Hallo zusammen!

Have you ever forgotten a word in your native language but remembered it instantly in another one? Or started a sentence in German and finished it in English without meaning to? 😄

Of course, German has a word for this situation: Sprachsalat, literally “language salad.”

In this dialogue, you’ll learn how German speakers talk about multilingualism, language mixing, and those funny moments when your brain can’t decide which language it’s using, along with useful words, phrases, and natural ways of expressing these experiences in everyday conversation. Let’s explore!

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You’re sitting at a dinner table in Germany….

People are talking.

Jokes are being made.

Opinions are flying around the room.

You have something to say.

By the time you’ve found the words in German...

The conversation has already moved on.

So you stay quiet.

How familiar does that sound to you?

When you move to Germany/Switzerland/Austria and start building a life here, you learn more than a new language.

You’re building a new version of yourself.

In your native language, your personality is already automatic.

You know how to tell stories.

How to make people laugh.

How to disagree politely.

How to flirt.

How to comfort someone.

How to sound intelligent.

How to be yourself.

All of that becomes much harder when you try saying it in German.

Your brain is using most of its energy just to operate the language.

Finding words.

Building sentences.

Remembering grammar.

Understanding what was just said.

Many learners mistakenly interpret this as:

“I’m shy.”

“I’m awkward.”

“I’m bad at languages.”

None of those things are normally true.

You’re simply operating with a fraction of your normal communicative ability.

And that’s frustrating!

Especially when you know exactly who you are in your own language.

However:

The German version of you already exists.

It’s just under construction.

And every conversation adds another brick.

Every misunderstanding.

Every successful interaction.

Every joke that lands.

Every opinion you manage to express.

Every moment where German feels slightly less foreign than it did before.

I believe that fluency is the moment you stop thinking about German...

...and start thinking about what you actually want to say.

The moment your personality becomes stronger than the language barrier.

The moment you sound like yourself again.

Maybe not exactly the same version.

But a version that can fully participate in life here.

And if you’re trying to build that version of yourself, that’s exactly why I create these training units every Wednesday and Saturday.

To give you repeated opportunities to think, speak, listen, and respond in real German.

Because the German version of you is built by using it.

One conversation at a time.

LG und schöne Woche 💪

Marwan

Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is the Behördendschungel, literally the “bureaucracy jungle.” An expression used when forms, offices, appointments, rules, and paperwork become so complicated that nobody seems to know where the path leads anymore.

This must be one of the most frustrating topics when it comes to moving to Germany! (Switzerland and Austria don’t have the best reputation either)

Let’s see how to properly complain about that in real German…

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Have you ever understood every single word in a German sentence and still had no clue what the person was talking about?

German is full of expressions that make perfect sense to native speakers and almost no sense to everyone else.

Take these:

Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.
“I don’t understand anything.”
Literally: I only understand train station.

Das ist nicht mein Bier.
“That’s not my problem.”
Literally: That’s not my beer.

Da liegt der Hund begraben.
“That’s the real issue.”
Literally: That’s where the dog is buried.

If you translate these word by word, you might end up even more confused.

These expressions appear:

– at work
– in friendships
– in relationships
– on TV
– in newspapers
– and in everyday conversations all over Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

The funny thing is that many of them are actually quite entertaining once you know their meaning.

I’ve put together a list of the 100 most important German expressions.

For each expression you’ll find:

→ the original German phrase
→ its actual meaning
→ the literal translation

You can have a look and even download the list here:

Top 100 German Expressions

Important:

While lists like these are useful, expressions are rarely learned in isolation.

The best way to understand and remember them is to encounter them naturally in conversations, stories, and real-life situations.

That’s why every Wednesday and Saturday, I share training units built around authentic German conversations, including the expressions, sayings, and cultural nuances that people actually use in German speaking countries.

If you’d like to go beyond memorizing vocabulary and start understanding how German speakers really communicate, you can join for less than half the price of a Döner per month.

A small investment that can help you build the language skills and confidence to build your life in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland.

LG

Marwan

Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is the Karrieremensch, literally a “career person.” Someone who is ambitious and often willing to invest a lot of time and energy into professional success.

In Germany, the word is usually neutral. Depending on who says it and in what context, it can sound like admiration… or a gentle warning.

In this dialogue, you’ll learn how people talk about ambition, work-life balance, success, and personal priorities…

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That probably sounds like terrible advice coming from a German teacher, I know 😄

But hear me out…

I’ve seen many students treating language learning as a project… like this:

Something they need to schedule.

