Thank you guys so much for watching! I'm glad you enjoy the content 😊 Since a lot of you guys said you enjoy these differences videos, make sure to check these ones out as well: ➤7 Everyday Differences That SURPRISED Me in the US ua-cam.com/video/tO1oaRuUp6w/v-deo.html ➤ What Germany Can LEARN from the US ua-cam.com/video/opig-EqWZIk/v-deo.html ➤ 6 Things the USA Can LEARN From Germany ua-cam.com/video/vps7-7X2J-U/v-deo.html ➤ "Are we exclusive?" - Dating Differences USA vs. GERMANY ua-cam.com/video/87lBJrD4EY8/v-deo.html ➤ SPORTS in the US vs. Germany ua-cam.com/video/EhwAaxudVKY/v-deo.html ➤ Americans and their SMALL TALK ua-cam.com/video/GM0oNLyfKL/v-deo.html ➤ USA vs. Germany - Three Biggest Differences ua-cam.com/video/ir13TXJUAU8/v-deo.html
Love your video! The first segment on how we write is exactly how we used to write here in the US over 25 years ago when I was in elementary school. Hell, we were forced to even write in cursive and still to this day I know how to write in cursive. Sadly today in America schools don’t teach cursive or proper history anymore. I would like to see more things like this because the more I watch this video, is the more America used to be once upon a time.
I was taught to write a 7 the way you do in German, I grew up in N.J., i now live in PA. and I find that people sometimes ask me about how I write a 7.
Another number thing that the wife does that kills me is the swapping of periods and commas. For instance, "99.994% true" would be "99,994%." this isn't just true of Germany, but many other countries. I always heard there were lots of Germans in Cincinnati, but I rarely see them. In either occasion, there's gotta be more there than in Dayton 😂
Some (many?) Americans write 'q' with a rightward-pointing tail: www.bigactivities.com/printing/alphabet/lowercase/small_q.php And some (but not everybody) write '9' with the down stroke angled leftward: www.clipart.email/download/6336123.html
@paula A lot of girls are cute, but few are as positive and uplifting as she is. Andrei Jikh is the same way, super uplifting, and he isn't even a cute girl. Positivity is its own quality.
@Dan Gingerich Do you know what it is like to take a motion picture of yourself, looking directly at a video camera for however long it takes to film a video? I've heard about differences between looking at a camera and looking at another person.
@ Michael Mercer you are bigoted idiot and obviously have traveled nowhere, especially Germany. Hitler and his Nazis fucked up Germany. Most of the world's best scientists came from Germany before, during, and after WWII. The people are harder to get to know at first, especially the guys, but since I am a guy I don't care about the men anyway. The women are wonderful and usually beautiful too, without so many of the usual hangups American women have, i.e. less B.S. and more real fun! It's true Germany is having problems with immigration which is a result of their openness. No junk cars or homes that I ever saw. We can all learn a lot from each other. Maybe you should try not making America Great Again by being a typical Trump bigoted asshole!!
Refugees also seem to like this singing. "Tschüss" is the first German word with which refugees sound like locals when they say it. I have seen many refugees who liked to say it and enjoyed situations when they could say it.
That is so true! Lol, i always knew that the way to say tschüss without even thinking- it's true Americans don't typically sing bye and would think it is weird lol
German language teachers even teach it that way! I just realized that. I've said "tschüss" in a singy-songy way since day one, without even questioning it. I don't, however, sing "bye" or "chao". Do natives also do it with "Auf Wiedersehen"
After Felicia mentioned how tshuss is "sung" instead of just "said" I noticed she sings many of her words. No wonder she is so enjoyable to listen to! :)
I'm American. And I can't stand having the bed sheets tucked into the mattress. That's a horrible way to sleep. It feels like you are being vacuum sealed. I'm German when it comes to this.
Yeah one of my wife biggest annoyances is when I crawl into bed and rip the sheets out of my side and wrap myself in the blanket. We actually have a king duvet on a queen bed because of it. I don't know why she puts up with me.
I loved your comment on, "how important it is to learn a foreign language from a Native speaker." So a pal and I took German in high school. He was acting up in class that day and ended up being ejected for the day. The teacher called his mother to discuss her actions. Well, his mother is from München and didn't come to America until the late 70's. The teacher was apparently speaking German to his mother as she cut the conversation short, and asked the instructor to speak in English as, "(She) couldn't understand what (the instructor) was saying. After the call, she looked at the both of us and said that we were to drop the class immediately as the instructor had no clue as to what she was doing.
German speakers in southern Germany have a different form of German. I have had two German students in my house that could not understand each other because one was from north Germany and the other from Bavaria. So, they used English!
@@gllhoukthe Bavarian kid could've EASILY switched to Hochdeutsch (high German) though😂 Even here in Austria, people speak both Austrian German and Hochdeutsch. I guess the kid was just trolling😂
I write my 7's and Z's with a line because I grew up seeing my family write them that way. Probably a little leftover byproduct of being descendents of german immigrants.
Certainly the crossed Z; I learned to do that in my first algebra class to keep Z and 2 from being confused. The crossed seven is less common, even among scientists, in my experience.
@@jeromextv yea, a lower case q usually loops to the right, just like a g but with an opposite swoop on the bottom when written out. Still, understandable comparison.
I'm Swiss, and i do the 7 and one the American way because i'm lazy, but i do the 9 like an european. I udsally connect the Line of the g with the next letter.
"A Royal Navy commander crashed a nuclear-powered submarine into a large rock in the Red Sea after misreading a number one as seven on a navigational chart..." www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/mar/15/submarine-crash-navy-court-martial You see? That's why it makes sense to have a dash in the number 7 ;)
Lost Hugo Shteeglitz getting into a scuffle for ordering drinks the wrong way. What a set up of circumstances for things to happen for that whole scene to go down 😂
Hello Felicia! I recently found your channel and have been enjoying watching some of your videos. Thank you for having your videos captioned! As a Deaf viewer, I am truly appreciative of that and wish more UA-camrs would do the same with their videos. Regarding your comments about hellos and goodbyes, how the American Deaf community do them is very similar to the German culture. We may be Americans but the way we operate our lives culturally is different from the rest of the American society. For both hellos and goodbyes, we hug every individual (except if the group is huge, then hugs are reserved for close, familiar friends/family). Our goodbyes tend to be drawn out. Sometimes, we would still be chatting an hour or two later after saying our first goodbyes. The Deaf American community humorously call it “Deaf Standard Time”. Funny but true, this is an experience many Deaf Americans share: we often find ourselves the last ones to leave a restaurant as they close up. We would be chatting for hours, then when we suddenly notice that the restaurant is so quiet (or we start to see waitresses putting up the chairs) we would be asking one another, “Uh-oh, are they closing up?”
The reason American kids need a pencil, and it used to be only a #2 pencil, for exams is mostly because the exams are scored by machine on a scantron sheet.
We also used pencil so it can be erased, on purpose, during an exam, until we are comfortable with the anwser. Pens are used for all (non-mutiple choice) exams besides maths and sciences.
Omg, my grandma grew up in Germany and always "drags out" goodbyes. I had no idea that in Germany you say goodbye like that, it makes a lot more sense now lol
Plus, isn’t it nice that the Germans wrap up the conversation, recap the main points, and send greetings to your loved ones, each by name, and then tells you when you’ll talk or expect to see each other again, in specific times? LOL but I LOVE it !
where I Grew up has a healthy German Population... and when leaving gatherings like a Family Holiday or a Church Social etc someone can state their intent to leave and still be within arms length of the door Half an hour Later we call this the "____ County Goodbye"... - that said if it's a small group walking across campus (as per her example) and people peel off from one another it's more likely to be quick
I’m Japanese and currently watching Spy x Family, ” a Germany-inspired anime. I was always wondering why people in the show say just their names(not hello or something) when picking up their phones, but now I understand it’s a part of German culture
SwordOfHeimdall When someone rings your doorbell, how do you answer that before pushing the button to open the door? "Heimdall residence, the Sword speaking..." Normally, this is how you answer the phone at your workplace. But whoever calls your private number knows you and you simply don't have to introduce yourself on the phone. (Same as with your doorbell being rang; people who do that know who they are calling on.)
This is actually the most common way to answer the phone nowadays. Since Telemarketing was quite a problem around 2010 (now legislation has improved telemarketing situation a lot), a lot of people don't answer the phone by name anymore.
Canadian here. I have a dutch dad and started crossing my 7s in high school, I think (for clarity in math). I studied mathematics at university and crossing z's came shortly thereafter. Also taught me to write x's in a more cursive way while printing (maybe to avoid confusion with cross products, etc.?) Also, the shoes in the house thing is maybe more of a northern climate phenomenon. It is unusual in Canada to wear shoes in the house unless the host invites you to (and I still feel weird about walking on carpet with shoes). You get so much schmutz from outside when it snows that no amount of wiping your shoes could adequately dislodge.
I do that too, copied my Aunt cause I thought it was easier to read. Funnily enough she was born in Germany. 🤷♀️ didn't know that was a different habit, just thought it was nice.
For computer programming, and especially engineering and architectural drawings, more precise and distinctive lettering and numberings are also used in the U.S.
(American) I do the line through the 7 , however, I was taught the other way. However, I had a classmate who went to The Netherlands for a couple years. When he came back, I noticed the line he put through the 7. I liked it, and so I adopted the practice myself.
I laughed throughout this whole video as an American. Never even thought twice about most of this, but it's 100% true, especially the "hi" and "bye" things both socially (in person) and on the phone.
Military guys in the US often answer their phones with their last name or even the last name and the base they are in. True story: years ago, I called Rome Air Center in NY for a project approval and blessing. Officer Pope answered with: "This is The Pope in Rome." 🤣
@Taylor Turensky The evil telemarketers harass us on a daily basis from around the world calling on false pretenses and so I am not very polite anymore either. It has nothing to do with being in the South.
I believe that Felicia also demonstrated another difference at 13:13 in the video when she shows the number three with her hand, using her thumb, index finger, and middle fingers (and her ring finger and pinky curled up). Americans typically show three fingers using their middle three fingers straightened while the thumb holds the curled pinky down. Quentin Tarantino fans might remember this difference playing a crucial part in the plot of one of his movies. Also, I would assume that German speakers use completely different terms for the names of the fingers, but that’s to be expected across languages. Thank you for another interesting video!
It's not completely different. In German it goes Daumen, Zeigefinger, Mittelfinger, Ringfinger, kleiner Finger. "Thumb" and "Daumen" both share the same Germanic etymology and as you can see the German words for middle finger and ring finger are exactly the same (just in German). Also, the word "index" in "index finger" comes from the Latin word "indico" shich means "to point out" while "Zeigefinger" literally means "pointing finger" so that's also similar in a way. The only finger where there's no similarity between German and English is the pinky finger. Germans just call that "kleiner Finger" which literally just means "small finger".
WHAT????!!! What American show three fingers the way its described above? Born and raised in New York City a long time ago. Thumb, index finger and middle finger is the ONLY way I can show the number 3. It hurts my fingers to try the other way. That method must be some weird Cincinnati or west coast way of displaying the number 3. This one always amuses the heck out of me.😀😀😀
As an American, I was actually very surprised to find out that I've been sleeping the German way this entire time. I can see how tucking in might be comfortable but I've gotta cover up my whole body xD
American who sleeps the German way here, too! When under tucked-in sheets, I feel like I'm strapped down to a gurney! Also, I find that sheets with a blanket on top are not breathable, my body heat is overwhelmingly trapped under the sheets, and I overheat. I prefer to wrap myself up ideally in a knitted-yarn Afghan blanket. I stay warm, not sauna-hot, and it's breathable!
