Oh Nein! 10 Commonly Misused German Words (by English Speakers)
A guide to some recurring mistakes made by German language learners
On the road to German fluency, or just starting out on the complicated road? Whatever level you may be, spend a moment to take stock of this list of some of the most common words which trip learners up along the way. How many of these did you know already?
10. Bekommen
It may initially look like ‘become’, but let me dash your hopes of such a simple translation back into English for this verb. Meaning ‘to receive’ or ‘to get’ in German, it’s an integral verb to learn at the beginning of your learning journey. One such situation you may find yourself often using it is in a restaurent e.g. “Könnte ich bitte einen Kaffee bekommen?” = “Can I get a coffee please?” ‘To become’, on the other hand, uses the verb ‘werden’; a similarly important verb which is also used to form the future tense.
