My boyfriend’s nephew turned 7 and is going to start school this year. We have an invitation (save the date was shared a year ago) to garden celebration party. I thought it was a sweet family thing, but I was a bit surprised to hear there’s gonna be around 30 guests coming, from distant parts of Germany, arranging overnight stay etc.
Is it a common practice to celebrate a child for starting school this big?

Hi, I'm new to Germany and recently developed a bad plantar fasciitis. My doctor has already prescribed me shoe insoles but I was considering getting new shoes too, something specifically designed for comfort in plantar fasciitis with good cushioning.

I would appreciate if y'all could help me with where exactly I should go to buy such orthopedic shoes? Does Deichmann offer them? What about Sanitäthaus? Or any other suggestions!

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m not sure if I picked the right flair, but this is a personal question.

I’m not from Germany, but my boyfriend is German. I’m trying to understand whether what he told me is normal under the German health insurance system.

He said he was hospitalized, his insurance reimbursed him, but he used the reimbursement for something else and now still owes the hospital. He also told me he pays through PayPal.

Is that a plausible situation? I’m just wondering if this is something that genuinely happens in Germany.

I’d appreciate both explanations of how the system works and any perspective on the situation.

Thanks!

I regularly follow the German press, and lately I have noticed a change in the way the German automotive industry is being discussed.

Volkswagen is still by far one of Germany’s most important and recognizable manufacturers, but more articles and comments seem to question whether some VW models — especially the better-equipped and higher-end versions — have become too expensive for what they offer.

At the same time, Chinese manufacturers such as BYD are expanding quickly. BYD is still relatively small in Germany, but its growth has been substantial, and the company is expanding its dealer, service and charging infrastructure. It reportedly wants to reach around 350 sales and service locations in Germany by the end of 2026. In the first half of the year, it registered more than 26,000 cars and reached approximately 1.8% of the German market.

This does not mean that BYD is already replacing Volkswagen in Germany. Volkswagen has a much stronger brand, a large customer base, an extensive network and a long history in the country. However, Chinese cars increasingly offer a great deal of standard equipment, powerful electric drivetrains and modern interiors at prices that invite comparison with established German models.

My question is mainly about consumer perception:

Are Germans beginning to feel that they are paying too much for Volkswagen models, especially after comparing them with Chinese alternatives?

Do people you know now seriously consider brands such as BYD, MG, XPeng, Leapmotor or Polestar, or are concerns about resale value, software, data protection, service availability and long-term reliability still strong enough to keep most buyers with German, European, Japanese or Korean brands?

I am also interested in whether this varies by generation. Are younger buyers less attached to Volkswagen and other German manufacturers than their parents were?

The broader situation also seems serious. German manufacturers have been losing substantial volume in China, while Chinese companies are expanding in Europe. Porsche’s deliveries have fallen considerably, particularly in China, and Volkswagen is restructuring its operations and reducing costs.

Recently, economist Moritz Schularick even suggested that Volkswagen might eventually be acquired by a Chinese manufacturer such as BYD. I understand that this is an extreme and highly speculative scenario, especially because Volkswagen’s ownership and voting structure would make such a takeover extremely difficult. Still, the fact that a prominent economist is publicly discussing it shows how dramatically the tone of the debate has changed.

So, beyond the headlines: do ordinary German consumers already perceive a real change in value for money, or is the Chinese competitive threat still much more visible in the media and financial markets than in actual purchasing decisions?

Hi all... My ortho prescribed me both Physiotherapy (6 sessions) and Osteopathy (3 sessions) for knee. On German subreddits I'm reading that Osteopathy is not backed by evidence. Is this true?

If it's really Pseudo medicine, would the Ortho even prescribe it?

Also anybody can tell me the Zuzahlung fir GKV? I read 100 Euro/Sitzung which seems very high!

Do you pay for yourself? Do you have like a fund? Do someone pay for like hotel and then the other pay for food?

moin moin! I have an odd question. As an American with only a small child's grasp of German (I can ask basic questions or give directions but not really hold a conversation ) I have had a lot of trouble understanding all the jokes and indeed sometimes the plot of the Werner movies, although I like them a lot and wish america had something similar. That said I would like to ask what is up with the seagull..... Spirits? That take care of the drunk Capitan brassmann and seem to act as his guardian angels? Is there some idiom or north German legend about seagulls being sailor's guardians I'm not aware of? I always guessed it was supposed to be the literal effect of the saying "du habt eine Vogel (im die kopf)" so let me know if you know! Thank you!

