American reacts to common German Gestures & Expressions

[@feuerwehrmanngrisu9094]

It means thumb pressing. We say it that way! We dont say fingers crossed

[@Matty0311MMS]

Yeah, they should have translated the phrase like it is said (and put the meaning in parentheses).

[@RustyDust101]

"Ich drücke dir die Daumen." Literally means :"I'm pressing my thumbs for you." In German. It would be translated as "I'm crossing my fingers for you." That would be the transcribed meaning.

[@NoldorianElf]

The holding the thumbs for you has actually a background. It might be a mysterious legend, but funny. The thumbs are representing mean little goblins. If a friend hold on to them they cannot interfere with whatever you endeavour.

[@doerte89]

some expressions are translated poorly..

[@benrockstar574]

4:35 for this we have difrent meanings and translations to crazy the exact would be verükt but there are another’s like Vogel (actual translations bird) bescheuert ( means like what’s going on what where you thinking is your hated clear (also has the German translation noch klar im Kopf ( also a difrent Type of crazy)))

[@nicobendig6597]

you guys are very expressive with your hands, right? - All people down there in Italy died on laughing about that joke 🤣

[@ici123-r2e]

🤌

[@dieZera]

Fingers Crossed in Germany is just for lying, not for wishing luck. We press thumbs. We also got this oh you looked through the hole "game". The knocking on the table if you are in a restaurant with multiple people also works to say goodbye if you leave earlier than others. People then often say "ich mach mal so" (I'll do like this) and knock on the table.

[@Miyavi010]

fingers crossed behind your back is for lying, fingers cross when someone can actually see -> does mean the same as in English at least in my region XD

[@Winona493]

👍

[@MellonVegan]

@@Miyavi010 Personally, being from NRW, I've never seen any German do this. I only know this from American TV.

[@Miyavi010]

that's why i said in my region XD My cousins from Aachen are doing it as well btw. anyhow it's something you do or don't like all gestures (some of those i never do but i have seen them) @@MellonVegan

[@klaushaus5548]

It is also said that knocking on the table after saying something ominous brings good luck. For example, if you say something like "In my entire 30-year career as a train driver, I have never run over a person" and then knock on the table (or another wooden surface nearby) so that it doesn't happen soon.

[@MaryRaine929]

2:40 because we „press our thumbs“ for you, but it has the same meaning as the crossed fingers.😉 6:20 Some germans know this game too. Unfortunately my son does. 🥴 6:52 Italians use it a lot! 7:00 We make shhhh too to silence someone. Pssst can be both to get attention or to silence. 11:09 Pedestrian traffic light. The little red guy tries to hold you back. 12:20 Big advantage of knocking: You can continue writing. I‘ll be here tomorrow! Always Wass, always will. 😜 Tschüss.

[@APCLZ]

if one can knock and write at the same time, they must have gone to uni xD it's not that easy

[@avr7120]

@@APCLZ not as hard as clapping and writing, have you tried that? lol

[@lutzj74]

6:52 Italians use it a lot! Be careful, in Italy this means: "asshole"

[@tommoses6557]

Regarding the subtitles the Easy German team should have made a word by word translation first - and then the actual meaning in English. So there would be no confusion with the gesture (for example the one for fingers crossed / pressing thumbs).

[@Kamil0san]

yeah so true, and in the case of "thumb pressing" a view from another angle would also help, because just like Ryan said, from front it might look like a "normal" fist.

[@maxpayne3779]

I've seen the "pulling under your eye" gesture just a few times so that I wasen't quiet shure what it meant. It's not always used after a joke. I think it's meant as a hint for "did you get the subbtle joke line", "I meant this ironicaly" or "I'm exaggerating" or something like this.

[@DADA-ir6kq]

exactly. it is a bit like a #sarcasm after a written statement. or as a "I'm not a fool" as a reaction of something the other person says

[@isaultra3405]

And you don't have to tear your skin till your eyeball plops out 😂 tipping under your eye is enough

[@alexschmidt5302]

@@isaultra3405😂😂😂

[@00Jess_M]

@@DADA-ir6kq yes, I actually never used it after a joke or at all after I said something. Only like "Ja, nee, is' klar/I totally believe you", when somebody told me something.

[@LadyCocolatty]

"Fingers crossed." = "Ich drücke dir die Daumen."

[@RadioRed96]

As a german I gotta say, most of the time the biggest kompliment you can get from us is: "Ich kann mich nicht beschweren." (I cant complain). If you really wanna fit in xD

[@L3mm1ng]

Kinda surprised by the amount of (German) people in the comments who are unfamiliar with knocking on the table to greet or say goodbye to a bigger group. I've seen it a few times, but I've only seen men in their late forties or older do it, so maybe it's an age thing, idk. But I think it's kinda neat.

