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Should I address my landlord/landlady as Herr/Frau+Famlile name or as given names?
I thought for a formal and business relationship, you should always use 'Sie' and Herr/Frau.
And that is what I do when contact landlords and landladies in WG-gesucht.
Current I am going to sign a contract with one, and he starts the emails with
'Hi' + my given name.
Should I also call him by his given name? Usually, we talk in English, if we are going to talk in German later, should I use du as well?
He is relatively young among landlords. Is it the fashion among the younger generation?
Or is it because he rents rooms to college students only? I learnt one rule in the textbook that 'Students usually call each other du'. He is very likely to be or used to be a college student himself as well.
Aug 26, 2020 2:42 AM
Answers · 6
3
If you were initiating contact for the first time "Herr/Frau/Familie + LastName" would be the way to go.
Since the landlord has laid down the rules of engagement by addressing you with your first name I'd roll with that - give the "Herr/Frau" a miss, if you NEED to address the whole family it's of course still "Familie + LastName".
August 26, 2020
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Ya-hsien
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Other), English, French, German, Russian
Learning Language
English, German
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