Schreibstil — written German is its own dialect
Spoken German and written formal German diverge sharply. The same person who says Ich finde, dass das nicht geht. in conversation will write Eine Umsetzung erscheint nicht realisierbar. in a memo. Four habits define formal written style: (1) Nominalstil — turning verbs into nouns (umsetzen → die Umsetzung, prüfen → die Prüfung), preferred in academic, legal, and bureaucratic prose because it packs information densely. (2) Passive voice — far more frequent than in English; Es wird darauf hingewiesen, dass … rather than Wir weisen Sie darauf hin, dass …, because it sounds neutral and impersonal. (3) Complex subordination — long sentences with multiple dass, weil, obwohl, welche, and um … zu clauses, sometimes 30 to 50 words, perfectly grammatical and expected in academic German. (4) Fixed letter formulas — Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren to open, Mit freundlichen Grüßen to close; deviations signal informality or rudeness. The register cliff between an SMS to a friend (Hey, kommst du?) and a cover letter (Sehr geehrte Frau Müller, hiermit bewerbe ich mich um …) is steeper in German than in English. C1 means knowing where on this cliff each piece of writing sits and matching the conventions exactly.
Nominalstil — the noun-heavy style
Nominalstil (nominal style) replaces verbs and clauses with abstract nouns derived from those verbs. Spoken / Verbalstil: Wir entscheiden morgen, ob wir das Projekt umsetzen. (We'll decide tomorrow whether we'll implement the project.) Written / Nominalstil: Die Entscheidung über die Umsetzung des Projekts erfolgt morgen. (The decision regarding the implementation of the project will take place tomorrow.) The nominal version uses die Entscheidung (← entscheiden), die Umsetzung (← umsetzen), and a thin verb erfolgen ('to occur') that does little semantic work. Nominalstil is the default in Verträge (contracts), Gesetze (laws), wissenschaftliche Texte (academic papers), and Behördenbriefe (official letters from authorities). The deverbal nouns most often end in -ung (feminine: Prüfung, Umsetzung, Forderung, Anwendung), -tion (feminine: Konstruktion, Realisation), or are derived infinitives (neuter: das Wissen, das Können, das Schreiben). For a learner: recognize Nominalstil and parse it; you don't need to write it densely yourself unless drafting a contract.
Light verbs that pair with deverbal nouns
Nominalstil leans on a small set of semantically light verbs that hook onto the heavy deverbal noun: erfolgen, vornehmen, durchführen, treffen, leisten, bringen, stellen, kommen. eine Entscheidung treffen = to make a decision (← entscheiden). eine Prüfung vornehmen = to carry out an inspection (← prüfen). eine Umsetzung durchführen = to perform an implementation (← umsetzen). einen Antrag stellen = to file an application (← beantragen). zur Anwendung kommen = to come into application (← anwenden). einen Beitrag leisten = to make a contribution (← beitragen). These Funktionsverbgefüge ('function-verb combinations') are the bread and butter of bureaucratic and legal German. Wir prüfen den Antrag. (verbal, neutral) → Eine Prüfung des Antrags wird vorgenommen. (nominal + passive, formal). Both grammatical; the second is what you find on a tax-office letter.
Passive voice — much more frequent than in English
Formal German loves the passive (Vorgangspassiv with werden, Zustandspassiv with sein) for the same reason English bureaucratese does — it removes the agent. Es wird darauf hingewiesen, dass … = It is pointed out that … Der Antrag muss bis zum 31.12. eingereicht werden. = The application must be submitted by 31.12. Die Tür ist geschlossen. (state, sein-passive) vs. Die Tür wird geschlossen. (process, werden-passive). Three formal flavors: (1) werden-Passiv: standard process passive. (2) sein-Passiv: state resulting from the action. (3) Man-construction as a passive substitute: Man kann sagen, dass … = One can say that … = It can be said that … In CVs and instructions, the subjektloser Passiv appears: Es wird gebeten, pünktlich zu erscheinen. = Punctuality is requested. English would often use active or imperative; German leans passive.
Complex subordination — the long sentence
Academic German prizes the long sentence. A sentence may stack a dass-clause inside a weil-clause inside a relative clause, and run to 40 words. Skill at C1 is parsing — finding the verb that governs each clause. Pattern: identify the conjugated verb of each subclause; subclauses send the conjugated verb to the end. Die Tatsache, dass viele Studierende, die ihr Studium begonnen haben, obwohl sie über die Voraussetzungen nicht vollständig verfügten, dennoch erfolgreich abschließen, lässt sich statistisch belegen. Word-by-word: The fact, that many students, who started their studies, although they didn't fully have the prerequisites, nevertheless successfully complete [them], can be statistically proven. Three nested subclauses + main clause. To write at this level: keep one clause depth at a time, use commas to mark every clause boundary, ensure each subclause has the verb at the end. The danger zone is forgetting which verb belongs to which clause — break a 40-word sentence into two 20-word sentences if you're unsure.