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

​@@MrDjTiloIf I want to simultaneously greet lots of people, I just wave at the room and say 'hallo allerseits! / alle miteinander!' (hello all / altogether). It's seen as sufficient and not at all impolite.

[@NikolaiTekuchev]

@@diarmuidkuhle8181 I'd just say "Hallo", or, "(Ei) Gude (wie)!". Yes, I'm from Hessen.

[@kuessebrama]

If i am with allot of people i use the knocking on the table quiet often, but only to say goodbye and i am not in my late forties or older.

[@isaultra3405]

If you knock on the desk or not depends on the group. In my social groups this isn't usual, but when you're in a group and people start knocking as a "more silently" clapping then you join. Has the advantage that you can write simultaneously

[@00Jess_M]

We always did it/do it in my family or at work events. Small table = a wave and a Hallo/Tschüß is enough, big table or room = you knock and maybe wave, when you got the attention of everyone, so you don't have to yell "Hallo/Tschüß" through the whole room. And especially at work I find it kinda awkward to applaud after a presentation. Although from time to time it's funny, because people can't agree, so some clap and some knock. I'm early 40s, so maybe it is the age.

[@sebastianlutz4780]

The crossed fingers for "lying" have their origin in the gesture for an oath. You hold the 2 fingers parallel, when you are making an oath. So to trick you would cross the fingers and hope noone notices and then it was no 'real' oath, so you were not lying under oath.

[@doerte89]

And it might become handy if you teach your kids to lie with fingers crossed...so you know when they are lying.

[@kath1eeen]

Absolutely hilarious when Ryan tries to speak German 😂😂

[@alpayreichhard1329]

love that

[@isaultra3405]

Tschüss 😂 but he really tries ! ❤

[@hattinah6176]

what I find super interesting about the knocking on the tables for applause at universities: That seems to be at least several hundred years old. I have a book with letters from a German author and university professor (Friedrich Schiller), who talks about this to a friend. The students at his university did this, and it was new to him. He lived from 1759 to 1805.

[@SpacemanFGC]

"Ich drücke dir die Daumen" translated literally means "I'm squeezing my thumbs for you". Same meaning as 'fingers crossed' in a sense of wishing someone good luck, but different finger involved. We cross fingers (behind our backs) if we say something and don't mean it / mean the opposite in secret (if you wanna fool someone with that ofc you won't visibly show them the crossed fingers, instead then maybe it's for the people who are in on it with you).

[@marianazimmermann9436]

2:40 as a Child I Never understood this because In German we cross our fingers when we promise something but don‘t want to Keep it if you understand 😂

[@isaultra3405]

If you knock on the desk or not depends on the group. In my social groups this isn't usual, but when you're in a group and people start knocking as a "more silently" clapping then you join. Has the advantage that you can write simultaneously

[@Casy1306]

Love the German stare of disapproval. I do it all the time. :D

[@fabianstiefel1586]

Some germans (especially older people)have mastered that passive aggressive stare to such a level that it's actually that "loud" it's impossible to ignore the psychologigal pressure. They can force you into submission with a single look. 😅

[@isaultra3405]

Ah yes the angry "flying dagger stare" 💀😆

[@userbunny]

Knocking on wood is also a gesture if you said something maybe out of fun but actually it wouldn't be funny if that would actually happen so you knock on wood to prevent unluckiness. Also if you are being too optimistic you can knock on wood to prevent unluckiness. "I have an exam next week, everything will be alright *knocks on wood*"

[@hellemarc4767]

The basic facial expressions are universal (like fear, surprise, anger, contempt, joy, sadness), but the meanings of some gestures depend on culture and can vary, sometimes greatly. The Greeks for instance nod their heads to say "no" and shake them for "yes", the exact opposite of us others, and some gestures that are positive for us are insults in other countries, for instance the sign we do with our thumbs and index fingers to signify "ok" (in Germany and other European countries, it can also signify that a meal is very tasty), which means "a**hole" in some countries, just like the "thumbs up", which would be negatively perceived in some countries of the Middle East. "Daumen drücken" which they translate as "fingers crossed", literally means "pressing the thumbs" means "we wish you luck"; the "fingers crossed" is something that used to be done to counter a curse, or to avoid bad luck; also used when lying (to avoid being struck by lightning/god, I suppose). The shoulder shrug with palms forward is universal, I think, just like the facepalm. The shaking hand with the index finger upright is a warning. more commonly used with children, e.g. to scold them. The same finger in front of the lips means "be quiet" ("psst" could be translated as "shush"), or "shut up". To get somebody's attention, we would just say "Entschuldigung" (excuse me). The pulling down of the lower eyelid doesn't have the same meaning in French at all, there, it would mean "I don't believe you". At the doctors', the inside of the eyelid would be checked to see if one has anemia or not (the skin inside is white in case of anemia).

