Just tried to explain the German Höflichkeitsformen as: "Okay, Mom, so, there are two ways of saying 'you' in German: du and Sie. You would use 'Sie' with people who are older than you, who have a higher rank than you, or who are strangers. You usually use 'du' with people who are the same rank as you, who are younger than you, or who are your friends. What's awkward at my school is that there is only one male English teacher at My Gymnasium, and he is the only one I Sie'd. When I met all of the other (female) teachers on my first day, I Sie'd them, but they told me to du them. Well, there was one teacher whom I didn't du, but she retired in January, so I would've felt weird du-ing her anyway."
Peinlich. The problem is that I didn't learn from that mistake: about 15 minutes later, I told my mom that I du one of my dad's German coworkers, too, since he has been a family friend for years.
And that is one reason why you should use 'duzen' and 'siezen' when referring to Höflichkeitsformen, even with non-speakers.
Peinlich. The problem is that I didn't learn from that mistake: about 15 minutes later, I told my mom that I du one of my dad's German coworkers, too, since he has been a family friend for years.
And that is one reason why you should use 'duzen' and 'siezen' when referring to Höflichkeitsformen, even with non-speakers.
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