Questions tagged [formality]
Förmlichkeit - Questions on formal speech or writing.
92
questions
17
votes
2
answers
3k
views
is German becoming more informal?
Just returned from spending several days in Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) ... I noticed some use of the informal Du in situations where I wouldn't have expected it.
Was it just my ...
- 452
1
vote
2
answers
95
views
Idiomatic informal writing to formal acquaintance? [closed]
With my limited knowledge of Deutsch, I'm attempting to write a "get well soon" greeting card to a native German speaker from Frankfurt. Below is what I wrote as a first draft, but I have ...
- 113
3
votes
3
answers
410
views
Anrede für "divers"
In vielen Kontaktformularen muss eine Anrede ausgewählt werden. Klassischerweise sind als Antwortmöglichkeiten Herr und Frau vorgegeben. Immer häufiger gibt es auch eine dritte Option, meistens lautet ...
- 9,187
4
votes
2
answers
326
views
How should I translate archaic English verb conjugations such as "thou art" into German?
I am working on an English to German translation project -- the text of a fantasy video game -- where some of the original English includes phrases like "thou art" and "the battle hath ...
0
votes
3
answers
108
views
Referring to someone formally
I'm talking about my Professor to his secretary. should I use "Sie" or "Er" or maybe "Der" when I refer to him?
- 3
2
votes
1
answer
202
views
Formal / Informal "you" when referring to God
I'm still struggling to understand when to use du / Sie. I was trying to read the Luther Bible and I noticed in 2 Samuel 24:14
David sprach zu Gad: Es ist mir sehr angst; aber laß uns in die Hand des ...
- 153
1
vote
1
answer
122
views
Giving directions using informal setting
When giving directions in German in a formal setting, one has to put the word 'Sie' after the verb, as such:
gehen Sie zwanzig Minuten geradeaus
How could I say the same sentence in an informal ...
- 189
0
votes
1
answer
332
views
Why do I see 'Ihr' form instead of du/Sie? [duplicate]
I'm pretty new to German, but something I've learned is that formal form of 'Du' is 'Sie'.
However, I sometimes see that 'Ihr' is also used in singular, but what's the difference ?
As example, there ...
- 1
10
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Should I use the "Sie" form or the "du" form for a thank you note to a customer?
Hi everyone and thank you for reading my question.
To give a bit of context I have an Etsy shop that sells digital products, specifically resumes in German, now I want to send a thank you note to my ...
- 101
4
votes
3
answers
479
views
When a "von" substitution for the Genitive is obligatory, optional, and colloquial
I was reading the usage notes for von on
this Wiktionary page,
where it talks about situations where using von instead of the genitive is obligatory, optional, and colloquial.
For the most part, I ...
- 143
1
vote
1
answer
122
views
Use of "gerne" in answers [closed]
I have one colleague who, when asked "Willst Du xxx?", routinely answers "Du kannst es gerne machen". I do not understand this form, is he being sarcastic, or too formal, or what?
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
What is the correct order and positioning of academic and professional titles in Austria?
People are a bit more concerned with academic, professional, and other titles in Austria than in other German-speaking regions; it's not unusual to refer to people with all their titles instead of ...
- 391
-2
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Genderneutrale Formulierung im Genitiv [closed]
Wir sind gerade dabei, einige Texte genderneutral umzuformulieren. Einer der Sätze lautet:
Der Beleg wird im Auftrag eines/r Kollegen/in bzw. Vorgesetzten erstellt.
Vorgesetzten (im Genitiv) ist ...
- 261
1
vote
1
answer
143
views
Formal e-mail address for a person with a female and a male name (e.g. Alin, Andrea, Simone) [duplicate]
I need to find a way to formally address a person in an e-mail when I do not know if they are a woman or a man. I am thinking of a situation where I know the name of the person but unfortunately there ...
- 4,877
47
votes
11
answers
48k
views
How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?
To whom it may concern
is a common opening statement (in an formal e-mail) in English, especially when you do not know the gender of your audience. I am looking for the proper equivalent for it in ...
- 1,257