Fragen Sie den Fachmann — ask the specialist.
Da müssen Sie den Experten fragen — you’ll have to ask the expert about that.
Das kann ich nicht beurteilen — I can’t judge that, said as a complete and unembarrassed answer.
A German declining to give an opinion outside his field is not being modest. He is observing a boundary he expects others to observe too.
Die Abmahnung. German employment law generally requires a formal written warning before a conduct-based dismissal, stating the behaviour, why it is unacceptable, and what happens if it recurs. The employer cannot escalate directly. The law inserts a step and requires it to be documented.
Eigenkapitalquote. German Mittelstand companies carry notably high equity ratios by international standards, and treat it as a matter of prudence rather than inefficiency. Debt is capacity you have already spent. Equity is the buffer that lets a firm survive a year it did not plan for.
Kündigungsfristen. German statutory notice periods lengthen with service: from four weeks at the start, rising by steps, to seven months for someone with twenty years behind them. Time served converts into legal protection at a fixed exchange rate written in the Civil Code.
German law normally requires the creditor to send a reminder before the debtor is formally in default. But where the parties have fixed a performance date by the calendar, no reminder is required at all — § 286 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 BGB. Default begins the moment the date passes.
The Latin maxim is quoted in German textbooks: dies interpellat pro homine — the day admonishes in place of the man.
A German who agreed a date does not expect to be chased, and the law agrees with him.
Der ehrbare Kaufmann. The honourable merchant — a German commercial tradition with roots in the Hanseatic League, still taught by the chambers of commerce and written into their codes. The merchant’s standing rests on conduct: keeping to what was said, dealing straight, not exploiting an advantage. Charm is not on the list.
If the contractor sets a reasonable deadline and the client neither accepts nor refuses with at least one named defect, the work counts as accepted anyway — § 640 Abs. 2 BGB. The client cannot simply go quiet. Silence is a decision the statute makes for him.
Geprüfte Sicherheit — tested safety. A German mark applied to products that have been examined by an approved testing body against a defined set of requirements.
It is voluntary. Manufacturers pay to be tested, pay to carry the mark, and submit to periodic re-inspection of the production.
German consumers look for it. A voluntary mark only works where enough buyers check for it to make the cost worth paying.
Passivhaus. A German building standard, developed in the early 1990s, specifying a house that needs almost no active heating — achieved through insulation, airtightness, triple glazing and heat recovery ventilation. The standard is defined by energy consumed per square metre per year. The building is designed backwards from the number.
Guilds were abolished in Germany. The ranks of Lehrling, apprentice, Geselle, journeyman, and Meister, master craftsman, were retained.
The institution went. The ladder stayed.