What sounds like a harmless “how are you?” in France can feel like an existential questionnaire in Germany. In this episode, we unpack why Germans freeze, why French people don’t expect a real answer, and how one tiny phrase can derail an entire interaction before coffee.

This is not a language course, but if you’re trying to learn German or learn French, this is the kind of thing no textbook explains. Because understanding a language also means understanding when people don’t actually mean what they say.

We talk about small talk, politeness, and the unspoken social rules behind greetings in Germany and France. Why does “ça va” feel effortless in French, while “how are you” can feel uncomfortably personal in German? And why do cultural misunderstandings often start with good intentions?

Also in this episode:

• How many kisses are correct when greeting someone in France
• Which cheek you’re supposed to start with (and why getting it wrong is awkward)
• Why a hug can feel more intimate than kissing someone twice
• Why Germany has no greeting map — and France absolutely does

If you’re living between cultures, learning German, learning French, working in an international environment, or just curious about how language reflects mindset, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar.

Zero effort. Maximum confusion.

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instagram.com/alex.von.mydealz

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Five months ago, we started filming random videos during our lunch breaks mostly making fun of each other’s language skills.

The funny part:

One of us has been living in Germany for years.

The other one learned French in school for years.

And somehow… we’re still both pretty bad at it.

What started as a small experiment turned into something we didn’t expect at all. Within a few days, those videos reached millions of people across all social platforms.

Along the way, we realized we weren’t just talking about words. We were constantly bumping into cultural differences, habits, misunderstandings and also surprising similarities between Germany and France.

So, because we like to talk and because many of you actually asked us to go deeper, we decided to record this Episode Zero.

No big concept. No polished plan.

Literally zero effort.

We don’t know where this podcast will go yet. And that’s kind of the point.

We’ll keep exploring language, culture, and everyday life without taking ourselves too seriously.

In this first episode, we talk about three very German words:

– Feierabend

– Pflichtgefühl

– Pünktlichkeit

If you enjoy this project and want to support us, leaving a rating or subscribing on your favorite podcast app would help us a lot.

Thanks for being here.

Coline & Alex

Follow us for more

instagram.com/hellocoline

instagram.com/alex.von.mydealz

tiktok.com/@hellooco

tiktok.com/@alex.von.mydealz

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.