Tyskland forum < Are Germans rude??

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    There seems to be a misunderstanding of sorts. Thank yous and smiles are used in Germany, but not in the same way they are used in the US of A.

    So it is useless to state that this is "just basic social skills", "a simple concept", etc., as if we Germans were a bit dumb, but with some help, eventually we`ll learn how to behave properly (which for you seems to be "Anglo-Saxon").

    You will note that the more northerly and easterly you go in Europe, people will smile less often at strangers. You think the Germans are not courteous? Well, try Russia. If you smile too often at strangers there, they will think that you are soft in the head.
    But are Russians rude?? No, of course not. They just interact very differently.
    Same with Poles. They have, in my experience, very strict rules of public conduct and are (in general) much more formal than Germans. Not rude, but a bit standoffish.

    But back to the Germans. Yes, we are very, and often brutally, direct. No sugarcoating here. And yes, we are even proud of that.
    And it works both ways:

    Germans often think that Americans are insincere and that their smiles are fake, just because a positive attitude is the preferred mode of interaction.

    Much of what has been posted earlier is just a manifestation of classical cultural clash and has nothing to do with Germans, but much with being "Lost in Translation".

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