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Learning a new language feels a bit like walking through a minefield in the dark. One second you think you’re saying something totally normal about your dog, and the next, your German teacher is looking at you with a very confused expression. If you are prepping for your German A1 test, you’ve probably realized that German is a bit of a trickster. It loves to set traps for English speakers.
At Testizer, they see students hit the same walls over and over. It’s not that you aren’t smart. It’s just that German has some very specific quirks that don’t exist in English. To help you breeze through your exams and actually sound like a local, let’s break down the five most common vocabulary pitfalls and how to steer clear of them.
1. The “Become” vs “Bekomme” Trap
This is the ultimate classic mistake. In English, if you want to say you’re becoming a doctor, you use “become.” But in German, bekommen actually means “to get” or “to receive.” I once heard someone tell a waiter “Ich bekomme ein Steak,” thinking they were ordering. While that works for “I’m getting a steak,” if you use it in other contexts, you might accidentally say you are transforming into a piece of meat.
How to avoid it: Always use werden when you want to say you are becoming something. Save bekommen for when you receive a birthday gift or a physical object.
2. Confusing “Wissen” and “Kennen”
Both of these mean “to know,” which is super annoying when you’re just starting out. You use wissen for facts or pieces of information. For example, you know what time the train leaves. You use kennen for being familiar with people, places, or songs. If you say you “wissen” a person, it sounds like you’ve memorized their stats like a trading card rather than actually knowing them.
3. Mixing up “Warm” and “Heiß”
If you feel hot in a room, you might be tempted to say “Ich bin heiß.” Please, for the love of everything, don’t do that. In German, saying “Ich bin heiß” means you think you’re incredibly attractive or “hot” in a suggestive way. To say you are physically warm, you have to say “Mir ist warm.” It’s a small grammar shift that saves you a lot of social awkwardness.
4. The Friend vs Colleague Divide
In many cultures, everyone is a “friend.” In Germany, the word Freund is heavy. It’s a big deal. If you call a casual acquaintance or a coworker a Freund, they might think you’re moving a bit too fast. Most people you know are just Bekannte (acquaintances) or Kollegen (colleagues). Using the right word shows you understand the culture as much as the language.
5. False Friends like “Gift”
This is a scary one. In English, a gift is a lovely present. In German, Gift means poison. If you tell someone you have a “Gift” for them, you might see them back away slowly. Always use the word Geschenk for a present. This is the kind of stuff that pops up on a German A1 test to see if you’re paying attention.
Do you want to check your progress?
If you feel like you’ve got these down but want to be sure before the big day, you should try a practice run. Using Testizer is a great way to see where you actually stand. It gives you a clear picture of your strengths and which of these tricky words are still tripping you up, so you can walk into your exam feeling totally prepared.
Learning these nuances takes time. Don’t beat yourself up if you slip. Even the most advanced learners still get wissen and kennen mixed up sometimes. Just keep practicing, keep talking, and you’ll get there.