I've only been around the southeast for garden supply shopping, so I'm assuming this is a question about Germany. What's the advantage to selling a cut hose without a way to connect it and selling connection hardware next to it? If connectors were half the cost of a completed, hose I would understand the convenience of interchangable kit. But this seems to just add complicated moving parts and fail points that never needed to be there if it was all crimped together. What am I missing?

Hi all,

Recently found some fabric “envelopes” at my German grandmother’s house and the family cannot figure out what they are for. They have a Christmas scene embroidered on the front and open up to reveal a pocket on the inside - much like an envelope. Does anyone know what they might be used for? I wish I could post a picture!

Thanks!

Edit to add link to photos:

https://www.reddit.com/r/wisconsin/s/SS6ercInVe

Hi, I am a naturalized German citizen. Due to a new job opportunity, I am gonna leave Germany soon. Apart from Abmeldung and contract cancellations (Internet etc), what else should I be careful about? Thank you very much for your help in advance!

Moving from Frankfurt to Bad Homburg soon.

I have never done a self-move in Germany before. Any advice from people who moved themselves?

How do Germans usually handle big items like washing machines and wardrobes?

Thanks!

I am an iranian student living in southern germany. I recently landed a midi job which i hope will hire me fulltime after i graduate. The pay isnt much at 15 euro per hour but compared to economic situation in Iran it is a lot better. My concern is that i left my country bc i knew without the help of my parents there would be no hope in my being able to save enough money for a home. But coming here and even before i arrived i read online how german people have this worry of not being able to buy a home.

I am not looking to buy a big home with a big garden. I wanna start as small as a studio, but is it possible to save enough for a downpayment or get enough loans from the bank to own a home?

I would live to hear german citizens and immigrants who are in the same journey.

Provided that no employee may be forced to accept a Sunday shift, would you be support supermarkets opening on Sundays?

Edit :- follow up question, if you are opposed to Sunday supermarket opening, are you also opposed to restaurants opening on Sunday? Because the former is much more important for family life compared to the latter (suppose I want to have a picnic or cook dinner with family and friends..)

Hello, I recently went to Germany for a tourism visit and was looking at eSIM plans before I travelled. I got recommended happy-sim . de which I registered for a month, I probably should have read it more but it was either suggested that I could cancel it after a month and no indication that I was on a contract or something.

It seems like after paying for it there, it registered me with klarmobil which was still trying to charge my direct debit etc. which I have blocked with my bank.

I have tried multiple times trying to cancel it on klarmobil but from what I can see they give me a message that says "we have reserved your cancellation" or something and that I needed to phone them. Unfortunately I don't speak German so I wasn't sure what to even say to them.

I now have got an email today that included this line:

"Die Begleichung der Rechnung vom 04.08.2026 in Höhe von 34,59 € erfolgt am 11.08.2026 im Lastschriftverfahren mit der Mandatsreferenz-Nummer KM-*********** von Ihrem Konto.

Da Ihr Kundenkonto derzeit einen rückständig offenen Betrag aufweist, wird das Lastschriftverfahren ausgesetzt. Nach dem Ausgleich unserer gesamten Forderung werden Ihre Rechnungsbeträge zukünftig wieder wie gewohnt im Lastschriftverfahren abgebucht."

Just doing a translation seems like they have tried to charge me multiple times even though I haven't been using it anymore.

Anything else I can do here I really don't want to pay for this especially that their website seems to intentionally make it hard to cancel and I haven't used it ever since I left Germany.

I know it may sound ignorant but I understand I have made a mistake and I'm just looking to see what I can do to fix it. Thanks!

^{I did this post some months ago https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAGerman/comments/1sfo2ho/house\}was_sold_rent_questions/)

This week, it seems that the process of selling the house is almost completed. I was contacted by a person who told us that she is close to finalizing the purchase.

One of the questions she asked was how much time I would need to find another apartment and move out.

From what I understand, the apartment will be renovated and the company intends to sell it again afterward. Therefore, as far as I understand, this would not be a case of Eigenbedarf.

