My First Few Months – Talking About Colleagues in German

Okay, so, here I am. Six months in Berlin, working at ‘Sonnenlicht Designs’ – a small furniture company – and honestly, it’s been a rollercoaster. I’m getting there, but the language… the language is still a monster sometimes. Today I wanted to share something that’s been really tricky for me: talking about my colleagues and how we work together. It feels like a huge part of everything, and I keep stumbling over the basics.

The Personal Pronouns Problem

Let’s be real, the personal pronouns in German felt utterly baffling at first. ‘Ich,’ ‘du,’ ‘er,’ ‘sie,’ ‘es’… it’s like a whole new alphabet. And the way they change depending on who you’re talking to! I spent a whole morning completely misunderstanding a conversation about a project update because I used the wrong pronoun. It was mortifying.

The worst part is, it feels so intuitive in English, but German seems to have its own set of rules. I’ve been trying to fix this by just hearing how people use them, and slowly, I’m starting to get it.

A Typical Monday Morning – The Team Meeting

This morning, we had our weekly team meeting. We were discussing the progress on the ‘Alpenblum’ sofa design. My boss, Herr Schmidt, started by saying, “Guten Morgen, alle! Wie läuft es bei Ihnen?” (Good morning, everyone! How’s it going with you?)

I immediately wanted to respond with my update, but I froze. I knew I needed to use the correct pronoun. I mumbled, “Mir geht es gut, danke. Ich habe heute die Skizzen fertig gemacht.” (I’m doing well, thank you. I finished the sketches today.)

Later, during a discussion about Sarah’s input, Herr Schmidt asked, “Was meinst du, Sarah?” (What do you think, Sarah?) I totally blanked! I realized I’d been defaulting to ‘Sie’ (formal ‘you’) with everyone, and it’s so weird to use ‘du’ (informal ‘you’) with colleagues. It felt incredibly awkward, but I quickly corrected myself and said, “Ich denke, es ist eine gute Idee, Sarah.” (I think it’s a good idea, Sarah.)

Common Phrases – Building My Vocabulary

Here are some phrases I’ve been actively using, and that I’ve heard everyone else use:

• Wie geht es Ihnen? (How are you? – formal) – I always use this with Herr Schmidt and the other senior designers.
• Wie geht es dir? (How are you? – informal) – I’m trying to use this with Sarah and the younger team members. It feels a bit bolder, but I’m getting more comfortable with it.
• Was läuft bei Ihnen? (What’s going on with you? – formal) – A friendly way to ask about someone’s progress.
• Was läuft bei dir? (What’s going on with you? – informal) – Same as above, but for colleagues I’m closer to.
• Ich arbeite mit… (I work with…) – “Ich arbeite mit Thomas an diesem Projekt.” (I’m working with Thomas on this project.)

A Small Disaster – And How I Fixed It

Yesterday, I was explaining my design ideas to Markus, and I completely messed up. I was really enthusiastic, talking about how “die Farben sind wunderschön!” (the colors are beautiful!) and I instinctively said, “Ich finde sie schön!” (I think they’re beautiful!)

Markus looked at me strangely and said, “Sie sprechen immer so!” (You always say that!)

It hit me – I’d used ‘Sie’ again! I was so embarrassed. I quickly explained that I was still learning and that ‘ich finde sie schön’ is more common when talking about aesthetic preferences. He laughed it off and said, “Kein Problem!” (No problem!) but it was a good reminder to be more mindful.

My Biggest Lesson So Far

The most important thing I’m learning is that it’s okay to make mistakes. Everyone makes them, especially when learning a new language. The key is to pay attention, listen carefully, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. And, honestly, just keep using the pronouns! The more I practice, the more natural it will become. I’m also starting to notice how much more comfortable I feel when I use ‘du’ – it just feels… warmer, somehow.

Next time, I’m going to focus on learning more specific vocabulary related to the design process – things like ‘Prototyp,’ ‘Feedback,’ and ‘Iteration’. But for now, I’m just grateful for small victories, like correctly using ‘ich’ instead of ‘du’ most of the time! Vorwärts! (Forward!)