[@Winona493]

Toll zusammengefasst! A few weeks ago I was in Greece and I asked about these gestures. Nowadays and with the high amount of foreign tourists the Greeks do not feel insulted anymore when someone puts up his thumb or some of the other things that you've mentioned. Good for me, because of my lack of the Greek language I did these gestures all the time.😂

[@Winona493]

Greeks here? Please say something about it!!!

[@Neonblue84]

not greek, but bulgarians switch the gesture with yes and no

[@D4BASCHT]

We also use that to get attention in a quiet way when you whisper to somebody and expect them to whisper back. St/pst/scht/pscht are all used for shushing, but the other forms aren’t used for whispering.

[@hellemarc4767]

@@Neonblue84 I knew somebody did, I didn't remember who exactly, so I googled it. Maybe they both do, or maybe the Greeks did it in the past, but things have changed with mass tourism.

[@user-cx6kt3ku2f]

I know the table knocking as a form of saying good bye to a whole group when you need to get going and don’t have time to properly say good bye to everyone individually. Never really associated it with greeting someone /a group.

[@editaedita473]

Right. Same.

[@winterlinde5395]

We do it to say „hallo everybody“. Lower Saxony. 👋

[@ReisskIaue]

I know it for both. The knocking on the table is just to get everyone's attention. And when you get it you use it to say "hello" or "bye".

[@MtheHell]

Yes, you can use 'the knock' for saying "Hello all!" if you arrive or "Good bye all!" when you leave. Sometimes you don't even say "Hello/bye", but "Ich mach' mal so..." ("I do it this way...") and everyone knows your intention.

[@brigittelacour5055]

In french sign language 3 knocks on the table or on you hand if you're standing, means "bon appetit" guten Appetit, and the reply is knocking under the table or other side of the hand.

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

"Psst" and "sch(sch)" are nearly the same in German, differences are only regional. But you can use also "psst" to call attention in a quiet way ("be quiet, but look here!"). The gesture means "be quiet!" - for "shut up" you would need a more aggressive one. The gesture with the eye does not necessarily mean "just joking". Originally it was related to the saying "Holzauge, sei wachsam" (lit. wooden eye, be alert) which was used with the meaning "be alert lest you're cheated / scammed". (About the wooden eye there are different theories. Probably it spread from soldier's language between WW I and WW II, but there is also the interpretation of the saying originating as warning by a master carpenter to his apprentice planing some board, and the use of "Holzauge" for a special kind of a embrasure holding a (wooden or iron) rotatable7 globe with a bore hole for putting the gun barrel through. The gesture got later the second meaning of "Be alert to catch the joke".

[@arianajuni]

Shout out to you for making sure the people in the car were okay!

[@regfin6855]

Pulling under your eye is not really 'this is a joke'. It's more like when two people are talking about someone else telling a story or something and they don't believe it. It's like: 'And who would believe that?' Nowadays we'd call it fakenews... 😂

[@brigittelacour5055]

Same in France, and we say "Mon œil" English is " my foot" 😂

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

​​@@brigittelacour5055Yes I'm German and my grandmother made this gesture when she thought I was telling a tall tale. Xd I think we probably 'imported' this from France. PS in English you can also say 'my arse' if you want to be a bit more forceful. That's the one I generally use ;)

[@scelestion]

It can be "this was a joke what I've told you just now" as well as "yeah, right, you must be joking". Some gestures have several meanings, like this one. The example they showed with "no beer forever from tomorrow on" was a perfectly good example for the meaning they addressed in this video.

[@hightidemidafternoon]

I would not use it in a "yea, right, you must be joking" context. must be regional!@@scelestion

[@scelestion]

​@@hightidemidafternoon With "yeah, right, you must be joking", I was only repeating in other words what regfin said, which was "And who would believe that?". So, if anything, your reply should be addressing regfin. But I agree with regfin that this is indeed one of the meanings of that gesture, which the other commenters also agreed to...

[@lilaluna8922]

Knocking on the table as a way of greeting is completely new to me. It must be a regional thing.

