Trying to move in Germany...

Nov 22, 2023 9:42 PM

Elgrandeburito

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74063

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928

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A friend of mine trying to move within germany and now learn the delucacy beauty of the german burucracy language

Is "lunacy" too strong of a term? Really, is it?

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 3

They really like their compound words

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

2 years ago | Likes 15 Dislikes 0

Meme Context: This woman was just being told she won the Nobel Prize.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Hey man, I had two years of German 1. German is like doing algebra in your head while talking.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

As a German: it indeed feels like that sometimes.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Reads like how you would spell the sound of starting rope start engine.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Then you’re doing it wrong. 🤔

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Gesundheit

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

WTF is Rent Debt?

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

If you skipped out on rent before or have outstanding debts to former landlords, that goes on your credit score. The credit score authority offers a certificate to prove you're above board and debt free. A careful landlord will always demand a tennant certificate before renting to someone with a sketchy job history, for example.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

According to my sister, who is fluent in German, the goal of German is to get the subject on the object as far apart from each other in a sentence as possible

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

She got that from Mark Twain. His essay on „The Awful German language.“ 🙂

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Österreich : Abmeldezettel, Anmeldezettel. They know where you live...

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

German: "Let's combine every word in a sentence into a gigantic unholy Franken-word!"

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Nah, it's simply one thing = one word. You need one certificate and the rest of the word specifies what kind, just like in English, we just don't put confusing spaces between the descriptors that may leave it open which parts belong to each other, like "first hand job experience" lol

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

That does seem like a much more logical method of doing things.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Ein Hurra auf die Logik!

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

The EU has recently decided to make an electronic wallet in order to help backward paper countries like Germany.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Scheisse!

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

German language is a bit like Lego.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Once again, words in German are not the same as other languages. When more than one word is used to describe a single object, the spaces in that word can be omitted. So while the word SEEMS confusing, it's actually a bunch of smaller words without the spaces between that we're used to.

2 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

Thank you for that little Fremdsprachkenntnisaufklärung.

2 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

And your Fremdsprachenkenntnisaufklärungsdank.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Be sure to send a Fremdsprachenkenntnisaufklärungsdankesschreiben.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

"Certificate of freedom from rent debt" as a term doesn't sound that much easier.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Isn't it Mietschuldenbefreiungsbescheinigung?

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Nope, Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung is correct. After all, its purpose is to confirm that you're free of rent debt - not to free you of rent debt, which is what your version would be doing. :)

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Guten Tag.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Abend aber ja

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

What's Deutsch for 'id'?

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Ausweis

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Lichtbildausweis, usually your Personalausweis or any government issued ID.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

"Perso" is the short form for Personalausweis

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I moved to Germany a few years ago. I still have to slow down to read road signs when I am driving.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 1

Welcome!

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

noch nie gehört ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Ich hab's zum ersten Mal gehört als ich vor ein paar Monaten angefangen habe, nach einer neuen Wohnung zu suchen. Musste selbst als Deutsche über das Wortungetüm schmunzeln..

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Hatte ich auch noch nicht, habs gegoogelt, gibts anscheinend wirklich :D

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

As someone who's somehow managed to learn German, the thing you have to realise is the German word is shorter than the English sentence.

2 years ago | Likes 265 Dislikes 2

Serious question; do Germans not utilise acronyms as much as English speakers?

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

The German word IS the sentence.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Not shorter than "Mother of God" though

2 years ago | Likes 40 Dislikes 0

Mutter Gottes

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

German words are literally just sentences that have sucked in their gut while the pretty girl walks past them.

2 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 1

I bet there's a German word for "the German word is shorter than the English sentence." :)

2 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

Effizienz

2 years ago | Likes 58 Dislikes 0

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Ok but what "the" do you use. :p

2 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

This is actually pretty simple! These compound words take the gender of whatever the last part of the word is, so bescheinigung. Also any word ending with suffix -ung is feminine, so your 'the' would be 'die' 😊

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Ha! I explained this to my Turkish husband only a few days ago. He’s always struggling with the articles.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

But only just.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Yes, but we don’t have to say all the words together in one breath.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 1

It'd sound pretty weird if you said "Rent Debt Freedom Certificate" with a breath in the middle of it.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

If it's 4 words or more, or, I guess, 3 long-ish words, we can make little breaks, ya know, accentuate and shit. So's not2 confuse 1another.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

And to register at the town hall you need to have a living room givers certificate (Wohnraumgeberbescheinigung) if you live rent based. I don't know about when you own something. I'm not that rich.