I’m american and i have never tucked myself in or been tucked in in my life I’m honestly convinced the idea of tucking in is either an OLD thing or it only exists in the movies lol
Your story of saying hello reminds me of something my mother did. It's kind of long, but I hope a good story. In the early 80's my mother had traced her ancestry to a small town in the Netherlands. She wrote to a woman in that town in the hope of getting help with research and this woman and my mother ended up becoming friends. Not long after this she and her husband were making a business trip near to where we lived (In SF California) and they arranged for a visit. It's important to understand what sort of person her husband was, imagine the stereotypical Dutch banker. Very serous, very straight, at least publicly. Once we got to know him he dropped the sham and turned into quite a likable person. But that was later. My mother asked where they would be coming into the country. It was in Texas. "Oh, do you speak the language?" "Don't they speak English?" "Oh, no. They speak Texan." Now the Dutch banker was worried. His wife tried to assure him that my mother was just joking, they certainly spoke English in Texas. He said he didn't think my mother was joking as they didn't really know each other, but just before arrival in Texas his wife had him convinced they would indeed speak English. They walked up to the customs officer who greeted them with "Howdy y'all" Horrified that he had just encounter Texan, he asked the guy very slowly, "Do you speak English?" Fast forward 4 years, (1986) and our family travels to visit their family (their kids were just a bit younger than my sister and I). One day the Dutch banker and my mother both had business at the bank. My mother had gotten some real Dutch wooden shoes (they still use(ed) them there) which she wore to walk to the bank. (That's another difference. Americans drive, even if they are just going around the block) When they got to the bank several pairs of wooden shoes were lined up. My mother started taking hers off but the banker said that was not needed. "They are the shoes of farmers. See, they are all muddy." So mom kept the shoes on, walking into the bank. The bank had marble floors and a vaulted ceiling, perfect for amplifying the sound of wooden shoes walking on the floor. It didn't take mom long to notice all activity had stopped as everyone stared at this creation who had the gall to walk into a bank with wooden shoes on. The banker was smiling at her and said, "That was for Texas."
I used to be more formal when answering the phone before the age of phone spamming. Now i answer the phone without announcing my name because if you're not a spammer you should know who you're calling.
I still say my name as a way of confirming that they called the right number, or to confirm that the right person is on the phone.. because it could be someone else in the house taking the phone when it rings.
Honestly using two blankets is so great if you share a bed, because your partner can‘t steal your blanket anymore. And the two mattresses is a cool thing if one of them likes a firm mattress and the other one prefers a softer one
one additional advantage of having two mattresses is that they are more stable over the years. if you buy a big one and cuddle, its unavoidable that theres a ditch in the middle someday :D ah and to cover the gap between two mattrasses, you can always put a topper over both of them.
When I was in school they taught us two ways to make a 4 and let us individually choose which to use; the way the kids showed you, and the triangular form.
I always used the triangular form because that's how the Fantastic Four do it. Until I had a temp job doing data coding where the other form was mandatory.
I'm a left handed person, so most of my life, my writing has been somewhat unreadable. That all changed when I learned calligraphy. Now, I write like a German
Look at the typed four..it is always typed as 4, closed top and never open. You will never see any American scientist or engineer ever use an open top 4. All drafting and engineering classes teach closed fours, i.e. 4. An open four is almost always used by undereducated people or elementary school teachers.
Ive never met anyone whos liked tucking in their sheets. And “tucking in” a kid in bed is “tucking” the blanket around the frame of the child, not the bed.
What?! Tucked in sheets? If I sleep, I am like a burito, I need to wrap myself in my comforter. Also, I wouldn't want to wear shoes any longer than I have to, freedom for my feet! Though if it's cold, I need my thick socks or Hausschuhe, because die sind schön warm.
I'm an American and my husband and I have separate blankets. Only because I'm always cold and he sleeps warm. Easiest way to keep us both comfortable 👌
While I don't do it intentionally, I don't think much of it if I flop on my bed and I still have shoes on. My partner freaks out though, and one of my exes did also.
I started writing Z and 7 with lines through it in elementary school bc my dad told me to. Hes a engineer. When I went to my math AP classes and college. I finally understood why he made me do it.
I grew up with being “tucked in” meaning laying on the bed with the blankets on top of you and someone tucks it in underneath you so that you are all warm and cozy. There are ways to do it on your own if no one is available or willing (for example being a single adult). I’m American by the way.
The way you as a German wrote the numeral four is close to an optional way Americans write four, except Americans extend both the verticle line and the oblique line so the lines meet at the Apex.
My Dad was from Germany moved to the US when he was 17, and never lost his accent. You have very little accent! BTW Your eyes are like hunter green soooo pretty!
Hi, I'm from the Czech republic and the most of the things are actually very similar to the german way ! (The handwriting is usually individual, but the stuff about school is identical 😅.)
I'm American and I was born in 1995. I started school with grade 1 in 2001. I was taught how to write in cursive, even though it was not mandatory to use unless it was that specific lesson time. I kept using it, and it has presented me problems in today's American society. I have like 6 teachers in my family, so there is a HUGE influence to do things "proper." While people older than me generally have no issues reading my handwriting(my penmanship isn't the best), anyone my age or younger has a hard time reading what I write. I find this to be because they dismissed cursive as a relic of the past.
That's a shame. I learned cursive in elementary school back in the '70s. It's definitely handy if you're writing more than a few words. They really ought to still teach cursive in schools. (But penmanship is important! Especially when writing in cursive, which is less forgiving than printing.)
@@Milesco Hell 75 years ago my mother taught us the cursive writing and when we started first grade, that was before kindegarten teacher was all upset that we had to learn to print first !!!! Then learn to write. mom just explained we were ahead of all the other dummies !! There was only 5 of us in the first grade in our remote rural countryside one room school and 13 kids in grade 1 to 8 !!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Heh heh....kind of a similar story for me.... I, too, learned to read and write from an early age (from my mother, who was English), and she would write notes to me in cursive (and making matters worse, her handwriting was atrocious), but despite those challenges, I was still able to read her little notes to me...and when my classmates in kindergarten saw this, they were blown away! 😲 😄
My 2nd grade teacher was originally from Germany and she taught us to write numbers the German way...I thought it was normal until my grandma started freaking out when she saw me doing homework. She lived through WWll and said that's how Nazi's write heh.
@@Iampatrix that's actually really funny. I wasn't aware we used cursive anymore. I havn't done anything but type or text since school. I don't think i actually own a pen.
This was great - My dad is from Munich, so this resonated with me. Though my numbers are more like the average American's, I tend to use the German style 7 and null, so as not to confuse 0 with O. I consciously made these choices as I grew up, I feel they are certainly obvious to any reader but do realize I'm weird. I believe also it's easy to confuse the German style 1 with the American 7 so I avoided it. Cheers
In Spanish, we wrote the numbers and the letters the same way in Germany with the exception of 1. I used to write Z and 7 the way Germans do. Not anymore.
I live in Canada and the shoe thing applies here. Even in your own home on a daily basis, you usually have shoes you wear only inside. However, when you go to someone’s home for a dinner or something, you always take another pair of shoes or even house slippers with you and change in to them. If you are wearing socks, it is okay to take off your shoes and just go around in your socks. This habit is usually year round, but it is especially important in the winter when you wear snow boots.
You make even the smallest facts interesting and have such enthusiasm for life. You've broaden my perspective on some of the cultural differences between the U.S. and Germany and because of your channel I met a really nice German woman on my last visit to Disney World and we discussed experiences in German vs America life. So thank you for all you share!
These are cool things. I can't stand having my sheets tucked into the bed. I pull them out and wrap myself up in the linen and blankets. The colder it is in the room, the better. Also, growing up in a Latino culture, when you arrived at a family member's home, you went around and said hello to everyone.
I don't like the sheets tucked, either. It's too restrictive. I think this varies in the USA, but we mostly just tuck the sheets when we "make the bed" after we get up. I don't even do that. Why make the bed, when you just have to "un-make" it at night. If you're expecting company, then the bed should be made.
Not just that, but most of those people will be racist idiots who don't understand that germans and irish people were never considered white until years later when they could finally overcome the prejudice towards European races. That or they'll attach themselves to "european" identity without actually understanding how fucking stupid that sounds to anyone living in Europe.
@@Southboundpachyderm Or they'll make stupid definitive statements about entire populations who might say, I'm German or I'm Irish. Not everyone who says I'm German or I'm Irish is a racist, and not even MOST, you're an asshole, so do us all a favor and take a long walk of a short pier.
P00NM45T3RFL3XXX I don’t know that it is necessarily stupid to say that you are of European descent. Most Americans are a mix of different backgrounds. For example, it would not be uncommon for a person to have German, Swiss, Irish, and English roots. It would therefore be much more efficient to say in that case that you are of Western European descent.
omg. The BYE part is so true. XD I also noticed “mmm-bye” and wondered why that is a thing (mmm-bop? mmm-bye? a softened, less angry “bye”?) hahaha ^^’ I miss the sing-songy TSCHÜSS, Tschüssi, Tschüssikowski... Even “Auf Wiederhör’n!” is kinda sung. I miss that. I’m gonna sing my goodbyes now. LOL
From Southern US here: while I can’t compare to Germans, you generally still don’t leave in the middle of most conversations, you typically end up still doing a more formal goodbye, though on college campuses this tends to be more like what you’re saying.
@@burkholder1992 In the North if the group of people are all very close to each other the goodbyes will be longer. I really don’t think that there are regional differences in the U.S. on how people say goodbye. Although many years ago I was with another friend visiting someone in the MidWest, we went to a bar and my friends acquaintance at the bar didn’t want us to leave. She was very sweet about it when she said “Are you sure you have to go now?”I didn’t expect that response from someone who I had just met at the time.
I'm so happy I stumbled across your UA-cam channel. My wife is 2nd generation German and many many things you talk about she also does. The house slippers, absolutely 100%, first thing she does when she comes home is shoes off, slippers on. The bed thing I completely relate too. We had quite a few fights about the bed when we were first married. She wraps herself in the blankets, like a burrito, takes all the covers 🤣🤣🤣. We did have to get separate blankets. I love her Germaness!!
I’m an American, most of my household take off their shoes when coming in. Except my father lol I walk around the house barefoot, I don’t like socks all that much.
It's gotta be pretty cold for me to wear socks without "shoes." I own sheepskin ugg style boots, and two pairs of Birkenstocks. One pair of Gizeh for summer, and a pair of Arizona for the transition weather in Spring and Fall so that I can wear socks with them. The boots really only come out during snow and slush, that's it!
Danke Felicia. Great observations. Two thoughts as an American: I think the hello goodbye issue is relates to the American culture in general, we are usually better with hellos, and terrible with goodbyes, almost embarrassed not knowing what to do. And I think the younger the person the more it is problematic. Part of it has to do with generations of us trying to be cool. Warm farewells are NOT cool. One thing I know from European culture is that I prefer a real farewell. Because truthfully you never know when you'll see someone again. Second observation. In Alaska the shoe rule is like Europe. That's because of mud, snow and rain. So everyone there has a mud room. (I had several German friends in Alaska.)
The “comforter” on beds is not tucked in on beds here in the South. If they do that up North, then that is most likely a regional thing (or personal preference).
It's a throw back to times where homes were not as well heated and insulated. It's supposed to help trap the heat in and keep your feet from poking out the bottom. Some folks still do it out of habit/custom. Even then, not all northerners in the U.S. tuck the comforter in on their bed.
The way I've always seen it done is to tuck in the sheets and lay the comforter over top. This is how every Hotel I've been in makes the bed, and that would be north and south US. Also I like and hate when the sheets are tucked in. It feels nice to have resistance, but I always push out the sheets for more leg room and ventilation. Side note: When Americans refer to "tucking in" their child, that usually means they would tuck the comforter/ sheets around the child, not the bed. I remember when I was like 5, I called this "mummy style". :)
Lol it’s mixed by personal preference I think. Some people in my family do and others don’t. And I definitely know people down south who tuck in their sheets lol
Even though you have been living there for 8 years and you are german, your english is simply stunning! I came up with your videos to look for something to learn german and I ended up watching them to improve my english.
