How Germans’ English language mistakes can help you learn German

For many people trying to learn German, one common frustration is that their learning process is hampered by Germans switching to speaking English. But sometimes, this can actually be an advantage.

Here are some frequent errors Germans make when speaking English and what they can teach us about German.

Mistake: I have lived here since five years.

This is one of the most common mistakes because, in German, the word seit is used to mean both "since" and "for." For example, Ich lebe in Berlin seit fünf Jahren means "I have lived here since five years ago" and "I have lived here for five years." In English, however, "since" is used for a specific starting point, and "for" is used for a duration.

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Pronunciation of the Letter “W”

One of the biggest giveaways that someone is German is their pronunciation of the letter "W" as "V" when speaking English. For example, they might say, "Could you pass me the vasser?" instead of "water."

Conversely, many English speakers struggle to correctly pronounce the letter "V" in German, which is more like the English "F." For instance, the German word Vogel (meaning "bird") should be pronounced "Fogel."

Mistake: I make my homework.

In German, the verb machen means both "make" and "do," which can confuse the poor German speaker when they're talking in English. For German learners, this mistake can help you to remember that machen covers more ground in German, while English distinguishes between "make" (creating something) and "do" (performing an action). 

Mistake: I go to the party tomorrow.

Germans often use the present tense along with a timeframe to indicate future actions, as in Ich gehe morgen zur Party, which in English would be "I will go to the party tomorrow". Use this mistake to help you remember that you don't always need to make things complicated by using the future tense when speaking in German as, often, the present tense works just as well. 

Mistake: Can you borrow me a pen?

The German verb leihen is one of the few examples where English is helpfully more specific. In English, we clearly distinguish between "borrow," which means to take something temporarily, and "lend," which means to give something temporarily. In German, leihen can mean both "borrow" and "lend", making the context of the sentence the key to determining the right meaning. 

Mistake: This is the book from my friend.

Germans often use structures like Das ist das Buch von meinem Freund, which translates directly to "This is the book from my friend." In English, however, it's more common to use possessive pronouns, saying "This is my friend's book" instead. Keep this common mistake in mind next time you're struggling to talk about ownership in German.

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Mistake: We need to finish this until Wednesday.

Germans often use "until" when they mean "by" when speaking in English. For example, Wir müssen das bis Mittwoch fertigstellen should translate to "We need to finish this by Wednesday," not "until Wednesday." The reason for this common mistake is that the word bis is used to mean both  "until" and "by". Another example of English being more precise than German!

Mistake: We see us tomorrow.

In German, uns ("us") is often used in contexts where English would use "each other." For example, Wir sehen uns morgen translates directly to "We see us tomorrow," but it should be "We will see each other tomorrow."