2 years ago | Likes 68 Dislikes 0

You only need the Wohnraumgeberbescheinigung if you're renting. If you buy property, that's registered in your property's permanent record, along with any mortgage at the city planning office. You will never escape the magnifying glass of the beauraucrat.^^

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

what is registering at the town hall?

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

If you move, even if it's within the same town, you have a 2 week window where you have to register your new address with the local town hall, or you incur a fine. We are fun like that. Like any person over 16 has to carry an ID card at all time and be ready to show it to a policeman upon request. That doesn't require any reason, they can just "papers, please" you. 🥰

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

German lawyer here: the last part is not completely true. You need to have an ID and you may be obliged to present it to an administrative agency upon request within a given time frame, but there's no law requiring you to carry it with you and show it to the police upon request.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Fair enough, that's technically true, but the cops can fuck with you if you don't have ID on you, like taking you to the station for identification or requiring you to come and present it during business hours. And that's if you're not in a situation that requires you to have it on you explicitely, like driving a motor vehicle, working in certain fields and so on.^^

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

While driving you need a driver's license which can also act as an id card.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Literally "rentdebtfreedomcertificate"

2 years ago | Likes 493 Dislikes 1

"There's a word in German for that!". No there isn't. It's literally just a sentence describing it with all the spaces taken out!

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

To be exact it says 'certificate of freedom from rent debt'

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 1

Except "meit" is rent and "bescheinigung" is certification, so a direct literal translation is how I had it. But thanks for participating.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

And we all just learned the difference between “translator” and “interpreter“

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

So it’s actually one syllable longer in English, but we just write it as several separate words with spaces between so it visually seems simpler to ppl who are used to languages that break up words like English does. Even though it’s longer in English.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

German here. It's true. Always keep in mind: These words really exist and they are totally normal here. Many germans would not comprehend why others think it could be funny for foreigners.

2 years ago | Likes 22 Dislikes 0

Does your phone have trouble keeping them as a single word when you dictate them? I have that trouble with Siri and Finnish.

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Because the foreigners - at least the Anglophones - say them in exaggeratedly harsh accents. That said, I can take a great many of these German compounds in stride, but a four-word one seems a bit much, doesn't it?

2 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

Yeah they really just took out the spaces and called it one word.

2 years ago | Likes 127 Dislikes 0

I wonder if anyone is allowed to do that to make new words or if you have to be a certified new word inventor

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Are you implying that 'Schulbus' isn't much more complex and difficult to understand than 'school bus'? How dare you?!

2 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

Yes, that's what compound words are. German do it, all the Scandinavian languages too. I fact, here in Sweden if someone puts spaces in what's supposed to be a compound word we call it English disease.

2 years ago | Likes 16 Dislikes 0

Only one word per thing.

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Like antibabypille

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

One word: "Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz" Any questions?

2 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

My German is not good, but I like learning it. So, rather than Google this I'm going to take a total guess based on the 10% of the word I can make out. It's some sort of law about what beef...wears? Packaging??

2 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Good guess. It's the "law for transferring the task of supervision for labeling the beef" by translation. It has 63 letters and was the longest word in German. There are now longer words.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Nevertheless we persist.

2 years ago | Likes 34 Dislikes 0

dochhaltenwirnicht

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Nichtsdestotrotz bestehen wir fort.

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Neverthelesswepersist.

2 years ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

2 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

The compound words are fine. It makes sense and is easy to understand. I really only have 6 problems with German.

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Der, Die, Das, Dem, Des, Den

2 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I thought you were going to say a 6wordlongword lol

2 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Thats the german language in a nutshell

2 years ago | Likes 58 Dislikes 0

I love how many things are kinda like pigs, or at least like pigs enough for german to use it as half its name.

2 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0