When it comes to answering landline phones most Americans will simply pick up the phone and say "Hello" A greeting like "Hello, Smith residence" usually only happened when someone had company and could not answer the phone at that moment and asked a guest if they could answer for them. That way the person on the other end of the line would know they called the right number even though they didn't recognize the voice that answered.
I wish everyone would say that. I'm a telemarketer and it is so rude to let me go through the whole offer and then say "I'm not the homeowner and you'll have to talk to them " People, please be upfront right from the start. "Hello, Smith residents, I'm Sue the babysitter " That would be so thoughtful to the caller.
@@karlamackey4675 Well, those unsolicited calls are pretty rude themselves. As soon as I know you are a telemarketer, I will simply hang up without saying a word, and block your number. If it is a number I don't recognize and no voicemail is left, I block as well.
@@nowthatsjustducky You do know that the significant majority of telemarketers spoof numbers these days and that number you blocked probably is invalid or some random person they decided to use the phone number of. Usually they use your exchange your first 3 digits - random next 4.
@@karlamackey4675 Telemarketers are one of the reasons I don't say my name when picking up the phone. You have no business calling me and you're not welcome. Unsolicited marketing calls are actually illegal in my country.
The handwriting thing is interesting, my father is German and when I was taught my penmanship growing up, his habits of writing were passed down to me and I tend to find your German tendencies on z, 7, 1, and 4 to be the same as mine. I also tend to use cursive capital letters
I'm American, so I could be completely wrong; but I think it has to do with over the course of years German has changed in a bunch of different ways or maybe it has to do with dialects. I don't actually really know so don't just believe this, do some research.
@@sedrickbragdon1133 The way Germans write letters and numbers has absolutely nothing to di with dialects, sorry. Dialects are NOT a school subject and the officially used German is the High German taught in schools. Maybe your research should lead you into the direction as to why in only barely 200 and some years Americans way of writing has become so different from the way all their European ancestor's have been writing for centuries...
Omg yes the 1 7 difference! I once stayed at a hostel in München and returned to the front desk at least twice because I thought the key card wasn‘t working. Turned out I was just at the wrong room because the 1 looked like a 7 to me. 🙃
I work for a state and process and interview people. Some come from other countries and fill our those paper applications and some people in Asian like to put their numbers very curly. And I even ran across a German American who wrote her numbers the German way. I actually write my 7s like she did but I was confused on the 1s until a quick search of her state ID showed her address.
4:30 when I was in school we not only had to use a pencil, we specifically had to use a #2 pencil. The exams were set up to be read by computer, and we had to fill in little circles so the computer could read it. I think it was called "scantron." it seems everything in the 80's was something "tron" Even a movie was called "Tron"
@@erictaylor5462 nope infact they are the original machines bought in the 80's my college has started to print the cards themselves because they are unavailable anymore.
I'm an older American, and I was taught to write cursive the old style (more like the writing on the U.S. Constitution)! I write a 1 as you described the "American" way, just a vertical line down (most Americans don''t know what to make of the number 1 with the long curving line going up, before the down-stroke). A number "7" will have a short line down a the top left of the horizontal line, and the line going down isn't really straight, but curves a little to the left midway down. I write the "Z" just like that - no line in the center. Having lived in many other countries, I recognize the different ways of writing both letters and numbers. One of the hardest things to be aware of is the exchanging the . (period) with a , (comma) in prices and larger numbers: 7.000.400 (European) vs. 7,000,400 (American) and $1,50 (Euro.) vs. $1.50 (Am.) That would be in Part 2! I don't care about the sheets tucked in, or out, but I think that with them tucked in, it provides a great sense of "security" - and it's what parents did to their children at night - to make sure they didn't fall out of their beds! So, I do like my sheets tucked in for that "feeling of security". Living in South America, I learned to greet everyone when entering a room - the women with an "air kiss" to the cheek, while as a male, I'd shake men's hands. Only between very good friends would you find men giving a kiss in greeting and in saying "Good-bye"! When leaving I made sure to go to every person to say good-bye, doing the same thing as in greeting - air kiss by the cheek for women, and a simple hand-shake for men. When I returned to the U.S., it was hard (at first) to stop myself from stepping forward to give a kiss to a woman. . . they's always step back, with a look like, "What are you doing?!" on their faces! I quickly unlearned that!! My family takes off their shoes at the door, and we wear socks, or go barefoot, even in the winter. A Part 2 would be welcome!! You're great behind the camera, and your American accent & mannerisms are Perfect! Keep up the great work - you should look for work in the film/News industry!
Not German, but I did learn that the French make their 7s with the line through it like that. I figured it was because of how 1s can sometimes be made, to avoid confusion, but I've never seen one with that long of a curve at the start. It almost looks like a capital A. I kind of wanted to make my 1s and 7s like that, but people got confused, so I stopped.
Feli, I have German ancestry from Bavaria on my father side so it’s fun to watch your videos. I never tuck in the sheets in my bed-I feel confined when I do and I always take my shoes off and wear slippers when I’m in the house. Must be my German ancestry. Thanks so much for your videos. Brent
As a computer programmer, I was taught to draw a line through my sevens to make sure that people who typed in my code didn't mistake it for a one. I don't give out my name when I answer the phone because I figure if the person knows who they're calling, they'll know who they're talking to, but if they don't know who they're calling, they don't need to know my name till I found out what they want. I have had people say, "Who is this?" and I say, "Whom were you trying to reach?"
When I get asked who is this I ask well who am I speaking with unless I know the voice. A couple of times people that have called me got offended because I asked them before answering so I hang up on them. Anyone that was trying to get in contact with me wouldn’t get frustrated that easily.
@@marc68521 I've always been taught that whenever calling someone, its polite to introduce yourself first and then ask for the person you're trying to reach
Everyone I know expect you to say bye when leaving a social gathering. If you don’t, when people notice you left, they will comment on your not saying goodbye. You don’t have to say it to everyone, but you do have to hit the key people, such as the host/hostess.
Having friends from other cultures makes me more creative. In fresh ways about space and how people create their own world and environment. It is best way to connect between creative thinking and cross-cultural relationships😘🤗😁
I’m am loving learning about German culture. I’m American and really don’t know that much, so thanks for sharing😊. With regards to saying “bye”, I feel like if it’s someone I’m not that close with I go through the speel of “well it was nice talking to you, we’ll have to make plans to see each other” instead of just saying “bye”. Perhaps the difference is because Germans are more formal with people in general where as that’s how I am with people I’m not as close with. With regards to hellos and goodbyes and walking as a group, I honestly wish American society was more like German culture. It seems like I’d feel much more connected with other people if they actually took the time to say hello to me directly. You call Americans more individualistic but I feel like a better term is more isolated, which I think comes from feeling insecure or self absorption 🤷♀️. It makes me wonder how suicide rates in Germany compare to America because so many Americans feel like they don’t fit in and are lonely and it seems like Germans being more connected with each other would help prevent that.
Regarding your question about suicide: For 2019 the German suicide rate per 100,000 population was 12.3, for the US it was 16.1. Those numbers vary by state, though, both for Germany and the US. I don't know the reason(s) for the difference, though, but I would guess that that topic is rather complex and can't be attributed to one single cause.
We don't wear shoes in my house. Saying that, there is absolutely no way I am wearing guest slippers in someone's elses house, that grosses me out completely.
As a German, wearing guest slippers was requested of me a lot when I was a kid visiting friends and it completely grossed me out already then. I mean, those things have been worn by every other guest and you wouldn't share your normal shoes with strangers...
LOL. I went to Selb ( a German town near Czechia) and wore the Hausschuhe, and by the time we were leaving, had forgotten I had them on They were more comfortable and fit better than my own shoes. To think I would have missed out on the BEST shoe experience of my life if I had been as squeamish as you are :))
I am so glad I discovered your videos, which I have enjoyed immensely. Not only is your presentation so positive, upbeat and joyful, but the information you provide is truly amazing. I am a senior citizen of 77 and I lived in Germany for three years back in the late 1970's (during my military service), and your videos have pleasantly reminded me of my life in Germany. Thanks!
I actually switched to a duvet + duvet cover when I was living in apartments. It was so much easier to just wash the duvet cover instead of the entire comforter.
Continue to write your "4" the way you learned. I've seen all variants when it comes to the number 4. The horizontal lines through letters and numbers is fine too. I've seen many people do it like that also.
Agreed. Both "4s" written in this video are legible in the US, as well as writing it the way it looks in this UA-cam comment lol. I write mine the "German" way, and I've lived in the US all my life. Probably the only reason the kids complained is that we are taught to write a very specific way and that clashed with their lessons, but as we grow up we choose the writing styles we like best.
@@sarahmitchell7799 Yep! I was taught American writing (I was born here.) but my mom's side we have a very close relation still to our german roots (1/4 German for me, my mom and her parents are all 1/2) and because of that, I've picked up a lot of German writing. For instance, I like the lines on the 7 and the Z.
Yeah the only ones that would be confusing will be the 1 and the 9. I mean with enough numbers I might be able to figure it out or with context but individually I would have never know that without this video.
Gabriel Perez I usually do a horizontal line through my Zs & always do through my 7s. When I was in like, 4th & 5th grade, I started making my 7s really artistically, with a curly tail & pronounced swoop into the horizontal part of the 7. My teachers absolutely hated it & told my parents about it at parent/teacher conferences once. They made me cut it out🤣
I've lived in the US all my life and have always hated tucked in sheets! I don't wear street shoes inside. I think "hellos and goodbyes" have changed greatly over the years. They are much more abbreviated than they were when I was a child. Some of those things like greeting and goodbyes have great regional differences.
vitali it’s an American slang term among young adults. See the movie “Straight Outta Compton.” The phrase is meant to be used abruptly/dismissively as in the darkly funny scene in the movie.
I did grammar school in Untergrombach, pretty much permanently had blue fingers from my Pelican pen! I think I’m the only one I ever see still take notes with my Rotring fountain pen at meetings. As far as numbers go, we had a small hook at the top of the seven also. Biggest number related thing for me is the difference between addition, subtraction, multiplication and division symbols! For me they were totally different and when I came to the US mid year in 3rd grade we had test on the first day I had long been doing multiplication and division, so it never occurred to me the test could possibly be for addition and subtraction... so I solved every addition as a multiplication and every subtraction as a division... that was traumatic to this day ;-)
I write the 4 with a closed top, like printing. Incidentally, we use the term "handwriting" only for cursive; what you are calling handwriting is what we call printing as distinguished from writing.
don't know about the repairmen but you can tell your friends to take them off before entering the house... I even have some "guest slippers" for this. I place them infront of their feet and ask them to take the shoes off.. I think the repairmen have sometimes shoes on because of savety reasons, so I wouldnt ask them.
@@GeorgeNadaYT there's nothing disgusting about it since they are made out of a soft plastic material. If they were made of something like cotton or wool I would understand you.. all the sweat and stuff.. but the plastic slippers are easily cleaned and disinfected. Nothing to be disgusted about. And yes they are still comfy.
@@GeorgeNadaYT so uhm... you can easily wash the guest slippers. You can also just take your shoes off and wear your socks, it's just common courtesy to not dirty another person's home. You are not obliged to wear slippers, they are usually just offered so your feet don't get cold. A lot of Germans won't say anything if you leave your shoes on though as they don't want to be (as) rude (as the person stomping into their home with their street shoes).
I just had to explain to my daughters yesterday about fountain pens. I went to a German school here in the US, and we were required to use fountain pens, so I still use them. As for the shoes, I go to other people's homes for work, and the first thing I do is take off my shoes with people telling me I do not have to. :)
Your English is better than most Americans! Your content is informative and fun. If that weren't enough you are totally adorable as well. Thanks a lot!
