The 7 Most Common Mistakes English Speakers Make in German (and How to Avoid Them)

Because English and German belong to the same Germanic language family, they share thousands of cognates: Hand, Finger, Ring, Haus, Name, trinken.

However, this close kinship is a double-edged sword. English speakers frequently rely on literal translations of English grammatical patterns and false cognates (falsche Freunde), leading to humorous or confusing misunderstandings.

Here are the 7 most frequent traps English speakers fall into and the native German solutions.

1. The False Friend: *Bekommen* vs. *Werden*

This is arguably the most famous error in German language acquisition:

• In German, bekommen means to receive / to get.
• In German, werden means to become / to get.

If you walk into a restaurant and announce to the waiter:

"Ich will ein Steak werden!"

You have just proudly declared: "I want to turn into a steak!"

The Correction:

• "Ich bekomme ein Steak, bitte." (I will receive/take a steak, please.)
• "Er will Arzt werden." (He wants to become a doctor.)

2. Using *Machen* for Everything (Instead of Specific Verbs)

In English, the verb "to make" is universally applied to dozens of activities: make a photo, make a decision, make a question. In German, relying exclusively on machen sounds unrefined and infantile.

3. Confusing *Wann*, *Wenn*, and *Als* (The Three "Whens")

English uses a single word—"when"—for questions, recurring events, and one-time past occurrences. German demands strict precision:

1. Wann: Exclusively for direct or indirect questions of time:

"Wann kommt der Zug an?" (When does the train arrive?)

1. Wenn: For present or future conditions (if/when) OR recurring past events (whenever):

"Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause." (If/when it rains, I stay home.)

"Immer wenn ich in Berlin war, aß ich Currywurst." (Whenever I was in Berlin, I ate currywurst.)

1. Als: Exclusively for a single, specific past event or time period:

"Als ich ein Kind war, wohnte ich in Maragua." (When I was a child, I lived in Maragua.)

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4. "I Am Cold" vs. *Mir ist kalt*

In English, temperature sensation is expressed with the verb "to be": "I am cold", "I am warm".

If you translate this literally into German:

"Ich bin kalt."

You are telling native speakers that your personality is emotionally frigid, aloof, and heartless—or that your corpse has lost body heat!

The Correction: Use Dative Impersonal Expressions

• "Mir ist kalt." (To me it is cold → I feel cold.)
• "Mir ist warm." (I feel warm.)
• "Mir ist langweilig." (I am bored. Saying "Ich bin langweilig" means you are a boring person!)

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5. Separable Verbs Forgotten at the End

German separable verbs (trennbare Verben) split in the present tense: the prefix detaches and flies to the absolute end of the sentence:

• Verb: aufstehen (to stand up / get up).
• English translation order: "I get up at 7 AM."
• German order: "Ich stehe um 7 Uhr auf."

If you forget the prefix auf, you have simply said "Ich stehe um 7 Uhr" (I stand at 7 AM), changing the entire meaning.

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6. Literal Preposition Translations

Prepositions rarely translate 1:1 between languages:

• Don't say: "Ich warte für dich." → Say: "Ich warte auf dich." (waiting for you)
• Don't say: "Ich bin interessiert in..." → Say: "Ich interessiere mich für..."
• Don't say: "Ich denke über dich." → Say: "Ich denke an dich." (thinking of you)

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7. Ignoring Verb Position 2 in Main Clauses

In English, you can place adverbs before the verb: "Yesterday I went to the store."

In German, the verb must stay in Position 2:

• Correct: "Gestern ging ich in den Laden."
• Incorrect: "Gestern ich ging..."

Keep these 7 distinctions in mind during your daily speaking drills, and you will instantly sound more authentic and natural!