Questions tagged [informal]
relating to words or phrases that are marked by the absence of formality or ceremony and that are appropriate to ordinary, casual, or familiar use
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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 ...
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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 ...
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What does this mean: “Also es gibt in Berlin auch Museen, die ich mag. Und es gibt ja dich!“
What does this sentence mean?
Context: my ex partner and I started talking to each other again. He lives in another city and I live in Berlin. He said he wants to visit Berlin and said this sentence (...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Is Gandalf really on 'du' terms with the Balrog? (Odd 'duzen' example)
Gandalf's line "You shall not pass!" from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is something of a meme, so I naturally wondered how it was translated into German. This video has ...
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Polite and informal word contractions
In formal English, the general rule is to avoid word contractions, for example, "I am visiting on Thursday" is formal, whereas in informal English, one could say "I'm visiting on ...
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Informal plural imperative in guides/instructions
I decided to try to read a videogame guide/walkthrough in German and noticed that the custom seems to be to use the informal second person plural imperative. For example not Betreten Sie sodann den ...
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How much formality or informality is in this locution?
In this question I asked about an aspect of a passage from a novel, quoted below.
A young man, perhaps about 18 years old, has approached a bureaucratic organization with a request that is important ...
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Using "wegen" at an reception/information desk to ask for information
would it be correct to use "wegen X" as an equivalent to "for X" at a reception desk.
For example "Hi, for the blood test, should I...". Would it be equivalent to "Hallo, wegen dem Bluttest, sollte ...
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Leaving out pronouns in informal conversation
I've seen a few simple sentences leave out an "ich" and go straight to the verb, particularly in very informal conversation or for stylistic reasons.
Here are some examples that come to mind:
In the ...
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Woher kommt »Bis die Tage«?
Unter Bekannten gibt es die umgangssprachliche Abschiedsfloskel
Bis die Tage!
Ich bin allerdings nicht sicher, woher sie kommt, denn die Tage ist kein Adverb wie morgen oder bald.
Handelt es sich ...
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"Shall we ... ?" as a polite-but-informal suggestion : wollen vs. sollen
I often find myself wanting to make a polite-but-informal suggestion like the English "Shall we meet tomorrow?", and not knowing whether to say "Wollen wir uns morgen treffen?" or "Sollen wir uns ...
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"Komm jetzt" vs "Komm schon"
Is there a difference between the two phrases "komm schon" and "komm jetzt"?
While, of course, their literal translations differ, I believe they both roughly translate to "come on".
I assume they ...
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What would be the way to say "just saying" in German? (Not the literal translation)
The context would be when making a suggestion. For example, if I am with a group of friends and everyone is hungry I could say:
"There is a restaurant nearby. Just saying."
If me and some friends ...
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