[@DanTheSqueegeeMan]

it is. And it's mostly done by the elderly

[@assemblememe]

Same. I mean I've seen it before but it's certainly not normal

[@1337Arnonym]

To me it's very common. It's more polite and less disturbing too. No need to shake hands (or fist bump), hug or whatever every single person of that group, takes less time and won't interrupt people already talking to each other more than nessesary. In the last years of social distanceing, very practical too.

[@kuessebrama]

@@DanTheSqueegeeMan where i life it is not mostly done by elderly, i know allot of people in my age who do this and i do it too sometimes.

[@kuessebrama]

@@assemblememe what means "normal" to you? It is maybe regional but i think most people know what it means.

[@Eddyninja32]

Usually knocking on the table is used, when you are leaving a group of people who sat with you on the same table. And the finger underneath your eye is not quiet used when making a joke. It's more used to point out, that the last thing you've said was meant ironically.

[@FrikaWies]

The „Kohl-Gruß“, invented by Helmut Kohl, the former Chancellor. He shook his own hand above his head, that meant „I greet you all!“

[@maxpayne3779]

So this is what it meant. I can remember his gesture from watching the news in my childhood. I always thought he congratulated himself like a gesture of victory similar to padding his own shoulder before or after a sucessful speech.

[@FrikaWies]

@@maxpayne3779 I found this gesture so powerful. Kohl, stepping in front of a large group of people while forming a fist with both hands above his head, shaking it like „Sei gegrüßt, Volk!“

[@mercyunselt2035]

Ich drücke dir die Daumen it is not exactly "My fingers are crossed for you" but it is just equivalent of one in America "My fingers are crossed for you". Ich drücke dir die Daumen is means "I pressed my thumbs for you or good luck". We can even see, she pressed her thumbs inside her fingers to make fists.

[@NiklasBaum]

Den Move für "Bist du bescheuert?/Are You Crazy?", nennt man auch Scheibenwischer, wie beim Auto ;)

[@WiesoNurMistnamen]

There is also a third meaning of knocking (3 times on wood) to express a wish that something will go well

[@gameboy-nq7je]

And if you do it on your friends (or more likely siblings) head it's a sneaky (and usually joking) way to call someone an idiot

[@kipchickensout]

as a german i only knew the english phrase to "knock on wood"

[@cateyez97]

Wow you are such a cute (those eyes 😮) and funny guy 😄 im laughing so hard sometimes on your videos😂 absolutely great 👍 greetings from Germany 🎉

[@robfriedrich2822]

11:15 The traffic lights for pedestrians has a red cop, who signals "Stop don't pass" and a green pedestrian with straw hat. When I grew up, we had traffic lights for many years and only in some exceptions, that cops guides the traffic on crossings, by showing for one direction stop, the other can pass and as transition he raise the arm, before turning 90°. Initially the traffic lights were switched by one cop, who could do the job alone, what requires up to 4, when the intersection is complicated. At this time the technology to do it automatic, existed for about 200 to 300 years

[@winterlinde5395]

1:46 in this video: Hallooo und Tschüß is what you could practice 👍🏻let’s go!

[@doerte89]

I was told, if there are less than 5 people you have to greet each. If there are 5 ore more it is okay to greet the whole group, for example with some knocks on the table. There are many rules for greeting and behavior overall in "Knigge". Could be also an interesting topic.

[@Taugenichtse]

"Easy German" they're the sweetest Ambassadors for Germany.

[@robfriedrich2822]

4:40 literally you have a bird. Sometimes it's good for puns. In a film scene someone installed the telephone, performed a test and the parrot was talking. The man said, the customer would have a bird, she felt insulted for a moment, but he added, a parrot or something like that.

[@rokkothehund7402]

The german 3 u show at the end is actually also a "underground" rightwing greeting and seems to be adapted in the us as well_

[@GalacticCommanderMars]

While I was still going to school, my history teacher once explained, why you cross your fingers behind your back, when lying. This gesture had emerged in medieval times, when you where swearing something, it was normal to not just raise your hand like nowadays, but also cross your index and middle finger while swearing. And if someone didn't actually wanted to swear something, because he was lying or something, it also was a common thing to cross the fingers of the other hand at the same time, to negate the swearing - and since no one should notice this, it was done with the hand behind the back.

