Debating the meaning of Alter at the coworking table
A real situation from the OGIMA community · Everyday Berlin
The scene
You pull up a chair at the long shared table as two designers across from you argue about whether 'Alter' counts as a greeting or just an interjection. Someone with noise-canceling headphones glances over.
Why this moment is tricky in Germany
Berlin-slang debates — Alter, digga, krass, geil — happen across coworking tables especially at expat-heavy venues like Mindspace, WeCo, St. Oberholz where the word gets ambient use but nobody fully agrees on register. In workspaces without slang-curious bilingual populations, the debate doesn't spark.
Rehearse it before it happens
This situation is practised out loud in OGIMA: you speak, an AI conversation partner answers back, and you rerun it until the real thing feels routine.
Prefer to read first? Our guide covers this territory: How to Practice Speaking German