Something they need to find time for.

Something they need to feel motivated to do.

The more effort it takes to get started, the less likely you’ll do it consistently.

This is actually one of the most robust findings in habit research: The easier a behavior is to start, the more likely it is to become a habit.

Yet many learners say that:

“On Saturday I’ll study for three hours.”

Saturday comes.

Life happens.

The study session disappears.

And then comes the guilt.

A better question is:

How can I make German so easy to start that I do it almost automatically?

Because habits are built through repetition. Intensity is not that important.

Small actions.
Repeated often.

It’s like brushing your teeth…. You don’t rely on motivation here, you don’t negotiate with yourself, you just do it!

The same principle applies to language learning.

Here are three habit-based changes that work well:

1. Lower the barrier

Don’t aim for an hour.

Aim for five minutes.

A habit that happens beats a perfect plan that doesn’t.

2. Attach German to something you already do

Coffee → German.

Lunch break → German.

Train ride → German.

Existing habits are powerful anchors for new habits.

3. Remove decision-making

The less you have to think about what to study, the more likely you’ll actually do it.

This is where many busy adults struggle.

They spend more time planning than practicing.

Which podcast?

Which grammar topic?

Which vocabulary list?

Which textbook?

The mental effort becomes the obstacle.

That’s exactly why I built my training system the way I did.

Every Wednesday and Saturday, a complete conversational German training arrives directly in your inbox.

You simply open the email and work through a real-life dialogue, listening exercise, speaking task, and writing prompt.

The goal isn’t to create another thing on your to-do list.

The goal is to create a habit.

A simple, repeatable rhythm that fits into a busy life.

Because after teaching German for thousands of hours, I’ve become convinced of one thing:

Fluent speakers are rarely the most motivated learners. They’re usually the learners who found a system they could stick with.

LG und schöne Woche 💪

Marwan

Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is König Fußball, meaning that football is king. And in Germany, that is not an exaggeration 😄

Whether you follow the Bundesliga, support a local club, or just watch the World Cup, football is deeply woven into everyday life. For many people, it’s more than a sport. It’s tradition, identity, community, and a shared language across generations (some even call it a religion).

Let’s see why…

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Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is Fremdschämen. One of those wonderfully specific German words. It literally means “feeling embarrassed on behalf of someone else.”

Let’s explore together a situation and how people actually talk about it…

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The secret sauce in one word: Modalpartikeln.

Tiny words like:

doch
mal
ja
denn
halt
eben

These words are used all the time in spoken German.

In fact, if you listen carefully to native speakers, you’ll hear them in almost every conversation.

What’s interesting is that they don’t usually add new information.

Instead, they change how the information is presented.

They show what the speaker thinks.

What they expect.

How they feel.

Whether they’re surprised, annoyed, impatient, resigned, friendly, or curious.

Think of them as emotional subtitles for German sentences.

Let’s take a simple example:

Komm her.

Komm doch mal her.

The action is identical.

In both cases, someone wants you to come closer.

But the implied feeling is completely different.

The first sentence sounds direct and potentially abrupt.

The second could sound softer, friendlier, and much more natural in everyday German.

This is why Modalpartikeln are so important.

Let’s look at some of the most common ones:

denn

Often used in questions to show surprise, curiosity, or interest.

Was ist das denn?

Without denn, you’re simply asking a question.

With denn, you’re showing that something surprises you or catches your attention.

Think:

“Wait... what’s that?”

rather than:

“What is that?”

doch

Probably the most powerful Modalpartikel.

It often reminds someone of information they should already know.

Ich war doch schon da.

The speaker is saying:

“But you know this already.”

It can also soften suggestions and requests:

Lies doch noch mal die Nachricht.

Instead of sounding like an order, it feels more like encouragement.

halt / eben

These are often used when accepting reality.

Deutsch ist eben schwer.

Das ist halt der Punkt.

The underlying message is:

“That’s just how it is.”

There’s often a sense of acceptance or resignation.

ja

Many learners know ja as “yes.”

But as a Modalpartikel, it means something different.

Ich war ja schon da.

The speaker assumes this information is already known.

It’s similar to saying:

“As you know...”

or

“Remember...”

mal

Also one of the most common words in spoken German.

Kannst du das mal machen?

The request immediately becomes softer.

Less direct and more conversational.

Check out the two dialogues I send out every week. Can you spot the modal particles?

I include them on purpose so you can get used to them in context and gradually develop an intuition for when and how to use them yourself.

