrankCase08 good job! thank you for correcting me, english isnt native language. but thx good people like you are always happy to help. translate "klugscheißer" for me 😉

[@CrankCase08]

@@maikbaumann1250 Screw you then. I'll not bother in future.

[@gwho]

As a linguistics person I love this video!

[@anthonyfuqua6988]

Congratulations on 200,000 subscribers. You deserve it. Wishing you continued success. Yours, Tony. 1/2 French, 1/4 German, 1/4 Scottish.

[@paulandkat314]

I'm thrilled to find a good use for my Boston accent that drops the R from the end of words! Love your videos Feli!

[@mmmmmma574]

Finally, here is the video you've announced. I've been waiting for it and 6am German time is just perfect for me :-)))

[@NipkowDisk]

Wow, you're almost at the 200K subscriber mark- WAY TO GO!!!!

[@clemep]

This was great. Thanks. Very informative.

[@kasiakuboth]

Hi Feli, I love your personality :) You inspired me to renew my german skills. I almost forgot everything I ever learned those 14 years ago!

[@luispadilla6730]

That intro had me almost drown in my iced tea. Lol

[@tiffanimilburn8885]

Thanks for the tips. I’ve been learning German and I want to do as much as I can the right way. I’ve really been struggling with the word ich in German. The way you described it, comparing it to trying to get something out of your throat actually makes sense. Danke

[@thomastschetchkovic5726]

You have to be careful, because that's the wrong ch sound. The throat one is in words like Bauch, auch, Kuchen,... But the ch sound of ich is the same sound as the beginning of huge, human,... It's a sound made by making the h sound and bringing your tongue to forward and upward, so that the air flows through a narrow channel at the roof of your mouth

[@scottfineshriber5051]

You obviously have a talent for mimicry, because your English pronunciation is amazing. I really enjoy learning to improve my meager German! Thank you.

[@nitayg1326]

Love your accent especially the way you end any sentence!

[@pachidermo]

I'm a native French speaker, and when I went abroad, my tendency to revert to the "-sch" sound instead of the soft "-ch" sound made ALL the Germans I spoke to assume I was a native French speaker. I was also kind of pleasantly surprised about how positively the accent French speakers of German had amongst Germans, because I have to say, the accent German speakers of French have is so damned beautiful. It's this kind of mutual give-and-take I love. As always, love the vids, Feli. You're a treasure.

[@MarisMemories]

Well you probably also have the "French melody" (that's what I call it anyways). French has far more intonation than German and Germans will noticed that rather than the "-sch" sound.

[@holger_p]

Actually, I know some Americans using this I-sch technique, and they are easy to be considered french.

[@thkempe]

At least the German "R" shouldn't be that difficult for you.

[@markusbuchenau2611]

@@_SpamMe That's absolutely correct. French women speaking German .... uncomparable. :)

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

Yes America found Claudine Longet's accent cute.

[@jasonpendergraft4511]

That intro was pure troll comedy at its best! It was nice to see the more “natural” Feli that comes through on Understanding Train Station versus the “professional” Feli. This video was a nice mix. Very enjoyable video. Look forward to the next one. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!😁

[@TiloKorner]

The digraph “ie” is not a diphtong. It makes the sound of a simple vowel: [iː]. A diphtong is the gradient from one vowel to another. Technically, no letter combination can be a diphtong, because letters are letters and not sounds. If the technical term “digraph” confuses you, just say “letter combination”. The digraph “ei” on the other hand represents a diphtong: [aɪ̯]. The final consonant in “ach” also exists in some English names. Take Loch Ness in Scotland. [lɔx] / [ax] I like the approach to choose an alternative mistake that keeps the words most intelligible. At least that’s better that ignoring the mistake or keep struggling with it for a long time.

[@halimaalidrissi568]

thank you for these AMAZING tips, for real. so useful

[@conjasummerlin1414]

Thank you! I'm sharing this with my nephew.

[@billardspieler]

Deine Videos sind allesamt klasse. Sehr gut erklärt und sehr sympathisch

[@jenniferharvey3187]

Thank you! The “ch” sound has always been confusing to me. The “r” in kinder tip was also very helpful! Danke 🤗

[@joeundercoffer2567]

You rock Felicia!!👍👍

[@AnotherBlondeinGermany]

Thank you for the tips! 🤗

[@Bob31415]

Lesson starts at 2:51. I've studied German on and off for a long time and was never familiar with point 3 and never formally introduced to point 6. Very helpful indeed.

[@devenscience8894]

I've been working on German for several years, and assumed I wouldn't learn anything new here, but that last tip was a very good one that I'd never heard before. Thank you.

