A guide to making small talk in Germany | Meet the Germans

It's often said that the Germans don't really 'do' small talk. But, as Rachel Stewart finds out in this week's episode of Meet the Germans, there are still a few tricks you can use to break the ice here in Germany.

Rachel Stewart is on a mission to investigate the quirks and idiosyncrasies of daily life in Germany. Every two weeks she explores a new topic - from beer to nudity to complicated grammar - and heads out to get some tips from the Germans themselves.

And don’t forget to comment with your own experiences!

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[steffen]

German here… its all true. Benzin kostet grad 1, 27, meine Wohnung ist 87qm groß / 12€ pro qm warm, meine Stadt hat 199000 Einwohner und ich liebe Stoßlüften. Wetter ist wie immer scheiße.

[rotoast]

"Und?"
"Muss."
"Top."
"Bei dir?"
"Läuft."
"Schick."
"Man sieht sich."
"Tschö."

[Krawurxus]

Guide to making small talk in Germany:

Don't.

[MrCagatorio]

when I moved to England from Germany and was searching for an apartment, I found it very annoying that almost no landlord or agency could tell me the exact measurements of their properties.

[eltfell]

How to open a really long conversation in Germany? Like this: "When I travelled with DB last time..."

[Juma]

When I first moved to Germany and was introduced to friend of a friend I made a faux-pas, one of many I would make in the learning phase. We were saying our goodbyes outside of a restaurant and as we left, she going one way, I the other, I said "see you later". In Canada its common to use this phrase. She stopped dead in her tracks and started to walk towards me. She thought she'd missed something because she was sure we hadn't made plans for later that night.

[TubersAndPotatoes]

Wow, German small talk is my kind of small talk. You're actually exchanging some useful information, instead of automated superficial niceties.

[hellagreen]

I had the shock of my life when I first discovered the 'kippen' option with a window here in Germany. I thought the window was falling in on me...I'm sure my neighbours heard me scream in fright.

[Lumiyearsagoedited]

German weather/ seasons in a nutshell:
Diese verdammte Kälte
Diese verdammten Pollen
Diese verdammte Hitze
Dieser verdammte Regen

[CFilmer]

Every start of a German conversation:
"Na?"
"Na?"

[Reskamo]

3:31 wait. Other countries don't have windows you can put "auf kipp"? How do they survive?

[caioronnau]

Had I not been to Germany I would have thought this was a comedy piece. But I have been there and know, in fact, that this is 100% factual

[dmora]

Norddeutschland's longest conversation...
-Moin!
Moin!
-Tschüss!
Tschüss!

[obiwanfisher]

Germany: 4 degrees celsius outside. Open all the windows every half an hour for "fresh air".

[qwerttzizzi]

0:35
Rachel: "They want facts, they want stastics"
Me:"I want your number"

[nordinator]

House size/Town population
200m²/720
160m²/12000
73.6m²/342000

[MickeyKnox]

Never understood the american/english kind to ask "How is it going?" and to don't expect a real answer to it - doesn't make sense. I mean, I neither ask a store clerk "How much is this?" and don't expect him to give me the price of the item. Don't ask if you don't want an answer.

[davidj]

there is literally a war between students if the window should be opened :D

[fabrilax]

When you want to end a long conversation where you are sitting down, you‘ll have to smash your hands on your thighs and say: „SO“. Very common thing 😂

[thorstens]

Of course you can have some Smalltalk with us. But then be just honest. Don't ask us "how is it going?" when you're actually don't wanna here it. That's it.