Hi Felicia, some notes: 1) Handwriting. First, the change in US handwriting is actually a recent thing. Cursive was taught and mandated through the early 1970's, but as the slide rule was done away with, so was the emphasis on cursive. Teachers demanded that students not write in cursive to make papers more readable. Also, it is a european, not just German habit to put slashes through numbers such as 7. As a manager at a petro chemical firm, I noticed employees not raised in the US had that habit. 2) Formailities. Again, I notice that it is a european and not just German thing. When I saw ABBA in 2010, I noticed that none of the band members came close to the edge of the stage. American performers go out of their way to touch hands with audience members. Some european bands do this. My grandmother, despite being born and raised in the US was raised in the old world tradition. You have to be formally introduced to talk to someone and even then you are not allowed any informalities until way down the line. 3) Phone-Americans that work in a strict corporate setting answer their home and business phone with their name while most Americans just say hello when they pick up their phone. 4. Wearing shoes inside-yeah-varies household to household, but I grew up in ranch country. A lot of things in ranch country can injure your feet-thorns, spiders, and scorpions (all 3 can get inside your home). You wear shoes at all times (unless showering or sleeping). Wearing sneakers, leather shoes, or boots as you exit the door is mandatory as snakes and coyotes are also a threat. You never wear sandals outside unless you are in an urban environment.
The crossed 7 and crossed Z is "continental Europe". All my professors from the UK wouldn't do it, and it drove us nuts, because in the hard sciences (Physics, Chem, etc) you always cross your 7s. (and Zs because otherwise they look like 2s)
Hmmm. I was born in the US in 1975 and had to learn cursive in the 1980s. I was required to use it on all school work until high school, so 1989. People don’t learn cursive anymore?
acegh0st Not sure if they don’t learn it, but my niece and nephew couldn’t read our letters to them. And when asked to sign their first forms for college, didn’t know that there was a difference between and printed name and a signature. Our son went Catholic school. His cursive is beautiful but his print is atrocious.
Make a "Part 2". Include how German's (and most continental Europeans) count with their hands differently, like the number 2 uses the thumb in Germany but English and American cultures use the thumb last for the number 5. Perhaps there are other hand gestures that are different.
At 13:12-13:13 you can see Felicia gesture the number 3 with her thumb, index finger, and middle finger; Americans typically use the index, middle, and ring fingers.
Hmm. I had no idea the my "7" was weird for Americans, as I've barely ever left here! I've always put the dash through it to help distinguish it from "1."
It’s a personal choice for Americans. I don’t use it, doesn’t mean that no American does it. In fact, my aunt does it. Maybe it’s a generational thing. My aunt and dad did take German in school to be fair
Same. And I put the slash in the Z to distinguish from 2. I will also slash through the zero if it’s something that has 0 and O. All Americans know what both versions are.
What we found funny about German bedding was the wood down the middle of the mattress! We quickly got an American style mattress! Glad you like them better!
Omg the sleeping thing is so true. I hate when the sheets are tucked in. Especially in hotels when you have to untuck them again after they made your bed. 😅
For the numbers: I write my ones the “German” way but with the shorter lines. I also Write my sevens the “German” way. In the US you can write four either way but I mostly write it the American” way. I always write nine the “American way” For the letters: I write Z the “German” way The wall pencil sharpener is mostly in older buildings. For the sleeping thing: I’ve never tucked my bed like that and I also put out the sheets/comforter at hotels
Every German writes their 1's with the shorter line, the longer line is just confusing. Like they tried to write a A and forgot the middle part. To don't mix the 9 and g -> 9 is written higher (and i write my g's with the last line crossing the right site in the middle).
Also eating out at restaurants. Last time I was in Koeln we went out to eat, and it's like they expected us to just sit at the table and converse for like 2 hours when were done. I was finally thinking "Can we go now?" LOL
rightfully so, I don't wanna have to clean up my place every time visitors come in with their muddy ass shoes :D or even just dusty shoes in summer. It's obviously a cultural thing, so whatever, but it's also so ... odd. If someone I invited for an evening of Netflix keeps his shoes on I wanna ask: sooo, you have to leave for something on short notice? :D It's like wearing a outdoor jacket for diner. Some Germans would MAYBE even assume you think their home is too dirty for you to walk around on socks, which SOME COULD possibly take for an low-key insult :D
Love the description of Americans as hi-bye mosquito-swarms. Everyone is super kind and talkative but the way they just run away from you all of the sudden, during my time as an exchange student I could never get used to that haha. I also noticed a certain rush to go home after plays and concerts that always confused me.
Thank you guys so much for watching! I'm glad you enjoy the content 😊 Since a lot of you guys said you enjoy these differences videos, make sure to check these ones out as well: ➤7 Everyday Differences That SURPRISED Me in the US ua-cam.com/video/tO1oaRuUp6w/v-deo.html ➤ What Germany Can LEARN from the US ua-cam.com/video/opig-EqWZIk/v-deo.html ➤ 6 Things the USA Can LEARN From Germany ua-cam.com/video/vps7-7X2J-U/v-deo.html ➤ "Are we exclusive?" - Dating Differences USA vs. GERMANY ua-cam.com/video/87lBJrD4EY8/v-deo.html ➤ SPORTS in the US vs. Germany ua-cam.com/video/EhwAaxudVKY/v-deo.html ➤ Americans and their SMALL TALK ua-cam.com/video/GM0oNLyfKL/v-deo.html ➤ USA vs. Germany - Three Biggest Differences ua-cam.com/video/ir13TXJUAU8/v-deo.html
Love your video! The first segment on how we write is exactly how we used to write here in the US over 25 years ago when I was in elementary school. Hell, we were forced to even write in cursive and still to this day I know how to write in cursive. Sadly today in America schools don’t teach cursive or proper history anymore.
I would like to see more things like this because the more I watch this video, is the more America used to be once upon a time.
I absolutely love learning about cultures, listening to you makes me enjoy it more. Btw I live in Ohio too.
@Charlton Jones I might cross a zero if writing computer code, but not normally. It can also confuse the Norse.
I was taught to write a 7 the way you do in German, I grew up in N.J., i now live in PA. and I find that people sometimes ask me about how I write a 7.
I was stationed in Germany during the 80's and lived off base and enjoyed it. think 99 luft baloons.
German: "Oh, born in 1994."
American: "The hell year is 'Iggy'?"
I'm gonna start saying I was born in the year iggy
That's right, I did the Iggy!
Another number thing that the wife does that kills me is the swapping of periods and commas. For instance, "99.994% true" would be "99,994%." this isn't just true of Germany, but many other countries.
I always heard there were lots of Germans in Cincinnati, but I rarely see them. In either occasion, there's gotta be more there than in Dayton 😂
@@Cheezus I was born almost 4 months after iggy
Iggy the cartoon? - lol
Americans: The german 9 looks like a g.
Also American 9:
Looks like a q.
Some (many?) Americans write 'q' with a rightward-pointing tail: www.bigactivities.com/printing/alphabet/lowercase/small_q.php
And some (but not everybody) write '9' with the down stroke angled leftward: www.clipart.email/download/6336123.html
I write my 9's like a q and m 1's like a l. I think it's prettier tbh
Haahhahaahah😂😂😂😂😂😂
Haha, that's what I thought 😆
True
This young woman is one of those special people that raises your mood listening to them. I bet even more so in person.
@paula A lot of girls are cute, but few are as positive and uplifting as she is. Andrei Jikh is the same way, super uplifting, and he isn't even a cute girl. Positivity is its own quality.
@Dan Gingerich Do you know what it is like to take a motion picture of yourself, looking directly at a video camera for however long it takes to film a video?
I've heard about differences between looking at a camera and looking at another person.
@ Michael Mercer you are bigoted idiot and obviously have traveled nowhere, especially Germany. Hitler and his Nazis fucked up Germany. Most of the world's best scientists came from Germany before, during, and after WWII. The people are harder to get to know at first, especially the guys, but since I am a guy I don't care about the men anyway. The women are wonderful and usually beautiful too, without so many of the usual hangups American women have, i.e. less B.S. and more real fun! It's true Germany is having problems with immigration which is a result of their openness. No junk cars or homes that I ever saw. We can all learn a lot from each other. Maybe you should try not making America Great Again by being a typical Trump bigoted asshole!!
Its the background music :-)
@@ronmeyer5907 he's obviously a troll. Don't feed trolls.
"Americans get together like groups of mosquitoes"
You flatter us, I'm brought to tears
I love that u Pointed out that we sing the word "tschüss" 😂
Refugees also seem to like this singing. "Tschüss" is the first German word with which refugees sound like locals when they say it. I have seen many refugees who liked to say it and enjoyed situations when they could say it.
That is so true! Lol, i always knew that the way to say tschüss without even thinking- it's true Americans don't typically sing bye and would think it is weird lol
German language teachers even teach it that way! I just realized that. I've said "tschüss" in a singy-songy way since day one, without even questioning it. I don't, however, sing "bye" or "chao".
Do natives also do it with "Auf Wiedersehen"
Immer😆
After Felicia mentioned how tshuss is "sung" instead of just "said" I noticed she sings many of her words. No wonder she is so enjoyable to listen to! :)
I’m American and I also hate tucked in sheets. The first thing I do when I go to a hotel is pull out the sheets from under the mattress
I've never met anyone who likes tucked in sheets. It's a hotel thing, not American thing.
I love how hotels make beds. It feels much better than loose sheets
i prefer tucked in sheets, but a loose comforter. i hate touching a bare mattress.
Yeah I’m also American and I’ve never met anyone else here in the states that sleeps like that
George Costanza doesn't like his sheets tucked in, either.
I'm American. And I can't stand having the bed sheets tucked into the mattress. That's a horrible way to sleep. It feels like you are being vacuum sealed. I'm German when it comes to this.
Yeah one of my wife biggest annoyances is when I crawl into bed and rip the sheets out of my side and wrap myself in the blanket. We actually have a king duvet on a queen bed because of it. I don't know why she puts up with me.
Hotels are the only times I ever experience this as a U.S. citizen. I’ll untuck the bed each time.
I agreed I hate it.
I never the tuck the sides in, I tuck the bottom of bed under to keep the sheets in place. Why would anyone want to be a sausage wrapped up in bed????
Same here. I feel too cold.
I loved your comment on, "how important it is to learn a foreign language from a Native speaker." So a pal and I took German in high school. He was acting up in class that day and ended up being ejected for the day. The teacher called his mother to discuss her actions. Well, his mother is from München and didn't come to America until the late 70's. The teacher was apparently speaking German to his mother as she cut the conversation short, and asked the instructor to speak in English as, "(She) couldn't understand what (the instructor) was saying. After the call, she looked at the both of us and said that we were to drop the class immediately as the instructor had no clue as to what she was doing.
Wow, that’s embarrassing for the instructor 😫
😂😂😂
Thats not good. So all the students she has taught actually failed that class.
German speakers in southern Germany have a different form of German. I have had two German students in my house that could not understand each other because one was from north Germany and the other from Bavaria. So, they used English!
@@gllhoukthe Bavarian kid could've EASILY switched to Hochdeutsch (high German) though😂 Even here in Austria, people speak both Austrian German and Hochdeutsch. I guess the kid was just trolling😂
Your accent is transforming into American
Achievement unlocked: Murica
Moon Soldier no it’s Erica
Murrca
Hell yea, where the guns at😎🤠
😂😂
@@dawg8655 that's when she starts expressing her American rights ... because she becomes american
I've noticed that American scientists, engineers and mathematicians tend to write 7 and z with a line through it to avoid confusion.
this is true. i wrote them that way and never though about it but i was raised by an architect...
As well as slashing a zero to differentiate it from an O and actually saying zero.
Yes, as a scientist I do both, I also put a curl at the bottom of a t, to differentiate from a +
I write my 7's and Z's with a line because I grew up seeing my family write them that way. Probably a little leftover byproduct of being descendents of german immigrants.
Certainly the crossed Z; I learned to do that in my first algebra class to keep Z and 2 from being confused. The crossed seven is less common, even among scientists, in my experience.