LG und schöne Woche 💪

Marwan

Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is „Jein“. In my opinion, a quite useful word to know in German. It’s a combination of ja (yes) and nein (no) and is used when the honest answer is somewhere in between.

This dialogue explores one of those situations where „Jein“ could be the best answer. 👀

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Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is Körperkult, literally “body culture.” The idea that looking fit and healthy is becoming more than just a health goal.

Where does healthy self-improvement end and unhealthy pressure begin? This dialogue explores that question. 👀

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After teaching German for thousands of hours and working with learners from dozens of different countries, I’ve noticed this:

1. Many people dramatically underestimate what it actually takes to reach B2.

2. They also underestimate how achievable it becomes once they approach it correctly.

Many language learners imagine B2 or C1 as the point where they suddenly become “fluent.”

However, in reality, reaching B2 is not some sort of a magical finish line.

It is more the stage where the new language slowly stops feeling like constant problem-solving.

• You translate less.

• You start reacting faster.

• You recognize patterns more automatically.

• You stop building every sentence from scratch.

Once you reach B2, a lot of doors in German-speaking countries start opening.

In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, B2 is often enough to:

• work in many professional environments

• study at certain universities or preparation programs

• handle most everyday bureaucracy independently

• build friendships and relationships more naturally

• participate more fully in society instead of constantly feeling “outside” of it

For many people, B2 is the level where life in the language truly begins.

But getting there requires something many learners underestimate:

Volume.

You need enough exposure and repetition for your brain to build automaticity.

Because reaching B2 is not mainly about collecting more information anymore.

It’s more about making the information you already know accessible under real-time pressure.

That’s why so many learners technically “know” German at B1 level, but still struggle to speak naturally.

Their knowledge exists…

…but it’s not yet fast enough.
Not yet stable enough.
Not yet automatic enough.

German makes this process demanding because the language places a high cognitive load on working memory.

While speaking, your brain constantly has to manage:

• word order

• verb placement

• grammatical gender

• cases

• adjective endings

• sentence-final verbs

• and long informational chunks

Especially in spontaneous conversations.

That’s why German learners often feel mentally exhausted after social interactions, even when they understand most of the conversation.

Your brain is doing a huge amount of invisible processing in the background.

But here’s the encouraging part:

You do not need perfect German to reach B2.

You need functional automaticity.

You need enough repetitions that common structures become instinctive instead of calculated.

And realistically, for most learners, B2 in German roughly looks like this:

~5,000 words.

~150 main grammar patterns.

~10 hours per week of consistent practice for around 100 weeks.

With roughly:
– 50% input (listening & reading)
– 25% output (speaking & writing)
– 25% grammar & vocabulary study

Of course this varies depending on your native language, environment, intensity, and learning quality.

But overall, fluency is much less mysterious than people think.

Research in second-language acquisition consistently shows that repeated exposure, retrieval, and meaningful output are some of the strongest drivers of long-term language development.

In simple terms:

Your brain learns languages through repeated successful contact with patterns.

Again.
And again.
And again.

This is why learners who improve the fastest usually do not obsess over isolated grammar rules all day.

Instead, they spend large amounts of time interacting with understandable, repetitive, real-world language.

Listening.
Reading.
Writing.
Speaking.

Consistently.

Not perfectly.

That’s the real road to B2.

Sustained exposure long enough for your brain to adapt.

That is also exactly why I built my training system the way I did.

Every week, you receive structured training units focused on real conversational German, repeated exposure, speaking prompts, listening practice, and active output.

If you haven’t already, consider upgrading your subscription for the price of half a Döner per month:

Subscribe now

Fluency is not built through motivation alone.

It’s built through repeated interaction with the language over time.

And if you stay consistent long enough, your brain eventually starts doing what once felt impossible automatically.

LG und schöne Woche 💪
Marwan

Hallo zusammen!

With the next Football World Cup already getting closer (starting in June 2026 and hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico), discussions around FIFA and corruption are becoming louder again.

FIFA is the organization behind the Football World Cup, but over the years it has repeatedly been linked to bribery, suspicious World Cup host selections, money laundering, and secret payments, including around the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the tournament in Qatar.

This dialogue is about that strange contradiction many fans feel: criticizing the system… while still loving football.

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Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is the expression: „Sport ist Mord.“ Literally: “Sport is murder.” 😄

Of course, nobody means it seriously. It’s usually said after suffering through a workout or a run.