[@Bluemoonsparkleshine]

The way you say "tschüss" is extremely cute! 🙈💛

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

I refuse to facepalm when Ryan actually tries. His reactions to the driving lessons on the other hand 😂

[@lindamoi5445]

Laughed so hard at the picking at the eyeball "scherz" 😂 never thought about it, but it is really weird

[@windyway2424]

Hey! Someone probably already wrote that, but "Ich drücke dir die Daumen/jemanden die Daumen drücken" at 2:34 is a German idiom. You tried to guess it in a recent video, where you pressed both your thumbs against each other. 1:1 translation would be: "I press my thumbs for you" . Because you have an own idiom in english - fingers crossed - they translated it that way. So in German it specifically refers to the thumbs, which are pressed in a fist to wish someone luck/success. Thats why the gesture is different :D

[@arianajuni]

I (German) am currently living in Finland and it is SO weird not to knock 😂

[@BlueFlash215]

8:45 you made me almost spit out my beer. 😂

[@helloweener2007]

Don*r do this "are you crazy gesture" in Germany. The Scheibenwischer (windshield wiper) can count as an insult and fined up to 1.000 EUR., flipping the bird up to 750 EUR, showing the middlefinger up to 4.000.

[@finnf9051]

Knocking on the table is basically the best thing when joining a large group for dinner when you're late. Because (at least for me and my friends) it means like "excuse me for being late" as well.

[@CycloneFox]

7:34 When someone does something stupid, you can also do this and roll your eyes at the same time to signal that that person is probably drunk. xD (Yes probably that too 7:59, it all depends on what kind of face you make)

[@Kivas_Fajo]

Pulling the eye lid down with one finger, while uttering something makes what you say to be understood sarcastically/ironically, but not literally. You're welcome.

[@Edby199]

Hey man, I'm not feeling well at the moment but your videos always make me laugh and enjoy after all this shit ey mann, mir gehts zur zeit gar nicht gut aber deine videos bringen mich nach dem ganzen scheiß, immer wieder zum lachen und genießen

[@sandrap.3399]

1:47 Ryan, there you can practice your greeting instead of "fingers crossed" we are squeezing our thumbs

[@sandrogattorno4962]

You once again said something profound unconsciously :) Your child has known the yes and no gestures before he even knew how to speak. They are the most universal gestures on the planet and I'll explain why: When the baby is naturally hungry you breastfeed him, as long as he wants to eat (drink, if necessary, but you understand what I mean) he will continue with the motor action of sucking which makes the head move up and down. However, as soon as he is no longer hungry he will begin to reject the nipple from his mouth by moving his head sideways. As they grow up they will become the basic expressions for yes and no. Very surprising is the fact that a very small percentage of the inhabitants of the earth have reversed these 2 gestures, I know that there are some small island nations in the Pacific that have them in reverse but I have no idea of ​​the anthropological reason.

[@anunearthlychild8569]

In Bulgaria it is also the other way around, which has already led to confusion among some holidaymakers from other European countries. 🤣 At least that's how I felt.

[@danielw.2442]

Never mind, that's so interesting. Thx. :)

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

You don't have to go that far either. In Bulgaria, they are reversed. You'd think it'd be Hungary because of their whole weird linguistic deal, but no. It's Bulgaria: a South Slavic nation next to a lot of other South Slavic nations and Greece, Turkey, and Romania, neither of which do it the other way around.

[@EyMannMachHin]

@@anunearthlychild8569 now that you've mentioned it. It confused the heck out of me as 7 year old. Apart from the fact that it was in '76 when the Iron Curtain was still up and western tourists were coralled into these resorts, because you couldn't have them roaming free and spread capitalism to the natives... 😉

[@Sir-Complains-a-Lot]

Ich drücke dir die Daumen, means i am pressing my thumbs for good luck. Same as fingers crossed, but we germans like to press our thumbs inside the hands instead of that.

[@Kiyuja]

the German equivalent for "my fingers crossed" is a squeezing of the thumb inwards on a clenched fist. We literally say " I'm pressing (squeezing) my thumbs for you". This originates from a split time in Europe ages ago where people either crossed their fingers or pushed their thumbs, it varies based on the country and while we know the "fingers crossed" motion, Germany is obviously from the other camp.

[@asmodon]

American confused by the concept of pedestrians crossing a street.

[@lokeloki1008]

We also have the little game with the 👌 in Germany, at my old school it eventually became a huge community game for the schoolyard. There we stood in a circle and looked towards the middle, while a fellow player turned to someone and showed the sign. If you looked inside you were hit with an old newspaper

[@marianazimmermann9436]

6:27 at least in Germany we know that game too 😂❤

[@dragonmail8094]

we also have this game in Germany. We have another game. If you see a Smart(car) or a yellow car, you can hit the person next to you. If you see a yellow Smart, you can hit the person harder.