“Many Americans say that the German 9 looks like a g”.
*Proceeds to write a g*
Yh
Doesn't the "american" 9 look like a q ?
@@jeromextv yea, a lower case q usually loops to the right, just like a g but with an opposite swoop on the bottom when written out. Still, understandable comparison.
It’s also the difference between a descender on a lowercase q. And a 9 that has no descender.
Americans write it like a q.
Die Analogie mit dem Moskitoschwarm und dem Commitment im Freundeskreis war sehr treffend, hat mich auf jeden Fall zum Nachdenken gebracht lül
I think the “9” difference and the “7” difference is more generally European vs. US than specifically German
9 difference yes. 7 difference? Quite a bit of Americans actually put a line through the 7. It depends on the person though.
There's actually a decent amount of people who put the dash on their 7's. I do it as well as my chemistry teacher do it
I'm Swiss, and i do the 7 and one the American way because i'm lazy, but i do the 9 like an european. I udsally connect the Line of the g with the next letter.
"A Royal Navy commander crashed a nuclear-powered submarine into a large rock in the Red Sea after misreading a number one as seven on a navigational chart..."
www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/mar/15/submarine-crash-navy-court-martial
You see? That's why it makes sense to have a dash in the number 7 ;)
Most things she says are European things
They also dont use their thumb when signaling for 3 glasses, which may get them shot
TheOverlordTank I understood that reference.
Gang violence joke?
Geoffrey Inglorious Basterd’s reference.
@@suadela87 oh yea, great flick
Lost Hugo Shteeglitz getting into a scuffle for ordering drinks the wrong way. What a set up of circumstances for things to happen for that whole scene to go down 😂
I'm American and I can't stand tucking in the sheets! At hotels I always pull out the sheets!
Me too. I feel claustrophobic and my hips hurt if my feet are bounded by sheets and pulled downward. Ick.
I don’t make beds. I wash my bedding , but when I get up I leave it so I can lay down and swoop the blanket on the way I want
I just don't like making my bed. My thoughts are why make the bed when its gonna get messed up again when you sleep
So that's one tuck, and one no-tuck.
SAME
Hello Felicia! I recently found your channel and have been enjoying watching some of your videos. Thank you for having your videos captioned! As a Deaf viewer, I am truly appreciative of that and wish more UA-camrs would do the same with their videos.
Regarding your comments about hellos and goodbyes, how the American Deaf community do them is very similar to the German culture. We may be Americans but the way we operate our lives culturally is different from the rest of the American society. For both hellos and goodbyes, we hug every individual (except if the group is huge, then hugs are reserved for close, familiar friends/family). Our goodbyes tend to be drawn out. Sometimes, we would still be chatting an hour or two later after saying our first goodbyes. The Deaf American community humorously call it “Deaf Standard Time”.
Funny but true, this is an experience many Deaf Americans share: we often find ourselves the last ones to leave a restaurant as they close up. We would be chatting for hours, then when we suddenly notice that the restaurant is so quiet (or we start to see waitresses putting up the chairs) we would be asking one another, “Uh-oh, are they closing up?”
The reason American kids need a pencil, and it used to be only a #2 pencil, for exams is mostly because the exams are scored by machine on a scantron sheet.
Also pencil was required for math class.
I miss the smell of those scantrons lol
They use pencils until they become proficient.
They can then move on to crayons........
Jack Russell I guess I moved ahead, because I moved on to using my American fingers.
We also used pencil so it can be erased, on purpose, during an exam, until we are comfortable with the anwser.
Pens are used for all (non-mutiple choice) exams besides maths and sciences.
Omg, my grandma grew up in Germany and always "drags out" goodbyes. I had no idea that in Germany you say goodbye like that, it makes a lot more sense now lol
Plus, isn’t it nice that the Germans wrap up the conversation, recap the main points, and send greetings to your loved ones, each by name, and then tells you when you’ll talk or expect to see each other again, in specific times? LOL but I LOVE it !
Gotta Go! Bye.
hahah my grandma does this!!!
I'm German and I hate it when I say bye and the other person just won't let me go 😅
where I Grew up has a healthy German Population... and when leaving gatherings like a Family Holiday or a Church Social etc someone can state their intent to leave and still be within arms length of the door Half an hour Later we call this the "____ County Goodbye"...
- that said if it's a small group walking across campus (as per her example) and people peel off from one another it's more likely to be quick
What an impressive young woman. Amazing grasp of English and language in general - so bright and lovely. Gives me hope for humanity.
I’m Japanese and currently watching Spy x Family, ” a Germany-inspired anime. I was always wondering why people in the show say just their names(not hello or something) when picking up their phones, but now I understand it’s a part of German culture
I'm used to Germans picking up the phone with just "Ja?" actually :P.
SwordOfHeimdall same, or just „hallo?“
I see that just when people know who is calling, if they don't they use their names most of the times.
SwordOfHeimdall
When someone rings your doorbell, how do you answer that before pushing the button to open the door?
"Heimdall residence, the Sword speaking..."
Normally, this is how you answer the phone at your workplace.
But whoever calls your private number knows you and you simply don't have to introduce yourself on the phone.
(Same as with your doorbell being rang; people who do that know who they are calling on.)
This is actually the most common way to answer the phone nowadays. Since Telemarketing was quite a problem around 2010 (now legislation has improved telemarketing situation a lot), a lot of people don't answer the phone by name anymore.
Nah you say your name lol
Also, crossing Z and 7 is very common among scientists. Z is easily confused with 2 and 7 is sometime confused with a badly written 9.
Canadian here. I have a dutch dad and started crossing my 7s in high school, I think (for clarity in math). I studied mathematics at university and crossing z's came shortly thereafter. Also taught me to write x's in a more cursive way while printing (maybe to avoid confusion with cross products, etc.?)
Also, the shoes in the house thing is maybe more of a northern climate phenomenon. It is unusual in Canada to wear shoes in the house unless the host invites you to (and I still feel weird about walking on carpet with shoes). You get so much schmutz from outside when it snows that no amount of wiping your shoes could adequately dislodge.
Sometimes my S and 5 look similar.
I’ve always crossed my “z” and “7”. Growing up in NE, it was referred to as “French 7’s and Z’s.”
I do that too, copied my Aunt cause I thought it was easier to read.
Funnily enough she was born in Germany. 🤷♀️ didn't know that was a different habit, just thought it was nice.
For computer programming, and especially engineering and architectural drawings, more precise and distinctive lettering and numberings are also used in the U.S.
(American) I do the line through the 7 , however, I was taught the other way. However, I had a classmate who went to The Netherlands for a couple years. When he came back, I noticed the line he put through the 7. I liked it, and so I adopted the practice myself.
Ditto bro...
I got used to it after being stationed in Germany.
I sign papers writing my name in American English letters. Very hard to fake in Germany 😁💪🏻
1, 3, 8, and 9 are also a bit different in the Netherlands.
Likewise after returning from Indonesia--a former Dutch colony.
I laughed throughout this whole video as an American. Never even thought twice about most of this, but it's 100% true, especially the "hi" and "bye" things both socially (in person) and on the phone.
I always wonder why they are so rude saying hello or goodbye. It's very special.
Military guys in the US often answer their phones with their last name or even the last name and the base they are in. True story: years ago, I called Rome Air Center in NY for a project approval and blessing. Officer Pope answered with: "This is The Pope in Rome." 🤣
id totally do that to, just for shits and giggles..
@Taylor Turensky The evil telemarketers harass us on a daily basis from around the world calling on false pretenses and so I am not very polite anymore either. It has nothing to do with being in the South.
@Taylor Turensky What part of the south are you from?
@Taylor Turensky East Tennessee, in the Appalachian Mountains (CNF)
@Taylor Turensky No kidding.
I’m American, the only time I would have tucked sheets would be in hotels.
Be a rebel - untuck them!
@@angelafriedemann6722 Rebel is the American spirit :)
@@ivespoken8902 Only the Southern ;-)
@@victorbruant389 tell that to the British empire ;)
I never considered that when I say Tschüß, I'm singing it. But it's true. 😂
in Czech Republic we saying it normaly as čus, no singing :-D
In Hamburg und offenbar auch in München ;-)
ua-cam.com/video/Ver_hkIMASo/v-deo.html
Unser amerikanischer Austauschschüler hat mich darauf aufmerksam gemacht...mir war das nicht bewusst...und ich singe mit Hingabe..🙈😍
And thinking about it I adapted that to singing bye as well, never really thought about it.
I believe that Felicia also demonstrated another difference at 13:13 in the video when she shows the number three with her hand, using her thumb, index finger, and middle fingers (and her ring finger and pinky curled up). Americans typically show three fingers using their middle three fingers straightened while the thumb holds the curled pinky down. Quentin Tarantino fans might remember this difference playing a crucial part in the plot of one of his movies. Also, I would assume that German speakers use completely different terms for the names of the fingers, but that’s to be expected across languages. Thank you for another interesting video!
This is also what gave away the Americans in Fury when they went undercover. The soldier holds up his 3 fingers instead of a thumb and 2 fingers.
It's not completely different. In German it goes Daumen, Zeigefinger, Mittelfinger, Ringfinger, kleiner Finger. "Thumb" and "Daumen" both share the same Germanic etymology and as you can see the German words for middle finger and ring finger are exactly the same (just in German). Also, the word "index" in "index finger" comes from the Latin word "indico" shich means "to point out" while "Zeigefinger" literally means "pointing finger" so that's also similar in a way. The only finger where there's no similarity between German and English is the pinky finger. Germans just call that "kleiner Finger" which literally just means "small finger".
WHAT????!!! What American show three fingers the way its described above? Born and raised in New York City a long time ago. Thumb, index finger and middle finger is the ONLY way I can show the number 3. It hurts my fingers to try the other way. That method must be some weird Cincinnati or west coast way of displaying the number 3. This one always amuses the heck out of me.😀😀😀
@@johnmangan5729 A New Yorker calling someone else weird amuses me. In the half dozen states I have lived in, everyone uses the three fingers.
As an American, I was actually very surprised to find out that I've been sleeping the German way this entire time. I can see how tucking in might be comfortable but I've gotta cover up my whole body xD
American who sleeps the German way here, too! When under tucked-in sheets, I feel like I'm strapped down to a gurney! Also, I find that sheets with a blanket on top are not breathable, my body heat is overwhelmingly trapped under the sheets, and I overheat. I prefer to wrap myself up ideally in a knitted-yarn Afghan blanket. I stay warm, not sauna-hot, and it's breathable!
I’m american and i have never tucked myself in or been tucked in in my life
I’m honestly convinced the idea of tucking in is either an OLD thing or it only exists in the movies lol
Your story of saying hello reminds me of something my mother did. It's kind of long, but I hope a good story.
In the early 80's my mother had traced her ancestry to a small town in the Netherlands. She wrote to a woman in that town in the hope of getting help with research and this woman and my mother ended up becoming friends.
Not long after this she and her husband were making a business trip near to where we lived (In SF California) and they arranged for a visit.
It's important to understand what sort of person her husband was, imagine the stereotypical Dutch banker. Very serous, very straight, at least publicly. Once we got to know him he dropped the sham and turned into quite a likable person. But that was later.
My mother asked where they would be coming into the country. It was in Texas.
"Oh, do you speak the language?"
"Don't they speak English?"
"Oh, no. They speak Texan."
Now the Dutch banker was worried. His wife tried to assure him that my mother was just joking, they certainly spoke English in Texas. He said he didn't think my mother was joking as they didn't really know each other, but just before arrival in Texas his wife had him convinced they would indeed speak English.
They walked up to the customs officer who greeted them with "Howdy y'all"
Horrified that he had just encounter Texan, he asked the guy very slowly, "Do you speak English?"