I’m sure a lot of you will disagree with what is said in the dialogue!

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One of the biggest frustrations in German is this:

You’ve seen the case tables.
You learned the endings.
Maybe multiple times already.

And yet, in real conversations, your brain still freezes for half a second:

dem?
den?
des?
einen guten?
einem guten?

That hesitation is completely normal.

Because knowing grammar rules and using them automatically under real-time pressure are two very different things.

As you know, German is especially demanding in this area because your brain is forced to process grammatical information constantly.

Gender.
Cases.
Adjective endings.
Word order.

All at the same time.

That often feels “mathematical” in the beginning. Your brain is still consciously calculating too much.

But here’s the thing:

Automaticity can be trained.

Your brain learns through repeated exposure to stable patterns. Over time, combinations like:

der nette Mann
mit dem netten Mann
ich sehe den netten Mann

stop feeling like “math” and start becoming familiar chunks your brain recognizes instantly.

So today, we’ll focus less on memorizing isolated rules and more on helping your brain experience these patterns often enough that they slowly become automatic.

You can use this mechanism for other grammar topics too!

Learn this by heart

Read it aloud.
Repeat it on different days.
Notice the case labels, but don’t overthink them every time.

Important: these are only 2 out of the 3 adjective ending tables in German.

What you see here is:

• the der-word table
  (der, die, das, die)

and

• the ein-word table
  (ein, eine, kein, mein, dein, etc.)

There is still a third table:

• adjectives without an article
  → guter Wein, kaltes Wasser, nette Menschen

Der nette Mann

Der nette Mann sitzt. (Nominativ)
Das Buch des netten Mannes ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört dem netten Mann. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für den netten Freund. (Akkusativ)

Ein netter Mann

Ein netter Mann sitzt. (Nominativ)
Das Buch eines netten Mannes ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört einem netten Mann. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für einen netten Freund. (Akkusativ)

Die nette Frau

Die nette Frau sitzt. (Nominativ)
Das Buch der netten Frau ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört der netten Frau. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für die nette Freundin. (Akkusativ)

Eine nette Frau

Eine nette Frau sitzt. (Nominativ)
Das Buch einer netten Frau ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört einer netten Frau. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für eine nette Freundin. (Akkusativ)

Das nette Mädchen

Das nette Mädchen sitzt. (Nominativ)
Das Buch des netten Mädchens ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört dem netten Mädchen. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für das nette Kind. (Akkusativ)

Ein nettes Mädchen

Ein nettes Mädchen sitzt. (Nominativ)
Das Buch eines netten Mädchens ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört einem netten Mädchen. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für ein nettes Kind. (Akkusativ)

Die netten Kinder

Die netten Kinder sitzen. (Nominativ)
Das Buch der netten Kinder ist spannend. (Genitiv)
Das Buch gehört den netten Kindern. (Dativ)
Das Buch ist für die netten Freunde. (Akkusativ)

If you want to train patterns like these properly and build real automaticity, that’s exactly what the full training system is for.

The paid version gives you access to the complete training flow:

→ structured reference texts
→ guided repetition
→ listening practice
→ writing tasks
→ speaking prompts
→ and real conversational German patterns repeated across contexts

Because understanding a grammar rule or a word once is not enough.

Your brain needs repeated exposure and active recall until the pattern becomes automatic under real-time pressure.

That’s the difference between:

“I know the rule.”

and

“I can actually use it while speaking.”

Subscribe now

LG und schöne Woche 💪
Marwan

Hallo zusammen!

So yes, Germany actually has 16 Bundesländer (federal states), but Mallorca is jokingly often called the 17th Bundesland. Why? Because for decades, it has been probably the most popular vacation destination for Germans.

Let’s take a look at how people speak about it…

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Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is one of my favorite weird German expressions: „der innere Schweinehund.“ Literally, it means something like “the inner pig-dog.”

The expression has existed for over a hundred years and was originally used for something unpleasant or hard to control. Over time, it became a very common way in German to describe a certain inner struggle that probably all of us know.

What exactly it means… you’ll quickly understand once you read the dialogue 👀

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Hallo Zusammen!

Today, I have something special for you. I would like to introduce you to Atia, the German teacher behind Lern Deutsch and Atia - Your German Teacher.

What stands out in her work is the combination of clear structure, useful tips, and a strong focus on mindset, because learning German isn’t just about grammar; it’s about how you approach it and stay consistent over time.