[@Timon_666]

"Das kann ja wohl nicht wahr sein" was pretty on point!

[@hellgrn]

Uyen made a good yt short showing a quick conversation using german gestures. Maybe you'd like it, it's just called "Let’s learn German gestures" from uyenninh.

[@Ashnurazg]

4:05 That gesture is sometimes called "Scheibenwischer" (windshield wiper) and 4:34 "jemand einen Vogel zeigen" (showing someone a bird). Both are offensive for Germans. You see this often in car drivers showing this each other in order to say "you are crazy" or "you are an id**t". 13:08 the knocking on the table can be used to get everyone's attention if you want to combine it with saying "hi" or "bye" in a bigger group of people like in a restaurant. It's like if you knock on the door frame or on the door itself when the door is already open to get the attention of your co-workers in the room.

[@Thor555555]

8:10 it´s not like you have to explane someone you made a joke, it´s not really about making a joke, it´s more like if you say something sarcastic or ironic ,don´t take that to serious.

[@mickypescatore9656]

"Die Daumen drücken" (to press the thumbs) means "I wish you all the best" (...for your project), or something like that.... 5:03: The one finger (index finger) means "Hey, you should better be careful what you do!" (...or what you say)! 7:14: You can use the "Pssst" with noise or without noise. It depends on the situation. What you say about the american attention thing with "Pssst!" is also used in Germany. But in this case your finger don`t close your lips! Your hands make a space in front if your mouth as like you would make the pssst-sound through an non visual tunnel, believing the other person would hear you better. 😅

[@wbrenne]

Ryan, the way you say "cheers" at the end of your videos sounds slmost like the German "tschüss", just with the lips slightly more rounded at the 'eer' / 'ü' sound.

[@MufuLP]

in my 26 years of groing up in germany i never saw someone knock on the table to great a group of people, only and only as replacement for clapping in educational facilitys.

[@stefanb4375]

I'm 55, and we do it all the time

[@dominikmanthei4546]

I‘m 23 and i ve seen others do it and sometimes also do it.

[@dominikmanthei4546]

When you dont have time or dont want to say hello/goodbye to everyone at the table

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

I'm familiar with the knocking but only to say goodbye, not to greet. And of course at uni when you want to show appreciation of a really good lecture.

[@MufuLP]

@@dominikmanthei4546 then we usually just say it louder standing in view of everyone and waving

[@ferdirunge4510]

4:20 this move is from the ancient frame "du hast eine scheibe". the hand means the glass.

[@HenningHildebrand]

The part with the thumbs is kinda confusing. "Ich drücke die Daumen", literally "I'm pressing my thumbs", when you put your thumb inside the fist, simply means "Good luck!". Whereas "Fingers crossed", as Cari explained later, has a totally different meaning here in Germany.

[@ElmaBruhn]

Hi, i'm a German and i've never seen the gesture for "Das war ein Scherz". It's really kinda weird. The gesture for "Bist du bescheuert?!" is common, but it's not often used because it's a harsh gesture. It means more like "Where have you lost your brain?! Go search for it stupid creature!". By the way i like your videos ;-)

[@revo8662]

Crossing Fingers while lying is more a child thing. Never saw an adult doing it. It's weird that you use crossed fingers for wishing luck and lying. If you wishing someone good luck and crossing the fingers, it also could mean you are lying and wishing him bad luck.

[@ginafromcologne9281]

Hi Ryan, your German pronunciation is really good!

[@robfriedrich2822]

14:00 I usually dislike superstitious things. When someone thinks, he would encourage me by saying a sentence, what could mean "I press my thumbs for you", but also "I press your thumbs", I take the less common interpretation and show my thumbs or say "rather not, could hurt my thumbs".

[@arnolsi]

One gesture is very, very german. For example. Someone offers you a 2. piece of cake people often shake a little the head from the right to left shoulder purse their lips and say a long "Jooo" or "Nöö". It's kind of a skip action in the while you weigh up if you want it or not.

[@fr3akzilla769]

What does it tell about Americans that "fingers crossed" means wish you luck, but is also used to lie🤞😂

[@dexter_frank]

Nodding when saying yes and shaking head to say no. "Nein, even my baby knows these ones." Now, go and watch Sons of Anarchy again. Charlie Hunnam as Jackson Teller is shaking his head very reassuring every time he says something in the spirit of: "Yes. I swear. Trust me. I'm telling the truth."