Letter formulas — exactly these, no improvisation
Formal letters and emails use fixed openings and closings. Improvising sounds amateurish or rude. Salutations: (1) Unknown recipient: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, = Dear Sir or Madam, (2) Known name: Sehr geehrte Frau Müller, / Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt, with title if applicable: Sehr geehrter Herr Doktor Schmidt, / Sehr geehrte Frau Professorin Weber, (3) Less formal but still respectful (after a few exchanges): Liebe Frau Müller, / Lieber Herr Schmidt,. Closings: (1) Most formal: Mit freundlichen Grüßen = With kind regards (no comma after, no period). (2) Slightly warmer formal: Mit besten Grüßen / Beste Grüße = Best regards. (3) Personal/friendly: Liebe Grüße / Herzliche Grüße = Warm regards. (4) Casual: Viele Grüße / Grüße / LG. Note: after the salutation, the first line of the letter starts with a lowercase letter (because the comma turns the salutation into the start of the sentence): Sehr geehrte Frau Müller, vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht …
Email formality vs. SMS / chat
German splits sharply between formal email (E-Mail) and informal SMS / WhatsApp / chat. A formal email to a stranger uses Sie, full salutation, full closing, no abbreviations, complete sentences. An SMS to a friend uses du, no greeting at all (or Hey / Hi / Moin), no closing (or LG, Grüße), abbreviations (lg, mfg, vlg, hdl, kp = keine Ahnung), and elliptical syntax: Komme später, ok? instead of Ich werde später kommen, ist das in Ordnung? Mixing them up — an SMS to a friend in Sie-form, or an email to your professor with lg — sounds bizarre. Email to a colleague you've worked with for years: midpoint — typically Hallo Anna, … + Beste Grüße or Viele Grüße. Email to someone you've never met: stay strictly formal until they suggest otherwise (often: Bitte schreiben Sie mir gerne weiter mit Du = please continue to write me with the du-form).
Other formal-style markers
Beyond Nominalstil and passive, formal German uses: (1) Genitiv rather than von + Dativ for possession: die Prüfung des Antrags > die Prüfung von dem Antrag. (2) Konjunktiv I for indirect speech in news and academic prose: Der Minister sagte, er sei nicht informiert worden. = The minister said he had not been informed. (3) Subordinating conjunctions over coordinating ones: Da das Wetter schlecht war, fiel das Konzert aus. > Das Wetter war schlecht und das Konzert fiel aus. (4) Latinate vocabulary over Germanic where both exist: realisieren rather than machen / umsetzen in academic prose, konkret rather than klar, Aspekt rather than Punkt, erfolgen rather than stattfinden. (5) Hedging adverbs: vermutlich, möglicherweise, anscheinend, mutmaßlich soften assertions. (6) Avoid contractions like ans, ins, beim in very formal text — write an das, in das, bei dem when emphasis matters.
Cover letter (Anschreiben) skeleton
A German Anschreiben (cover letter for a job) has a near-fixed shape, and recruiters scan for it. (1) Header: your address, recipient address, date and city right-aligned (Berlin, den 15. März 2026). (2) Subject line in bold: Bewerbung als Marketing-Manager (NOT Betreff:). (3) Salutation: Sehr geehrte Frau Müller, with the actual contact's name if at all possible. (4) Opening sentence: hiermit bewerbe ich mich um die ausgeschriebene Stelle als … = with this letter I am applying for the advertised position of … (5) Body: 2-3 short paragraphs covering motivation, qualifications, relevant experience. (6) Closing courtesy: Über die Gelegenheit zu einem persönlichen Gespräch würde ich mich sehr freuen. = I would be very pleased about the opportunity for a personal interview. (7) Closing formula: Mit freundlichen Grüßen + signature. The whole thing on one page. Deviating from this shape — even with strong content — costs you the interview.
Quick decoder
(1) Writing a contract, law, academic paper, or official letter? Nominalstil + Passiv + long subordinated sentences. (2) Writing a formal email? Sehr geehrte/r … + complete sentences + Sie + Mit freundlichen Grüßen. (3) Writing to a colleague you know? Hallo Anna, + Viele Grüße. (4) Writing an SMS / chat to a friend? Drop greetings, use du, abbreviations OK. (5) Reading dense Nominalstil? Find the deverbal nouns (-ung, -tion), trace them back to their verbs, and the sentence usually clarifies. (6) Reading long subordinated sentences? Find each conjugated verb at clause-end; each subclause has one. (7) Never sign a formal letter LG or liebe Grüße to a stranger — it reads as inappropriately familiar.
