4 ms·

I find it funny that english sometimes uses german words. But "exfreund" actually implies a sexual relationship, just saying.

weinzierl 5y ago
Yup, as German native speaker I can confirm that. You wouldn't normally use the term for someone you haven't had a romantic relationship with.
- archduck 5y ago
  Do you feel like saying "ein Ex-Freund von mir" still carries this boyfriend connotation as opposed to "mein Ex-Freund"? The latter is clear to me, but I could see myself saying the former and thereby mistakenly suggesting a past relationship. (Non-native speaker.) On the other hand, it's clear that "eine Ex-Freundin von mir" means ex-girlfriend. Maybe I'll stick to "ehemaliger Freund" or just use "Kumpel" instead of Freund(-in) altogether. Otherwise people will think I've dated everyone I know.
  - weinzierl 5y ago
    "Do you feel like saying "ein Ex-Freund von mir" still carries this boyfriend connotation" Native-speaker, but I honestly cannot make my mind up about this. "The latter is clear to me, but I could see myself saying the former and thereby mistakenly suggesting a past relationship. (Non-native speaker.) On the other hand, it's clear that "eine Ex-Freundin von mir" means ex-girlfriend. Maybe I'll stick to "ehemaliger Freund" or just use "Kumpel" instead of Freund(-in) altogether. Otherwise people will think I've dated everyone I know." Hits the nail on the head. Your feeling of the language is excellent.
np- 5y ago
Fair trade for the German word for mobile phone: “handy”, which certainly has more than one meaning in English ;)
Torwald 5y ago
Why is that funny? Our own (German) culture is full of usage of english words. Wouldn't it be natural to assume that other people would likewise adopt foreign words?
- mlang23 5y ago
  Yeah, apparently it is natural that languages do that. I think german does too much of that, we're basically too lazy to figure out how to phrase things properly in german, so we just stick in a few english words. That feels different then what english does with words like "Kindergarten" and "Zeitgeist". But I guess I am too much on one side of the fence to see the similarities.
  - titanomachy 5y ago
    English is a highly recombinant language, it’s natural for English speakers to pull words from German or elsewhere rather than inventing new English words from scratch.

weinzierl 5y ago

Yup, as German native speaker I can confirm that. You wouldn't normally use the term for someone you haven't had a romantic relationship with.

archduck 5y ago
Do you feel like saying "ein Ex-Freund von mir" still carries this boyfriend connotation as opposed to "mein Ex-Freund"? The latter is clear to me, but I could see myself saying the former and thereby mistakenly suggesting a past relationship. (Non-native speaker.) On the other hand, it's clear that "eine Ex-Freundin von mir" means ex-girlfriend. Maybe I'll stick to "ehemaliger Freund" or just use "Kumpel" instead of Freund(-in) altogether. Otherwise people will think I've dated everyone I know.
- weinzierl 5y ago
  "Do you feel like saying "ein Ex-Freund von mir" still carries this boyfriend connotation" Native-speaker, but I honestly cannot make my mind up about this. "The latter is clear to me, but I could see myself saying the former and thereby mistakenly suggesting a past relationship. (Non-native speaker.) On the other hand, it's clear that "eine Ex-Freundin von mir" means ex-girlfriend. Maybe I'll stick to "ehemaliger Freund" or just use "Kumpel" instead of Freund(-in) altogether. Otherwise people will think I've dated everyone I know." Hits the nail on the head. Your feeling of the language is excellent.

np- 5y ago

Fair trade for the German word for mobile phone: “handy”, which certainly has more than one meaning in English ;)

Torwald 5y ago

Why is that funny? Our own (German) culture is full of usage of english words. Wouldn't it be natural to assume that other people would likewise adopt foreign words?

mlang23 5y ago
Yeah, apparently it is natural that languages do that. I think german does too much of that, we're basically too lazy to figure out how to phrase things properly in german, so we just stick in a few english words. That feels different then what english does with words like "Kindergarten" and "Zeitgeist". But I guess I am too much on one side of the fence to see the similarities.
- titanomachy 5y ago
  English is a highly recombinant language, it’s natural for English speakers to pull words from German or elsewhere rather than inventing new English words from scratch.