[@Kivas_Fajo]

The four meanings of the Okay gesture are exactly the same in Germany, so there is that. No changes. And I particularly love to hear, that this infantile stupid "You have looked!" game and the following beating is also know in the Americas. 🤣 👌 You looked! Now I may hit you! 💪🤛

[@hape7539]

2:57 "ich drücke dir die daumen" would be translated to" i press my thumbs for u" but the meaning is the same like your" my fingers are crossed for u".

[@TheLod89]

"Ich drücke dir die Daumen" has the meaning of "fingers crossed". the literal translation would be "im pressing my thumbs for you". Unsere Finger kreuzen / literaly crossing our fingers is done when you are about to swear an oath and don't really want to take it.

[@zydhargaming1537]

the whole thumb-index finger sing meaning white power was another epic move to deliver disinfomation from the internet to the mass media. it originated at 4 chan i think and was just another huge troll :D

[@beyonderprime5020]

In German Daumendrücken means crossing your fingers squeeze your thumbs you put your thumb in your hand and squeeze

[@Sir-Complains-a-Lot]

When are you finaly come over to visit us in person? Youre sooo well prepared by now!

[@1337fraggzb00N]

Some raise their right arm when they are looking for a guy named Kyle. They also inform everyone by shouting:"Seek Kyle! Seek Kyle!". I wonder where Kyle might be.

[@tramper42]

19:30 Knock on the table, to announce to all you are there (maybe someone sits with his back to you and get a shock gust seeing you without warning or maybe he was talking lyes of you 😉) … if one a big table everyone is talking, a „hello“ might be overheared … Before there were doorbells you also KNOCKED on the DOOR , to announce yourself. It’s NOT polite to open a closed door without knocking - knock and wait for „herein“~ „enter“

[@peterrabbitn787]

I like to use knocking to say hello to everyone as I am socially awkward.. I once did it with my family in a restaurant (we often do this as our family is large). But that time a part of the family came right when I knocked and they started saying hi to everyone and looked at me. So it was really awkward as I just joined them and technically said hi twice to all

[@florahoenig]

Easy German is a great Channel! I was also very surprised when I first heard that you „cross your fingers“ 🤞 in the USA and don't keep your „thump press“. ✊

[@robfriedrich2822]

9:28 "I'm not Shure" says the Sennheiser microphone.

[@Arsenic71]

It's Germans, not German's (the latter meaning German is, there is no plural apostrophe in English). Referring to the thumbnail. You could say German's strange (meaning German is strange), but not German's are strange (which would mean German is are strange). Sorry, just being archetypical German here and correcting your grammar 😉❤💯 I love your videos and I especially admire your willingness to learn about and understand other cultures. That is still a rare occurrence all around the world. Keep it up, you are doing more for world peace and understanding than any politician ever has done. The finger to the eye movement is an exaggeration of a wink (no more beer...ever **wink**). Fingers crossed in English can mean two things, like good luck or I'm lying. In German it only means I'm lying. Good luck is always the pressed thumbs (Daumen drücken). 11:15 That's the so-called Ampelmännchen (traffic light man) from former East Germany. It's a cult symbol.

[@Oton4shi]

7:14 yeah their translations are sometimes a bit off. I remember a video of you getting confused when they went shopping and bought "egg-liquor". They literally translated it instead of saying "eggnog"

[@ArmandoBellagio]

I never heard of the last one here in Germany to be honest. The crossing fingers were actually pressing thumbs.

[@Athena621]

While Germans may be strange, they sure know how to use apostrophes and to distinguish between plural and the possessive form.

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

Hence our reputation as grammar Nazis. XD I regularly turn into one whenever I see a grocer's apostrophe ; I mean it's only my second language and REALLY NOT THAT DIFFICULT to learn how to distinguish between a simple plural and a possessive! Then my mates will have a go at me for getting annoyed over such a small thing. I get annoyed because it IS such a small thing. No excuse for messing something this simple up beyond the age of say ten, if you've payed even the remotest attention at school. Edit : and don't get me started on people apparently not understanding common contractions, who don't realise why a sentence like 'here are they're books' doesn't make any sodding sense....!

[@Athena621]

@@diarmuidkuhle8181 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@anouk6644]

The pointing at the head at 4:50 had me a little confused being from the Netherlands. We do it too when gesturing something or someone is crazy, but on the middle of the forehead above the nose. When we point at the side, near the temple area it means ‘that’s smart or good thinking’. The German gesture is somewhere in the middle of those two.

