...Whereas in French, saying "je ne peux pas me plaindre" (exact same literal meaning) means we also really tried and we can't find a specific thing to complain about, but we're not happy either, it's just... not horrible, but really not good. And it's generally followed by a huge list of complaints anyways.
A British couple decided to adopt a German baby. They raised him for years, however they began to get worried because he never spoke, going as far as to take him to therapy, which was fruitless. Then, when the child was 8 years old, he had a strudle, and said "This strudle is a little tepid."
His parents, of course shocked that he was suddenly speaking, asked: "Wolfgang, why have you never spoken before?", to which the child replied: "Up until now, everything had been satisfactory."
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· 4 years ago
Slight correction: we don't technically always complain, because that would mean we'd only criticize shit concerning us personally. We like to correct people, when they are wrong, no matter if it relates to us in any way or not. The german idea is there's a perfect (=right) way to do things and an infinite number of wrong ways. That's why german engineering once was leading in the world: they would not stop engineering a thing til it couldn't possibly be improved any more. The virus of compromise and tolerance has caught us in the meantime, though.
His parents, of course shocked that he was suddenly speaking, asked: "Wolfgang, why have you never spoken before?", to which the child replied: "Up until now, everything had been satisfactory."