tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681228478487767268.post9035411532773564854..comments2023-10-30T15:46:46.518+01:00Comments on Living In Germany: You . . .Tamara Wheelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18002577904125516340noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681228478487767268.post-84890761559550453012007-10-20T18:01:00.000+02:002007-10-20T18:01:00.000+02:00I still have a problem with it too. I use 'du' mor...I still have a problem with it too. I use 'du' more than 'sie' because I usually speak German to people I know. I sometimes catch myself using 'du' when I'm in a shop or something and realise that I should have used 'sie'. I asked a German coworker if this would offend a German and she told me that it would it she did it since she's German, but since they can tell from my accent that I'm a foreigner, they probably wouldn't be.Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02997335550343515464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681228478487767268.post-50473840329267423152007-10-19T21:46:00.000+02:002007-10-19T21:46:00.000+02:00That clears it up for me!! Having a tiny little g...That clears it up for me!! Having a tiny little grasp of German didn't help me either...I never even used 'du' with my relatives! lol Thanks for clearing that up Tamara!!Jo Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11565024288380346703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681228478487767268.post-79859603258889322142007-10-19T16:25:00.000+02:002007-10-19T16:25:00.000+02:00The secretary at my work speaks to me in English b...The secretary at my work speaks to me in English but she still did this to me, only in English! She asked for permission to call me by first name, and said I could call her by first name. I think it's very ingrained for them that there is this Sie/du boundary that she even tried to put it up in English, where it doesn't exist. In most places in the US, we would have been on a first name basis from day one!<BR/>Among younger people you can just use du right away...at least that has been my experience.C N Heidelberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18055010902344874594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-681228478487767268.post-76491258883121995382007-10-19T08:05:00.000+02:002007-10-19T08:05:00.000+02:00Gardner's right, when they offer you their first n...Gardner's right, when they offer you their first name they're also offering you the "Du".<BR/><BR/>I agree that it's confusing, even to Germans. For the most part moms of kids the same age will say "Du" to each other, but every so often you'll find a mom that just doesn't fit in and call her "Sie". It's just awkward.<BR/><BR/>At work (I work at the post office) I've taken to saying Sie to all of my customers, to avoid offending anybody, which has resulted in my saying Sie to 15-year olds because they looked like adults :-) But I'm sure they were secretly flattered.Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368944216294511483noreply@blogger.com