[@billcipher1212]

3:47 as a german i can say i do that at least once per video

[@oOBuFuOo]

There is also " 3 Mal aufs Holz klopfen" knock 3 times on wood. To wish someone or yourself luck or more often no bad luck

[@wheelergirl2]

Hello :3 i´m From Germany (Berlin) and some of the Gestures i onley use as a child ^^ but good video =D thank you für make it

[@Martin83223]

we play the punch game in Germany, too ;)

[@tramper42]

2:29 „Ich drücke Dir die Daumen“ 1:1: „I press my Thumbs for you“ … meaning in English „I cross my fingers for for“ both for „good luck“. In Germany, if someone asks you „you swear, you say the truth?“ and you say „yes“ BUT cross your fingers behind your back then your are lying, but WISH YOURSELF good luck, so ‚the gods‘ do not punish you for your lie. (and/or the one you are lying to does not find out)

[@raphaelbuck3741]

I never heard of knocking on the table to say hello, maybe it's only in the part where they live

[@EldarsLab]

2:13 I wouldn't do it with both hands. The way he refused the apple looks way more normal. One hand basically blocking it with a "wall". 2:28 The problem is, that they only translated the meaning, not the actual translation. So "Ich drücke dir die Daumen" litterally means "I'm pressing the thumbs for you" and it just has a similar meaning as the english "I'm crossing my fingers for you". The idea behind it is likely, that bad spirits are in/on the thumb and your catching them to prevent them doing bad things to the other person. So similar to the english crossing of the fingers (kind of making the christian cross) to repel bad spirits. 4:05 Sadly I couldn't find a good explanation, so maybe somebody else knows where it comes from, but my guess is the hand movement is indicating the space in the head where the brain should be and that the other persons brain can't be found. Alternatively just the thoughts going in all directions thus being crazy and not on point. 4:46 The literal translation of "Du hast ja einen Vogel" is "You have a bird". It's implying an empty head again where a bird was able to build a nest instead of the person having a brain. 6:00 I would say that three of the meanings are the same. The only one I have never heard of is the white power one. The fingers being together or not doesn't matter as far as I know. 7:00 Yes, it means "be quiet". It's kind of connecting both lips with one finger, indicating they should be closed. Depending on context it can also tell you to keep something a secret. 8:10 I wouldn't do that gesture myself and have rarely seen it. Mostly I've seen it when you are saying something that sounds seriously or even insulting, but mean the exact opposite. So in their example it's kind of symbolizing a "yeah sure... we both know that's never gonna happen/soon we will do the exact opposite". 9:08 I would also translate that gesture more to "could be either one". Their translations are not that extensive in explaining what it actually means which is sad to see since they are generally considered to be quite informative. 13:04 Yeah the knocking to say hello is very specific (maybe it's more of a regional thing?). At least I can't remember seeing that ever, but somehow it doesn't feel completely incorrect either.

[@friederich66]

There is a movie where an American Agent in Nazi germsy giving himslef away by Not counting beginning with the thumb Like we getmans do, but started with His "tiny Finger"

[@Lucarius1]

there is one hand gesture, that even I as a German find rather weird. When someone burps, everyone around would make a similar sign as for "want a drink", but instead of putting the stretched thumb on your mouth you would put it to your forehand and call "Schulz!" Like in this video at around the 13 second mark: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6eUhXqQibymf6c

[@stevenvanhulle7242]

8:30 Reminds me of "Wink wink nudge nudge" 😂

[@rembrandt2323]

If your THUMB is INSIDE your FIST you gonna BREAK IT if you PUNSH ANYONE so this is a Symbol of PEACE but showing that you know another one has a FIGHT (could be anything, does not have to be physical! Like Sport, stress because of a Lawsuit and so on) and you simply say: I understand and support your Course and hope you will win.... It is a rare but strong Gestrure in Germany. GERMAN CULTURE... :-]

[@LunarisMelodia]

2:39 "pressing the thumbs" is a sign to wish luck to someone, so you hope that someone will succeed in a diffucult situation. ex.: parents for their children before a big test in school. In some reagions of germany ppl also say "toi toi toi" but it's colloquial language. Btw crossing fingers in german is common when you're saying something, but you're lying. so people cross their fingers, hidden behind their back. mostly to "hide" that they are lying :) 4:32 that is btw a common gesture for car drivers if someone disregards the road traffic regulations :D or if you're walking through a traffic light and someone by bike almost hit you. thats common situations doing that :D 5:01 thats a gesture of admonish ppl :D parents did this a lot when I was younger to show you, you did something bad :D greetings :)

[@duweistschonwer8626]

Wo bleibt das traditionelle "So" und auf die Schenkel klopfen 😂😂