Fast forward 4 years, (1986) and our family travels to visit their family (their kids were just a bit younger than my sister and I). One day the Dutch banker and my mother both had business at the bank. My mother had gotten some real Dutch wooden shoes (they still use(ed) them there) which she wore to walk to the bank. (That's another difference. Americans drive, even if they are just going around the block)
When they got to the bank several pairs of wooden shoes were lined up. My mother started taking hers off but the banker said that was not needed. "They are the shoes of farmers. See, they are all muddy." So mom kept the shoes on, walking into the bank.
The bank had marble floors and a vaulted ceiling, perfect for amplifying the sound of wooden shoes walking on the floor. It didn't take mom long to notice all activity had stopped as everyone stared at this creation who had the gall to walk into a bank with wooden shoes on. The banker was smiling at her and said, "That was for Texas."
this story is gold
@@GamingEntertainment12 Thank you.
Nice story, how did your mother reply?
@@chgarciaro Well, she is a very good sport. She thought it was a great trick.
OMG THAT WAS AWESOME!!!
Yes, caps on purpose!
I used to be more formal when answering the phone before the age of phone spamming. Now i answer the phone without announcing my name because if you're not a spammer you should know who you're calling.
If there is no caller ID I just say, "Hello.................too long" and hang up before the bot switches the call to a live person.
I still say my name as a way of confirming that they called the right number, or to confirm that the right person is on the phone.. because it could be someone else in the house taking the phone when it rings.
@@philobot3264 If someone doesn't know who I am before they call me, I feel like they dont need to know.
@@TheGreatFuckinWorm what if your daughter picks up your phone?
As a german you will likely never experience a spam call because they are forbidden by law.
Honestly using two blankets is so great if you share a bed, because your partner can‘t steal your blanket anymore. And the two mattresses is a cool thing if one of them likes a firm mattress and the other one prefers a softer one
one additional advantage of having two mattresses is that they are more stable over the years. if you buy a big one and cuddle, its unavoidable that theres a ditch in the middle someday :D ah and to cover the gap between two mattrasses, you can always put a topper over both of them.
@@IgorDellaPietra - and you have a problem with cuddling in the center?
@@tommissouri4871 no, thats why we have a topper ^^
Also if you have one big mattress and one can’t sleep and roll over the bed, the other person will feel it more than if the mattresses are separate.
Both mattresses are standard size 90 x 200 cm and can be used for a single bed as well.
When I was in school they taught us two ways to make a 4 and let us individually choose which to use; the way the kids showed you, and the triangular form.
I always used the triangular form because that's how the Fantastic Four do it. Until I had a temp job doing data coding where the other form was mandatory.
I'm a left handed person, so most of my life, my writing has been somewhat unreadable. That all changed when I learned calligraphy. Now, I write like a German
Look at the typed four..it is always typed as 4, closed top and never open. You will never see any American scientist or engineer ever use an open top 4. All drafting and engineering classes teach closed fours, i.e. 4. An open four is almost always used by undereducated people or elementary school teachers.
@@ronmeyer5907 Unlike the triangle-4, which is almost always used by Internet assholes.
@@wclark3196 And people who made it through elementary school where it was taught.
Ive never met anyone whos liked tucking in their sheets. And “tucking in” a kid in bed is “tucking” the blanket around the frame of the child, not the bed.
Carolina Estigarribia I REALLY like that haha
I love my sheets tucked in tight! I can slip in and out and barely have to make my bed!😂
@@emmyt9304
You would LOVE sleeping in an asylum.
They REALLY know how to tuck you in real tight...
Bruh when I was little my older sister would “tuck me in” by rolling me up in the blanket like a burrito😂
I love my bed tucked, your feet never slip out of the blanket 😁
What?! Tucked in sheets? If I sleep, I am like a burito, I need to wrap myself in my comforter.
Also, I wouldn't want to wear shoes any longer than I have to, freedom for my feet! Though if it's cold, I need my thick socks or Hausschuhe, because die sind schön warm.
I wear house shoes
I’m American and tucked in sheets are a creation of Satan.
Fakten meine Lieben Fakten
Wrapping up like a burrito is one American version of “tucked in”.
American here, and I am definitely one who has to have my sheets untucked! Ew! Can't MOVE when they're tucked in!
I'm an American and my husband and I have separate blankets. Only because I'm always cold and he sleeps warm. Easiest way to keep us both comfortable 👌
Same! My wife uses a ridiculously thick comforter. If it's pulled over me, I'm crawling out in the middle of the night overheated, gasping for air.
I really like your channel! I moved to the USA last week and as a Dutchie it's quite usefull to watch your videos!
The most terrible thing I see in american films: Shoes IN THE BED!!!! IN THE BED!!
Born in America and I can't stand that either. In movies, in games, in REAL LIFE...I simply can't!
Wait.. You don't sleep with your shoes on?? Lol
@@georgiawillis5787 Off course, but my feet don't touch my bed! They have to stay outside :-)
While I don't do it intentionally, I don't think much of it if I flop on my bed and I still have shoes on. My partner freaks out though, and one of my exes did also.
Yes this is a travesty!! I noticed that to. Not a Canadian thing that's for sure. Even if they are indoor shoes. Unless they are actual slippers
I started writing a "z"with a slash through it in high school while taking Algebra I. It was a must working in IT.
Yeah same with me
Had enough mixing your 2's and Z's?
@@vision-of-dog in my case yes
I started writing Z and 7 with lines through it in elementary school bc my dad told me to. Hes a engineer.
When I went to my math AP classes and college. I finally understood why he made me do it.
@@Andy-hi9do
Your dad, "he's" "an" engineer...
I grew up with being “tucked in” meaning laying on the bed with the blankets on top of you and someone tucks it in underneath you so that you are all warm and cozy. There are ways to do it on your own if no one is available or willing (for example being a single adult). I’m American by the way.
The way you as a German wrote the numeral four is close to an optional way Americans write four, except Americans extend both the verticle line and the oblique line so the lines meet at the Apex.
My Dad was from Germany moved to the US when he was 17, and never lost his accent. You have very little accent! BTW Your eyes are like hunter green soooo pretty!
I agree Adam. It's truly amazing beyond belief.
My ex completely lost his German accent - and it was funny to hear him speak German with an American accent
Hi, I'm from the Czech republic and the most of the things are actually very similar to the german way ! (The handwriting is usually individual, but the stuff about school is identical 😅.)
*Tschechien* is the German name for Czechia, the Czech Republic.
@@Cjnw cool! I actually knew that 😅. I am learning German for like one year already. Thanks. 😊
@@Cjnw And the Czech for Germany means "country of mute speakers" or so, right?
@@ayesha36 correct ;)
Same in Russia - very similar to the German way...
I'm American and I was born in 1995. I started school with grade 1 in 2001. I was taught how to write in cursive, even though it was not mandatory to use unless it was that specific lesson time. I kept using it, and it has presented me problems in today's American society. I have like 6 teachers in my family, so there is a HUGE influence to do things "proper." While people older than me generally have no issues reading my handwriting(my penmanship isn't the best), anyone my age or younger has a hard time reading what I write. I find this to be because they dismissed cursive as a relic of the past.
That's a shame. I learned cursive in elementary school back in the '70s. It's definitely handy if you're writing more than a few words. They really ought to still teach cursive in schools.
(But penmanship is important! Especially when writing in cursive, which is less forgiving than printing.)
@@Milesco Hell 75 years ago my mother taught us the cursive writing and when we started first grade, that was before kindegarten teacher was all upset that we had to learn to print first !!!! Then learn to write. mom just explained we were ahead of all the other dummies !! There was only 5 of us in the first grade in our remote rural countryside one room school and 13 kids in grade 1 to 8 !!
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Heh heh....kind of a similar story for me....
I, too, learned to read and write from an early age (from my mother, who was English), and she would write notes to me in cursive (and making matters worse, her handwriting was atrocious), but despite those challenges, I was still able to read her little notes to me...and when my classmates in kindergarten saw this, they were blown away! 😲 😄
The German habit of hugging everyone in the friend group sounds like absolute hell for anyone with social anxiety lmao
there is worse in some cultures: mandatory kiss on cheecks
"social anxiety" LOL
Good way to guarantee Covid 19.
you don‘t have friends when you have social anxiety, so don‘t worry, nobody is gonna hug you 🤷🏻♂️
@@shaclo1512 Well I do have social anxiety and I do have friend but I hate it wen they just hug me for like a minute, it makes me so uncomfortable 😂
When you are an American who had no idea that you have been writing like a German your whole life... 👀
My 2nd grade teacher was originally from Germany and she taught us to write numbers the German way...I thought it was normal until my grandma started freaking out when she saw me doing homework. She lived through WWll and said that's how Nazi's write heh.
@@Iampatrix 🤓
@@Iampatrix that's actually really funny. I wasn't aware we used cursive anymore. I havn't done anything but type or text since school. I don't think i actually own a pen.
This was great - My dad is from Munich, so this resonated with me. Though my numbers are more like the average American's, I tend to use the German style 7 and null, so as not to confuse 0 with O. I consciously made these choices as I grew up, I feel they are certainly obvious to any reader but do realize I'm weird. I believe also it's easy to confuse the German style 1 with the American 7 so I avoided it. Cheers
In Spanish, we wrote the numbers and the letters the same way in Germany with the exception of 1. I used to write Z and 7 the way Germans do. Not anymore.
Definitely do a second video! I'm an American and I hate wearing my shoes indoors and can't stand tucked in beds.
I live in Canada and the shoe thing applies here. Even in your own home on a daily basis, you usually have shoes you wear only inside. However, when you go to someone’s home for a dinner or something, you always take another pair of shoes or even house slippers with you and change in to them. If you are wearing socks, it is okay to take off your shoes and just go around in your socks. This habit is usually year round, but it is especially important in the winter when you wear snow boots.
I always find it interesting how people from all over the world live, and how it compares to how I live. You can learn a lot.
You make even the smallest facts interesting and have such enthusiasm for life. You've broaden my perspective on some of the cultural differences between the U.S. and Germany and because of your channel I met a really nice German woman on my last visit to Disney World and we discussed experiences in German vs America life. So thank you for all you share!
Since you mention Disney, it seems that Disney cartoon may have something to do with German as well as American culture.
These are cool things.
I can't stand having my sheets tucked into the bed. I pull them out and wrap myself up in the linen and blankets. The colder it is in the room, the better.
Also, growing up in a Latino culture, when you arrived at a family member's home, you went around and said hello to everyone.
I don't like the sheets tucked, either. It's too restrictive. I think this varies in the USA, but we mostly just tuck the sheets when we "make the bed" after we get up. I don't even do that. Why make the bed, when you just have to "un-make" it at night. If you're expecting company, then the bed should be made.
I hate having a sheets tucked in. I have a fear of confinement and I feel like I'm in a straight jacket.
It's always interesting to see how other people do things. Good video.
Another thing Americans do is say "I'm German" or "I'm Irish" when they are actually talking about their heritage
Not just that, but most of those people will be racist idiots who don't understand that germans and irish people were never considered white until years later when they could finally overcome the prejudice towards European races. That or they'll attach themselves to "european" identity without actually understanding how fucking stupid that sounds to anyone living in Europe.
@@Southboundpachyderm Or they'll make stupid definitive statements about entire populations who might say, I'm German or I'm Irish. Not everyone who says I'm German or I'm Irish is a racist, and not even MOST, you're an asshole, so do us all a favor and take a long walk of a short pier.
P00NM45T3RFL3XXX I don’t know that it is necessarily stupid to say that you are of European descent. Most Americans are a mix of different backgrounds. For example, it would not be uncommon for a person to have German, Swiss, Irish, and English roots. It would therefore be much more efficient to say in that case that you are of Western European descent.
