Do Germans use the English word "Dear"often? Are they being formal or friendly/endearment in texts messages from German friends?
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4Germans tend to use english words if they think it's cool but although it seems like half of german language is english, this is still rare and I wonder how you got the idea they would say "dear" at all?– puckMay 10, 2018 at 18:34
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6Maybe you heard dir? That's the personal pronoun du in dative.– JankaMay 10, 2018 at 18:51
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2Look at that, context! Could be anything from "used Dear because all the examples in his English textbook in school used it, and he/she doesn't know any alternatives" up to "loves you." If I had to guess, he/she tried to use an appropriate, but-more-personal-than-hello greeting.– hiergiltdiestfuMay 10, 2018 at 22:54
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3Oh and it's not used at all between German speakers or in everyday language, see Björn's answer– hiergiltdiestfuMay 10, 2018 at 22:55
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3@mary Was the rest of the message in German? In any case, this looks like the equivalent to you writing "Lieber X, how are you doing?" to the same friend. Something that only occurs between friends with different native languages, not something that would occur in a conversation between two German speakers.– AnnatarMay 11, 2018 at 8:14
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2 Answers
No, Germans do not use dear often, they do not even use it seldomly.
answered May 10, 2018 at 18:25
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This is what we learn in school how to start a letter.
Dear Granny, I hope you are well...
or:
Dear Father Christmas, bring me...
My guess would be that the people you have encountered using this haven't had a lot of exposure to an English-speaking environment and thus haven't practised anything other than their school English.
