There are many words in German that German learners don't quite grasp right away because they have several meanings. Think of them as very flexible words.

"Bitte" is one of them. Here is a fantastic pin from Pinterest that shows the many uses of bitte.

Do you want to see more German on Pinterest? Follow the LearnGermanOnline with Nicole boards!

Germans have a deep love for coffee. They drink coffee in the morning with breakfast, sometimes with second breakfast, and again in the afternoon, especially when there is cake available. They like their coffee roasted dark, brewed strong, and served hot. Remember to offer coffee cream and sugar!

For Americans, German coffee is frequently very strong, perhaps too strong. For other Americans, we finally get a great cup of joe.

American coffee for Germans, well, that's another story. Unless it's from your local chain, the story will usually go like this one I heard once in Southern Germany:

"I was in the US for work. They gave me a cup of coffee and I could see to the bottom of the cup. I asked them if it was Texas coffee."

"What do you mean?" his hosts asked.

"Did you shoot a bean through it?"

Yeah, he was less than amused at the sorry state of colored water in his mug.

Speaking of mugs, Germans have mugs, but they drink from coffee cups--with saucers. Please, America, give up your mug and go for the cup & saucer. It is oh-so-delightful during your Sunday morning brunch.

"Jein" is definitely one of the best words in the German language. It's one word for both yes and no.

Ja + nein = Jein.

Knowing the word "jein" in German opens up a whole new world for German learners and their eyes get really big and their ears perk the first time they hear the word. "Jein" also has several uses; for starters, "jein" allows you to give two simultaneous answers to one question.

This is perfect for difficult questions and for difficult answers.

This Guardian article reports that the German justice ministry has determined that Germany's state institutions must make their language gender-neutral. That's right--no more der, die, das.

Wer, wie, was?!

So perhaps everything will become 'das,' so "das Baum," "das Auto," and "das Flasche." Or maybe it will all become 'die,' so 'die Baum,' 'die Auto,' and 'die Flasche.'

Woah!

Certainly the cases would become easier, and so would learning vocabulary, but wouldn't that take some of the fun out of it? Nothing is more exciting to an advanced intermediate student who guesses at an article and guesses correctly. It's a great feeling of accomplishment.

So here are my two questions for you, please comment below:

1. Do you think this is a good idea?

2. Do you think all languages should drop the gender of nouns?

April 1st is also a day for practical jokes in Germany; newspapers are one of the leading sources of April Fool's Fun and this year organizations and the companies like the Goethe-Institute and Lindt have gotten in on the fun, too.

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Here's a fun slideshow from The Local, complete with beds, hams, and brides. (In English)

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The Goethe Institut is worried about Umlauts disappearing from the German language...

Baden-Württemberg is a beautiful, diverse state and definitely worth a few days of your next visit to Germany. Here are four places to visit in the state whose motto is perhaps the best one:

"We can do anything. Except speak High German."

In Baden they speak Badisch and in Württemberg they speak Swabian. Swabian has its own variants, in particular on the Schwäbische Alp. To get a feel for the Swabian dialect, start off in Stuttgart, an easy connection through Delta anyway.

1. Stuttgart

The capitol of Baden-Württemberg is Stuttgart. You can visit art museums, eat fantastic Swabian food (like the amazing noodle dish Spätzle), visit rock and classical concerts, like with the Internationale Bach-Akademie Stuttgart (full disclosure:  I used to sing with them; die Akademie liegt mir am Herzen). Pick up a Butter-Brezel, known in Swabian as a “Butter-Brezle.” It's a fresh pretzel where the thickest part is cut open and smeared with butter. Just trust me on this one. You’ll never regret it.