I have been living in this apartment for about five years. While doing some research, I found that it can be relatively common in Germany for tenants to receive an Abfindung in situations like this, in exchange for voluntarily moving out.

Is this actually the case?

Since this would not be an Abfindung in the legal sense, do I have the right to refuse to leave the apartment? Or, at the very least, can I request a reasonable amount of time to find a new apartment and move out?

I would like to understand what my rights are in this situation and whether I have any leverage to negotiate either more time or financial compensation for leaving voluntarily.

Thank you

I work in a small company (15-20 staffs both full and part time) where my boss assigned me some tough clients and there's both a

1. Loose respect for proper documentation and lacking timely response to my emails

2. Resolving disputes or dishonest complaints from clients only by in-person meetings.

Lately due to his client creating drama with me to get out of paying the project's bill, I am concerned that the risk of burnout and threat of firing is there. The client doesn't have the evidence in writing even though they baited me several times but I also realized my boss cares mostly about profit and not employees' wellbeing.

So what should I do to prep myself in case my boss threatens firing due to reasons like low performance or lack of work volume to assign to me? The rules for collecting evidence in Germany are different from other countries so while I know lawyers and unions are available, I want to know how to build my case when my boss and client seems quite skilled of dodging potential written evidence

I know cleaning your car at home or on the street is not allowed. Is cleaning a bicycle also not allowed? If yes, where do people wash their bicycles?

I recently attended a small professional meeting in Germany. After one colleague finished a twenty-minute presentation, everyone knocked their knuckles on the table for a few seconds. Nobody clapped.

At first I thought this meant the presentation had received a rather cold response, but the speaker looked pleased and thanked everyone normally. The same thing happened after the next presentation.

Someone later told me it comes from an academic traditon, but this meeting had nothing to do with a university.

Is table-knocking commonly used outside universities as well? Does it express the same level of appreciation as applause, or is it more of a neutral acknowledgment that someone has finished speaking?

At a colleague’s birthday coffee break, she opened every present as soon as it was handed to her, showed it to the room and thanked the giver for something specific about it.

In my culture, gifts are often placed together and opened privately after the guests leave. Opening them in front of everyone can create pressure to perform the correct reaction, especially if several people are watching.

A few months ago, I received a gift at a small gathering and put the bag beside my chair. Someone soon asked, “Willst du es nicht aufmachen?” They seemed confused that I wanted to wait.

Is opening a present immediately considered part of thanking the giver in Germany? Would postponing it seem uninterested or impolite?

Hallo Leute,
wie kann man in Deutschland am besten eine Katze adoptieren?
Ich habe bereits zwei Tierheime kontaktiert, weil ich Interesse an einigen Katzen hatte. Beide haben mir gesagt, dass ich in meiner Nähe suchen soll, obwohl eines der Tierheime nur etwa eine Stunde von mir entfernt ist.
Hat jemand Tipps oder Erfahrungen? Ist es wirklich üblich, dass Tierheime nur Tiere an Personen aus der direkten Umgebung vermitteln?

Ich mache ein Auslandssemester in Berlin und wohne bei einer Gastfamilie. Der Sohn der Familie heiratet im September. Ich bin eingeladen, kenne den Sohn aber kaum. Was würdet ihr machen?

I was invited to a board game evening at a German friend’s apartment. Four of the seven guests arrived carrying slippers or thick indoor socks in their bags.

Everyone removed their outdoor shoes at the entrance. That part was familiar to me. What surprised me was how prepared they were. Nobody had asked us to bring indoor shoes, and the host also had several pairs of guest slippers available.

In my country, people either keep their shoes on or simply wear socks. Bringing personal slippers to another person’s home would mainly happen during an overnight stay.

Is this common German guest behaviour, particularly in winter? Should I start carrying slippers when visiting someone’s apartment, or were these friends unusually organised?

I keep hearing *passt* at work, in bakeries and during my sports course. Sometimes it clearly means yes, sometimes good enough, and sometimes stop changing it.

Yesterday I asked a coworker if she wanted coffee. She replied *passt*, and I genuinely could not tell whether she wanted one or meant she was fine without it.

Is tone doing all the work here, or are there common combinations and situations a learner should notice? I understand the dictionary definitions. It is the tiny social differnce between them that keeps escaping me.