[@Sparks127]

My German teacher at school was actually called Frau Schuhle . Learned so much in those three years without realising. Few years later, living and working in Germany I raised many a glass in her honour.

[@fizzyb00t]

The "ie" isn't a diphthong, it's a monophthong, specifically the IPA /i:/

[@Liggliluff]

Exactly, it's a digraph, i.e. written with two letters as one sound, but not a diphthong.

[@tracekat6456]

You have helped me so much in my journey of learning the beautiful German language! Danke!!!

[@yasminmohsen4894]

I am from Egypt and we learn German in school , most of the tips you said were told to us in early classes but i didn't know that this small things would do difference, Thank you for this video and hope you do more of it ❤❤

[@kdkpt]

OMG! That first dialogue was HILARIOUS!!!

[@jeffhands7097]

Great video! It took me a couple of months to learn to pronounce „möchte“ because it has the German „ch“ but also the Umlaut on the o, which doesn‘t exist at all in English. I do have a couple of tips to help with the pronounciation. The „ie“ diphthong does indeed exist in English, because English is so full of exceptions, that you have to learn. Words like “brief” and “piece” are pronounced like the diphthong in German. The „ch“ sound can be learned by English speakers by imitating the sound a cat makes when angry or threatened, the so called “spitting sound” or “ccchhh”. It helps if you make your hand simulate the extended claws at the same time! The last tip I have is that the German „z“ does also exist in English, and most Americans use it (or eat it) every day: PIZZA! The “z” or better said, the “zz” is indeed a “ts” sound, as in “Pete - sa”. That’s in contrast to a normal English “zz” like in the word “Lizzy” as in “Tin Lizzy” (nickname for a Ford Model T). During my first trip Germany I visited a brewery in Amberg called “Schiesselbier”. You can imagine how I pronounced it!

[@LythaWausW]

That's great about the pizza, I never noticed. And the dipthongs, after learning German it helped me with my English spelling ei/ie. The fact that "weird" does it wrong is just selbstverstaendlich: )

[@starchild_tale5306]

Hi . I just wanted to thank you . I'm taking German courses and I'm planning on migrating to Germany . Your channel is really helping me . 🇩🇪❤

[@davecaron1213]

Your language skills are amazing!

[@aantoneeo]

Hi Felicia great video was very interesting and helpful for us, and I learned a lot about your language Continue with this! 👏 👏 👏 🙏

[@UncreativUsername]

You said hi Felicia and all I could think of was bye Felicia

[@thomasmason3359]

How about discussing the Umlaut with certain letters and their significance.

[@byrdchem]

Yes, please, the umlauts!

[@Couponkingdom]

Ö has always been tricky for me. I imagine it is like an "er" in English. I think that gets me close.

[@MarisMemories]

@@byrdchem in German the plular is different for many words so please don't put the 's' on every word. For "der Umlaut" the plural would be "die Umlaute".

[@MarisMemories]

@@Couponkingdom for 'ö' speak the German 'i' and then just move your lips and make them round. Don't move the tongue or change anything but the lips.

[@holoholopainen1627]

In Estonian language - They have " Ü " aswell - and even Finnish & Estonian are Only 50miles apart - in Finnish We have No such a letter ! Many taking the Ferry 3h - Dont know anything about the local language !

[@WobblePizza]

This is great Felicia. I am currently learning German and found the pronunciation tips very useful. Particularly the ich vs humid tip. I bet you could make traction with a video set about learning German.

[@hughnelson5136]

Outstanding video, Feli. I like learning German from you.

[@azoutdoors2344]

I spent a little time in Hohenfels, Bavaria for some combat training in the U.S. Army, but I never learned the German language however. Thanks for all of the tips because I imagine that many of us Americans who have learned some German may have butchered the language with our mispronunciation of many words. Happy Thanksgiving! Much love from the wild west.

[@ff_crafter]

Nice video, Feli

[@Paul_Wetor]

Very informative, especially the part about present tense. It's a valuable reminder that learning a language is not just substituting one word for another. I was once asked a question in a local grocery store and I thought he was speaking German. Turns out he was speaking English, but with the German sentence structure.

[@maryamshamil1844]

Thank you feli big love❤️💫

[@stevereith6571]

You are very fun - love you !

[@CChromatic]

My favorite German word demonstrates two of your tips (ie/ei and the softer ch sound): vielleicht! Also, thanks for the reminder about the lowercase i in “ich”. 😄

[@Cromwelldunbar]

Compliments on your most excellent teaching skill (as well as your very pleasant presentation manner and counsel): am impressed indeed: top marks!