She shares practical strategies, learning resources, and regular opportunities to actually use the language, including free weekly German chats where you can practice speaking in a relaxed setting.

If you’re looking for a more hands-on and supportive way to improve your German, her work is definitely worth exploring.

Subscribe to Atia

Enjoy the read!

LG
Marwan

By the way, I also wrote about this topic and the strange feeling that can come with expressing yourself in another language: check it out here.

Something strange happened when I moved to the Netherlands. It felt like someone had tied a knot in my tongue. My brain worked perfectly fine. I could think complex thoughts and express myself clearly in German, English, and Urdu. But when it came to Dutch, it seemed like my brain was sending me error messages.

I had to simplify my thoughts, to be able to express anything in Dutch. This resulted in me becoming quiet and reserved. In conversations I needed to think well before responding, which led to missing the right moment in the conversation. I watched other people’s conversations flow like a river and I could only stand at the shore as a witness. I felt bad, because I could understand them, I could respond but I was just not quick enough.

Have you ever noticed that in people who speak several languages? In one of their foreign languages they seem to be very measured and careful. While in their mother tongue they speak quickly and confidently. My mother once said to me and my siblings that when we talk German she can’t understand anything “It sounds like a train passing”

I suspect now that it felt that way too. Like missing a train and watching it leave without you.

Very often we stand in our own way in a new language. Over time I realized that most of the pressure came from myself. I wanted to sound intelligent. I wanted to avoid mistakes. I wanted to speak without an accent. But all of that made me hesitant — and hesitation kills conversation.

In all of that I missed the point of language – to communicate! Who cares if I made mistakes? Making mistakes is literally the only way to learn. Who cares if I used an awkward phrasing? As long as the other person got the point. Who cares if I spoke with an accent? That only marks me as someone who has a different native language.

To get out of our own way, we need to face the facts:

• No one started speaking a language perfectly from the beginning

• Native speakers usually make mistakes as well

• Language is for communication, you’re not trying to pass a test

• You can only get better by speaking, if you avoid that you will not improve!

• It doesn’t matter how well others speak. Comparing yourself to other students is pointless and only discourages you. Everyone is different.

So here are some easy to implement tips to improve.

1. Just speak. Yes, this is an annoying tip but actually the only thing that will help

2. Find someone who is willing to patiently practice with you. The “patient” part is essential!

3. Find certain situations that you will only speak your target language, like having a chat with the cashier. Repeat that same interaction so many times that it becomes automatic. Then add a new element.

4. Find certain time slots that you will only speak your target language with. Take for example dinner. In the beginning it will feel difficult and awkward. But after a while you will start learning many new things and repeating known phrases. This boosts your confidence and gives you regular practice and repetition

5. Get a lot of input by reading and listening to content in your target language. But don’t stop there. Pick a word or phrase and try to use it.

6. Reddit or other forums are a great way to practice. Go to a subreddit of your interest in your target language and write some posts.

Now only one question remains: how can you find your own voice in the target language? For a long time, I only spoke general Dutch (ABN). I was afraid of mixing it up. But once I became confident in my ability to speak and improvise in Dutch, I started to play with it. I listened to how Dutch people would speak their language, which “mistakes” they made, which words they shortened, which sayings meant what. Then I implemented those things casually in my speech. Now I could make decisions on which words to use, because my vocabulary was large enough. This meant that I could make sentences that sounded more like me. Well, me in Dutch then.

At some point, the language stopped feeling like borrowed words. It started feeling like another part of me. Not identical to who I am in German or English — but still me.

Maybe that is what fluency really is: not sounding native, but sounding like yourself.

Atia Janssens

Follow more from Atia here:

Subscribe to Atia

By the way, I also wrote about this topic and the strange feeling that can come with expressing yourself in another language: check it out here.

Hallo zusammen!

Have you heard of Shrinkflation, or as many in Germany call it: a „Mogelpackung“?
Literally: a “trick package.” Big packaging, less product inside.

In Germany, people have been discussing this a lot lately because many everyday products seem suddenly smaller, emptier, and more expensive.

Once you start noticing it, you see it everywhere 👀

Let’s explore how you can talk about it in German…

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Hallo zusammen!

Today’s topic is Servicewüste Deutschland, literally “service desert Germany.” The expression gained popularity in the 1990s and is used to describe the feeling (fact) that customer service in Germany can sometimes seem cold, rigid, and/or strangely unhelpful.

The phrase was originally popularized by the German writer and journalist Wolf Schneider.

Viel Spaß!

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