@@Southboundpachyderm The only peoples That I know were not considered white were the Irish and the Italians not the Germans maybe i'm wrong
@RDE Lutherie it does depends where though in the U.S but usually we simplify things more I'd say
omg. The BYE part is so true. XD I also noticed “mmm-bye” and wondered why that is a thing (mmm-bop? mmm-bye? a softened, less angry “bye”?) hahaha ^^’
I miss the sing-songy TSCHÜSS, Tschüssi, Tschüssikowski... Even “Auf Wiederhör’n!” is kinda sung. I miss that. I’m gonna sing my goodbyes now. LOL
From Southern US here: while I can’t compare to Germans, you generally still don’t leave in the middle of most conversations, you typically end up still doing a more formal goodbye, though on college campuses this tends to be more like what you’re saying.
RedDragonShard Southern hospitality will definitely keep you another 20 minutes to say goodbye to everyone at a party
Yeah not so much in the north. It’s mostly just a goodbye and maybe quick hug to a friend closest to you
@@burkholder1992 In the North if the group of people are all very close to each other the goodbyes will be longer. I really don’t think that there are regional differences in the U.S. on how people say goodbye. Although many years ago I was with another friend visiting someone in the MidWest, we went to a bar and my friends acquaintance at the bar didn’t want us to leave. She was very sweet about it when she said “Are you sure you have to go now?”I didn’t expect that response from someone who I had just met at the time.
I'm so happy I stumbled across your UA-cam channel. My wife is 2nd generation German and many many things you talk about she also does. The house slippers, absolutely 100%, first thing she does when she comes home is shoes off, slippers on. The bed thing I completely relate too. We had quite a few fights about the bed when we were first married. She wraps herself in the blankets, like a burrito, takes all the covers 🤣🤣🤣. We did have to get separate blankets. I love her Germaness!!
I’m an American, most of my household take off their shoes when coming in. Except my father lol
I walk around the house barefoot, I don’t like socks all that much.
I'm too lazy to put them on
Same here! It is to keep the floors clean.
Walking only in Shorts in my hpousehold^^
to lazy for put on somthing^^
Unless, your yorkie tracks those goat head stickers in the house! The ones that feel like you stepped on broken glass or a sewing needle!
It's gotta be pretty cold for me to wear socks without "shoes." I own sheepskin ugg style boots, and two pairs of Birkenstocks. One pair of Gizeh for summer, and a pair of Arizona for the transition weather in Spring and Fall so that I can wear socks with them. The boots really only come out during snow and slush, that's it!
Danke Felicia. Great observations. Two thoughts as an American: I think the hello goodbye issue is relates to the American culture in general, we are usually better with hellos, and terrible with goodbyes, almost embarrassed not knowing what to do. And I think the younger the person the more it is problematic. Part of it has to do with generations of us trying to be cool. Warm farewells are NOT cool. One thing I know from European culture is that I prefer a real farewell. Because truthfully you never know when you'll see someone again.
Second observation. In Alaska the shoe rule is like Europe. That's because of mud, snow and rain. So everyone there has a mud room. (I had several German friends in Alaska.)
Mud Rooms are pretty standard in large swaths of America, Cities not so much
The “comforter” on beds is not tucked in on beds here in the South. If they do that up North, then that is most likely a regional thing (or personal preference).
It's a throw back to times where homes were not as well heated and insulated. It's supposed to help trap the heat in and keep your feet from poking out the bottom. Some folks still do it out of habit/custom. Even then, not all northerners in the U.S. tuck the comforter in on their bed.
tbirdpunk, like I said, it’s most likely a regional thing (or personal preference). 😉
The way I've always seen it done is to tuck in the sheets and lay the comforter over top. This is how every Hotel I've been in makes the bed, and that would be north and south US. Also I like and hate when the sheets are tucked in. It feels nice to have resistance, but I always push out the sheets for more leg room and ventilation.
Side note: When Americans refer to "tucking in" their child, that usually means they would tuck the comforter/ sheets around the child, not the bed. I remember when I was like 5, I called this "mummy style". :)
Agreed... at least 2 of her items, I think, would be different were she in a southern US community.
Lol it’s mixed by personal preference I think. Some people in my family do and others don’t. And I definitely know people down south who tuck in their sheets lol
Even though you have been living there for 8 years and you are german, your english is simply stunning! I came up with your videos to look for something to learn german and I ended up watching them to improve my english.
When it comes to answering landline phones most Americans will simply pick up the phone and say "Hello" A greeting like "Hello, Smith residence" usually only happened when someone had company and could not answer the phone at that moment and asked a guest if they could answer for them. That way the person on the other end of the line would know they called the right number even though they didn't recognize the voice that answered.
As an American child, at home we always answered just using our last name. "Johnson's"
I wish everyone would say that. I'm a telemarketer and it is so rude to let me go through the whole offer and then say "I'm not the homeowner and you'll have to talk to them " People, please be upfront right from the start. "Hello, Smith residents, I'm Sue the babysitter " That would be so thoughtful to the caller.
@@karlamackey4675 Well, those unsolicited calls are pretty rude themselves. As soon as I know you are a telemarketer, I will simply hang up without saying a word, and block your number. If it is a number I don't recognize and no voicemail is left, I block as well.
@@nowthatsjustducky You do know that the significant majority of telemarketers spoof numbers these days and that number you blocked probably is invalid or some random person they decided to use the phone number of. Usually they use your exchange your first 3 digits - random next 4.
@@karlamackey4675 Telemarketers are one of the reasons I don't say my name when picking up the phone. You have no business calling me and you're not welcome. Unsolicited marketing calls are actually illegal in my country.
The handwriting thing is interesting, my father is German and when I was taught my penmanship growing up, his habits of writing were passed down to me and I tend to find your German tendencies on z, 7, 1, and 4 to be the same as mine. I also tend to use cursive capital letters
I'm American, so I could be completely wrong; but I think it has to do with over the course of years German has changed in a bunch of different ways or maybe it has to do with dialects. I don't actually really know so don't just believe this, do some research.
@@sedrickbragdon1133
The way Germans write letters and numbers has absolutely nothing to di with dialects, sorry.
Dialects are NOT a school subject and the officially used German is the High German taught in schools.
Maybe your research should lead you into the direction as to why in only barely 200 and some years Americans way of writing has become so different from the way all their European ancestor's have been writing for centuries...
@@sedrickbragdon1133 I'm from Austria, we write the same way as her.
Omg yes the 1 7 difference! I once stayed at a hostel in München and returned to the front desk at least twice because I thought the key card wasn‘t working. Turned out I was just at the wrong room because the 1 looked like a 7 to me. 🙃
I work for a state and process and interview people. Some come from other countries and fill our those paper applications and some people in Asian like to put their numbers very curly. And I even ran across a German American who wrote her numbers the German way. I actually write my 7s like she did but I was confused on the 1s until a quick search of her state ID showed her address.
After living 20 years abroad Germany I still pull out the sheets wherever I go!
4:30 when I was in school we not only had to use a pencil, we specifically had to use a #2 pencil.
The exams were set up to be read by computer, and we had to fill in little circles so the computer could read it.
I think it was called "scantron." it seems everything in the 80's was something "tron"
Even a movie was called "Tron"
Haha oh yeah! Different pencils for different things! Same as here in Australia.
Most college classes still use the Scantron machine. It saves the professor time on grading.
@@gregoryk.9815 At least I remembered the name correctly. Hard to believe they use the same system without updating it in 35 years.
@@erictaylor5462 nope infact they are the original machines bought in the 80's my college has started to print the cards themselves because they are unavailable anymore.
@@gregoryk.9815 Where do you go to school? What are you paying for tuition?
I'm an older American, and I was taught to write cursive the old style (more like the writing on the U.S. Constitution)! I write a 1 as you described the "American" way, just a vertical line down (most Americans don''t know what to make of the number 1 with the long curving line going up, before the down-stroke). A number "7" will have a short line down a the top left of the horizontal line, and the line going down isn't really straight, but curves a little to the left midway down. I write the "Z" just like that - no line in the center. Having lived in many other countries, I recognize the different ways of writing both letters and numbers. One of the hardest things to be aware of is the exchanging the . (period) with a , (comma) in prices and larger numbers: 7.000.400 (European) vs. 7,000,400 (American) and $1,50 (Euro.) vs. $1.50 (Am.) That would be in Part 2!
I don't care about the sheets tucked in, or out, but I think that with them tucked in, it provides a great sense of "security" - and it's what parents did to their children at night - to make sure they didn't fall out of their beds! So, I do like my sheets tucked in for that "feeling of security".
Living in South America, I learned to greet everyone when entering a room - the women with an "air kiss" to the cheek, while as a male, I'd shake men's hands. Only between very good friends would you find men giving a kiss in greeting and in saying "Good-bye"! When leaving I made sure to go to every person to say good-bye, doing the same thing as in greeting - air kiss by the cheek for women, and a simple hand-shake for men. When I returned to the U.S., it was hard (at first) to stop myself from stepping forward to give a kiss to a woman. . . they's always step back, with a look like, "What are you doing?!" on their faces! I quickly unlearned that!!
My family takes off their shoes at the door, and we wear socks, or go barefoot, even in the winter.
A Part 2 would be welcome!! You're great behind the camera, and your American accent & mannerisms are Perfect! Keep up the great work - you should look for work in the film/News industry!
Not German, but I did learn that the French make their 7s with the line through it like that. I figured it was because of how 1s can sometimes be made, to avoid confusion, but I've never seen one with that long of a curve at the start. It almost looks like a capital A. I kind of wanted to make my 1s and 7s like that, but people got confused, so I stopped.
There's also the way they exchange periods and commas in numbers -- confused the crap out of me the first time I saw it.
Your pronunciation is great.
Feli, I have German ancestry from Bavaria on my father side so it’s fun to watch your videos. I never tuck in the sheets in my bed-I feel confined when I do and I always take my shoes off and wear slippers when I’m in the house. Must be my German ancestry.
Thanks so much for your videos.
Brent
As a computer programmer, I was taught to draw a line through my sevens to make sure that people who typed in my code didn't mistake it for a one.
I don't give out my name when I answer the phone because I figure if the person knows who they're calling, they'll know who they're talking to, but if they don't know who they're calling, they don't need to know my name till I found out what they want. I have had people say, "Who is this?" and I say, "Whom were you trying to reach?"
When I get asked who is this I ask well who am I speaking with unless I know the voice. A couple of times people that have called me got offended because I asked them before answering so I hang up on them. Anyone that was trying to get in contact with me wouldn’t get frustrated that easily.
don't forget the line through the zero. It makes clear that it is a zero and not a capital "O" (letter) in an alphanumeric string.
@@marc68521 I've always been taught that whenever calling someone, its polite to introduce yourself first and then ask for the person you're trying to reach
Everyone I know expect you to say bye when leaving a social gathering. If you don’t, when people notice you left, they will comment on your not saying goodbye. You don’t have to say it to everyone, but you do have to hit the key people, such as the host/hostess.
Yes, in Germany it is common to go to everyone.
Most people I know, including me, just leave when they get ready to go. No one cares, it's not like we are leaving the country.
Having friends from other cultures makes me more creative. In fresh ways about space and how people create their own world and environment. It is best way to connect between creative thinking and cross-cultural relationships😘🤗😁
I’m am loving learning about German culture. I’m American and really don’t know that much, so thanks for sharing😊.
With regards to saying “bye”, I feel like if it’s someone I’m not that close with I go through the speel of “well it was nice talking to you, we’ll have to make plans to see each other” instead of just saying “bye”. Perhaps the difference is because Germans are more formal with people in general where as that’s how I am with people I’m not as close with.
With regards to hellos and goodbyes and walking as a group, I honestly wish American society was more like German culture. It seems like I’d feel much more connected with other people if they actually took the time to say hello to me directly. You call Americans more individualistic but I feel like a better term is more isolated, which I think comes from feeling insecure or self absorption 🤷♀️. It makes me wonder how suicide rates in Germany compare to America because so many Americans feel like they don’t fit in and are lonely and it seems like Germans being more connected with each other would help prevent that.
Regarding your question about suicide: For 2019 the German suicide rate per 100,000 population was 12.3, for the US it was 16.1. Those numbers vary by state, though, both for Germany and the US.