[@lady0shady]

I'd like to say- as a Polish- I really love German.

[@PuNicAdbo]

Danke

[@walterweiss7124]

dobrze pani bobrze

[@theopuscula]

Cool video. As some have noted, the umlauts are tricky for many non-native speakers and might merit their own video. Also something I would suggest for a future video: how things are actually pronounced by Germans (and other German speakers), as opposed to how it is often taught. I have seen these kinds of videos while learning French, and they definitely help, because one of the things that makes learning a language so difficult is that when you first really have to communicate with native speakers, things are not only faster but also different. E.g. how "haben" isn't usually pronounced the way it is taught but like "habn" or even "ham". Generally, the "-en" ending is so common, yet never really pronounced as such, except when strongly enunciated.

[@wallykramer7566]

I have looked at a moderate amount of German text, but I had not not noticed that the seemingly randomly capitalized words are all nouns! That is _so_ helpful! Thanks!

[@darkknight8139]

That is something you learn either by being German, or by following German classes. Otherwise, I can really imagine that it looks very random.

[@Vares65]

Thank you! This was very helpful! Or I suppose I should say: Vielen dank!

[@robertjones4987]

I can listen to you speak all day, is so cute how your German accent sneaks in every once in a while

[@andlem]

"ie" - "ei" - "Ich schieße auf den Hasen." A mix-up has only a similar meaning ... 😂

[@matthewweber3415]

den Hase, die Hasen

[@3.k]

Matthew Weber Willst Du die Antwort wirklich einloggen? ;)

[@winittiwary7893]

@@matthewweber3415 www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Hase it will be "der Hase / die Hasen" - Akkusativ singluar "den Hasen

[@wernerhiemer406]

@@winittiwary7893 Das wird dem Hasen scheissegal sein, wo hingeschossen wird. Hauptsache es trifft nicht ihn, der Jäger mit dem Schiessgewehr. Also: "Egal!"

[@wernerhiemer406]

@Drew PeacockShooting? I don't now. But with "scheisse" I shit on the hare. Litterally is "I don't care.". And my "egal" is a quote of an not so important singer. I think his song goes about his desastrous lifestyle going into dept but still enyoing luxury.

[@evilborg]

HAH Now I know why my mutter always capitalized nouns. Even as a kid in school my mother would help us with home work and she was very good at English... see even that word I still capitalize. I never realized she was teaching that from her own language!

[@sthondat17]

Yes. I took several years of German in high school and university and I liked it. I did find two long-lasting beneficial effects: (1) capability to understand and think in very long sentences (easy to do in German and helps you read academic papers) and (2) capitalizing nouns (this actually can enhance one's English - you can use it to Spotlight words you want to Honor or Highlight).

[@gemmacaldwell3955]

Your videos are SO helpful! Danke!

[@troys.2382]

I have always struggle with tenses in the German language. I really liked and understood your explanation of tenses. Thanks!

[@lth5015]

A note on the "R" thing. It's rhotic vs. non-rhotic. Non-rhotic speakers don't pronounce the 'r' after vowels. E.g. Boston accent: car, park, harbor.

[@gaygandalf4004]

In German you do pronounce the "R" after a vowel. It only gets dropped in the word endings "-er" and "-ar"

[@hansmahr8627]

The r is generally not pronounced at the end of words, it's always turned into an a or a schwa-like sound.

[@karinbirkenbihl2053]

@@hansmahr8627 wait to meet swiss people! They manage to roll every r even at the end of a word. Sounds weird.

[@Meine.Postma]

Your opening scene was classic, LOL

[@deeblack9393]

Danke Feli!

[@boi905]

I did not know about the verb tenses thanks so much for that info!

[@christoph560]

Trotz dass ich Deutsch bin und somit hier nichts zu suchen habe, finde ich dieses Video interessant! Ich finde spannend, auf was die Engländer alles achten müssen, wenn sie Deutsch sprechen

[@janhoelterling4320]

Capitalization... my favorite example: Wir haben liebe Genossen (we have dear comrades) vs. Wir haben Liebe genossen (we enjoyed [making] love). Vielen Dank für Deine tollen Videos, Feli!

[@walterweiss7124]

I know a better one, with birds

[@Ilonasworld]

This is really helpful

[@subymcc]

I taught English in Austria for a year after college in 2008/9. I love the German language and have a lot experience with native German speakers. Your pronunciation of English is perfect. You sound like a native English speaker. Well done! :-) Also, thank you for all of these tips! They make so much sense and make speaking German so much easier! :-)