Cultural and Pragmatic Knowledge
Cultural and Pragmatic Knowledge tests whether your German fits the situation: how to address people, greet them, accept or decline an invitation, behave at work and in shops, and write in the right register. The grammar can be correct while the choice of du or Sie, or the timing of a greeting, still costs marks.
Core conventions
- Sie or du: use Sie with strangers, officials, teachers, older colleagues and service staff until the other person offers du. Use du with friends, family, children and informal groups. Address adults as Frau or Herr plus surname; do not use a first name without permission.
- Greetings: Guten Tag is neutral and safe; Guten Morgen until late morning; Guten Abend in the evening. Hallo is informal. Regional greetings include Grüß Gott in the south and Moin in the north. A handshake is common in business.
- Punctuality: arrive at the stated time for appointments, classes and private invitations. If you are delayed, call or message. For a dinner invitation at 19 Uhr, 19:00 is the expected arrival time, not 19:30.
- Invitations: accept or decline explicitly. Ich komme gern is a clear acceptance; Leider kann ich nicht is a clear refusal. For a dinner at someone's home, a small gift such as flowers, chocolate or wine is appropriate.
- Shopping and public life: many shops close on Sunday; cash is still widely used; bottles carry a Pfand deposit; waste is separated; quiet hours and Sunday quiet are respected.
- Birthdays: congratulate on the day, not in advance. Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag is standard.
- Formal messages: Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Müller, ... Mit freundlichen Grüßen. Informal: Liebe Anna, ... Viele Grüße.
Worked example
You must email your professor, Dr. Müller, to cancel a meeting. A suitable opening is: Sehr geehrte Frau Dr. Müller, leider kann ich am Montag nicht zum Termin kommen. Können wir einen neuen Termin vereinbaren? Mit freundlichen Grüßen. The address uses the formal title and surname; the request is polite; the closing is formal. Hallo Frau Müller is too casual, and Liebe Dr. Müller mixes an intimate adjective with a formal title.
Traps that cost marks
- Offering du or a first name to a professor, official or older colleague.
- Congratulating someone before the birthday; in German-speaking contexts this can be considered unlucky.
- Arriving noticeably late for an appointment or private invitation without notice.
- Treating Wie geht's? as a request for a medical report; a short Es geht mir gut is enough.
- Assuming Sunday shopping or card payment everywhere; carry cash and check hours.