I don't know the reason(s) for the difference, though, but I would guess that that topic is rather complex and can't be attributed to one single cause.
We don't wear shoes in my house. Saying that, there is absolutely no way I am wearing guest slippers in someone's elses house, that grosses me out completely.
As a German, wearing guest slippers was requested of me a lot when I was a kid visiting friends and it completely grossed me out already then. I mean, those things have been worn by every other guest and you wouldn't share your normal shoes with strangers...
LOL. I went to Selb ( a German town near Czechia) and wore the Hausschuhe, and by the time we were leaving, had forgotten I had them on They were more comfortable and fit better than my own shoes. To think I would have missed out on the BEST shoe experience of my life if I had been as squeamish as you are :))
@@Teufelspentagramm
Agree 100%.
@@robinbirdj743
Feet are nasty, including my own. My daughter's feet are the only ones I can tolerate.
@@edwardfala7723 that's a fairly creepy comment...
I am so glad I discovered your videos, which I have enjoyed immensely. Not only is your presentation so positive, upbeat and joyful, but the information you provide is truly amazing. I am a senior citizen of 77 and I lived in Germany for three years back in the late 1970's (during my military service), and your videos have pleasantly reminded me of my life in Germany. Thanks!
As an American, I hate tucking in the sheets. My wife tucks her side, I leave mine untucked!
Don't you use a duvet? I didn't learn about those until I went to Germany.
I hate tucked in sheets, they make me feel like I'm in a straight jacket. I have a fear of confinement.
I hate the feeling of tucked sheets too! First thing I do when I check into a hotel room is pull the sheets out 😛
I actually switched to a duvet + duvet cover when I was living in apartments. It was so much easier to just wash the duvet cover instead of the entire comforter.
Continue to write your "4" the way you learned. I've seen all variants when it comes to the number 4. The horizontal lines through letters and numbers is fine too. I've seen many people do it like that also.
Agreed. Both "4s" written in this video are legible in the US, as well as writing it the way it looks in this UA-cam comment lol. I write mine the "German" way, and I've lived in the US all my life. Probably the only reason the kids complained is that we are taught to write a very specific way and that clashed with their lessons, but as we grow up we choose the writing styles we like best.
@@sarahmitchell7799 Yep! I was taught American writing (I was born here.) but my mom's side we have a very close relation still to our german roots (1/4 German for me, my mom and her parents are all 1/2) and because of that, I've picked up a lot of German writing. For instance, I like the lines on the 7 and the Z.
Yeah the only ones that would be confusing will be the 1 and the 9. I mean with enough numbers I might be able to figure it out or with context but individually I would have never know that without this video.
Gabriel Perez I usually do a horizontal line through my Zs & always do through my 7s. When I was in like, 4th & 5th grade, I started making my 7s really artistically, with a curly tail & pronounced swoop into the horizontal part of the 7. My teachers absolutely hated it & told my parents about it at parent/teacher conferences once. They made me cut it out🤣
When I took German language in High School, they taught us to make 7 & Z the way you showed here. I still do that to this day.
Hanging up has always been awkward I always wait for the other person to hang up but sometimes they wait for me to hang up and I just never know...
It's allways interesting to hear about the differences between Germany and the U.S. Thanks for this video - like to hear more about it.
I've lived in the US all my life and have always hated tucked in sheets! I don't wear street shoes inside. I think "hellos and goodbyes" have changed greatly over the years. They are much more abbreviated than they were when I was a child. Some of those things like greeting and goodbyes have great regional differences.
Peggy Rogers, Another American here who agrees 100 percent! Also this is pretty much the way we used to write !
6:53 when they’re saying “Bye Felicia” they mean something entirely different.
😭
lmao
Didn't get it. 😟
vitali it’s an American slang term among young adults. See the movie “Straight Outta Compton.” The phrase is meant to be used abruptly/dismissively as in the darkly funny scene in the movie.
Francisco d’Anconia and in the movie Friday
I did grammar school in Untergrombach, pretty much permanently had blue fingers from my Pelican pen! I think I’m the only one I ever see still take notes with my Rotring fountain pen at meetings. As far as numbers go, we had a small hook at the top of the seven also. Biggest number related thing for me is the difference between addition, subtraction, multiplication and division symbols! For me they were totally different and when I came to the US mid year in 3rd grade we had test on the first day I had long been doing multiplication and division, so it never occurred to me the test could possibly be for addition and subtraction... so I solved every addition as a multiplication and every subtraction as a division... that was traumatic to this day ;-)
I write the 4 with a closed top, like printing. Incidentally, we use the term "handwriting" only for cursive; what you are calling handwriting is what we call printing as distinguished from writing.
That must be regional. Handwriting to my American ears can refer to print and cursive
I cringe when repairmen and friends wear their shoes inside my house especially when it's raining.
don't know about the repairmen but you can tell your friends to take them off before entering the house... I even have some "guest slippers" for this. I place them infront of their feet and ask them to take the shoes off.. I think the repairmen have sometimes shoes on because of savety reasons, so I wouldnt ask them.
Don't you have a welcome mat outside your entry door?🙄 It's impolite to ask an American to remove their shoes before entering your house.
@@philobot3264 guest slippers? That's disgusting. I wouldn't put them on. I'd just wipe my shoes on your welcome mat.
@@GeorgeNadaYT there's nothing disgusting about it since they are made out of a soft plastic material. If they were made of something like cotton or wool I would understand you.. all the sweat and stuff.. but the plastic slippers are easily cleaned and disinfected. Nothing to be disgusted about. And yes they are still comfy.
@@GeorgeNadaYT so uhm... you can easily wash the guest slippers. You can also just take your shoes off and wear your socks, it's just common courtesy to not dirty another person's home. You are not obliged to wear slippers, they are usually just offered so your feet don't get cold.
A lot of Germans won't say anything if you leave your shoes on though as they don't want to be (as) rude (as the person stomping into their home with their street shoes).
I just had to explain to my daughters yesterday about fountain pens. I went to a German school here in the US, and we were required to use fountain pens, so I still use them. As for the shoes, I go to other people's homes for work, and the first thing I do is take off my shoes with people telling me I do not have to. :)
Very well done. A part 2 would be great.
Your English is better than most Americans! Your content is informative and fun. If that weren't enough you are totally adorable as well. Thanks a lot!
Hi Felicia, some notes:
1) Handwriting. First, the change in US handwriting is actually a recent thing. Cursive was taught and mandated through the early 1970's, but as the slide rule was done away with, so was the emphasis on cursive. Teachers demanded that students not write in cursive to make papers more readable. Also, it is a european, not just German habit to put slashes through numbers such as 7. As a manager at a petro chemical firm, I noticed employees not raised in the US had that habit.
2) Formailities. Again, I notice that it is a european and not just German thing. When I saw ABBA in 2010, I noticed that none of the band members came close to the edge of the stage. American performers go out of their way to touch hands with audience members. Some european bands do this. My grandmother, despite being born and raised in the US was raised in the old world tradition. You have to be formally introduced to talk to someone and even then you are not allowed any informalities until way down the line.
3) Phone-Americans that work in a strict corporate setting answer their home and business phone with their name while most Americans just say hello when they pick up their phone.
4. Wearing shoes inside-yeah-varies household to household, but I grew up in ranch country. A lot of things in ranch country can injure your feet-thorns, spiders, and scorpions (all 3 can get inside your home). You wear shoes at all times (unless showering or sleeping). Wearing sneakers, leather shoes, or boots as you exit the door is mandatory as snakes and coyotes are also a threat. You never wear sandals outside unless you are in an urban environment.
Great commentary, I concur
The crossed 7 and crossed Z is "continental Europe". All my professors from the UK wouldn't do it, and it drove us nuts, because in the hard sciences (Physics, Chem, etc) you always cross your 7s. (and Zs because otherwise they look like 2s)
Hmmm. I was born in the US in 1975 and had to learn cursive in the 1980s. I was required to use it on all school work until high school, so 1989. People don’t learn cursive anymore?
@@acegh0st Wow!! It is rare that a school district taught cursive so late into the 20th century.
acegh0st Not sure if they don’t learn it, but my niece and nephew couldn’t read our letters to them. And when asked to sign their first forms for college, didn’t know that there was a difference between and printed name and a signature. Our son went Catholic school. His cursive is beautiful but his print is atrocious.
Make a "Part 2". Include how German's (and most continental Europeans) count with their hands differently, like the number 2 uses the thumb in Germany but English and American cultures use the thumb last for the number 5. Perhaps there are other hand gestures that are different.
At 13:12-13:13 you can see Felicia gesture the number 3 with her thumb, index finger, and middle finger; Americans typically use the index, middle, and ring fingers.
@@DevynDuffyOriginal ua-cam.com/video/BDB_yCvuTlE/v-deo.html
@@wheelz8240 I was thinking of that scene when I saw Felicia's gesture!
I think it was in the movie Inglorious Basterds where they figured out the spy by the way they held up a number on their hand.
mighty quinn posted it above but here is a clearer version:
ua-cam.com/video/7LFtoz9sERo/v-deo.html
Hmm. I had no idea the my "7" was weird for Americans, as I've barely ever left here! I've always put the dash through it to help distinguish it from "1."
The slant and lack of serif on the bottom of a 7 tells it’s not a 1. But the line through helps at quick glance. I learned that from French friends.
It’s a personal choice for Americans. I don’t use it, doesn’t mean that no American does it. In fact, my aunt does it. Maybe it’s a generational thing. My aunt and dad did take German in school to be fair
Same. And I put the slash in the Z to distinguish from 2. I will also slash through the zero if it’s something that has 0 and O. All Americans know what both versions are.
What we found funny about German bedding was the wood down the middle of the mattress! We quickly got an American style mattress! Glad you like them better!
That middle wood is the absolute worst!!!
Omg the sleeping thing is so true. I hate when the sheets are tucked in. Especially in hotels when you have to untuck them again after they made your bed. 😅
i love being tucked in, i had no idea that was an american thing! im learning so much about my own culture.
For the numbers: I write my ones the “German” way but with the shorter lines. I also Write my sevens the “German” way. In the US you can write four either way but I mostly write it the American” way. I always write nine the “American way”
For the letters: I write Z the “German” way
The wall pencil sharpener is mostly in older buildings.
For the sleeping thing: I’ve never tucked my bed like that and I also put out the sheets/comforter at hotels
Every German writes their 1's with the shorter line, the longer line is just confusing. Like they tried to write a A and forgot the middle part. To don't mix the 9 and g -> 9 is written higher (and i write my g's with the last line crossing the right site in the middle).
Also eating out at restaurants. Last time I was in Koeln we went out to eat, and it's like they expected us to just sit at the table and converse for like 2 hours when were done. I was finally thinking "Can we go now?" LOL
It is considered very rude to not take off your shoes when entering someones house or flat in Germany
Even in India
rightfully so, I don't wanna have to clean up my place every time visitors come in with their muddy ass shoes :D or even just dusty shoes in summer. It's obviously a cultural thing, so whatever, but it's also so ... odd. If someone I invited for an evening of Netflix keeps his shoes on I wanna ask: sooo, you have to leave for something on short notice? :D It's like wearing a outdoor jacket for diner.
Some Germans would MAYBE even assume you think their home is too dirty for you to walk around on socks, which SOME COULD possibly take for an low-key insult :D
Love the description of Americans as hi-bye mosquito-swarms. Everyone is super kind and talkative but the way they just run away from you all of the sudden, during my time as an exchange student I could never get used to that haha. I also noticed a certain rush to go home after plays and concerts that always confused me.
The rush is to beat the traffic
@@evanholman9703 Yeah it's the craziest thing. You go to an event and leave 3/4 of the way through to "beat the traffic" lol.
Saying “bye Felecia” in America is probably even ruder than you think.
Normie
Technically "Bye Felisha." (That's how the character's name was spelled in the movie.)
😂
😂😂😂😂😂
Lol 😂