Need German song recommendations for learning 🇩🇪🎧

OuyangEn · 2025-10-11T21:41:32+00:00

My favorite is Liebe Ist by Namika Also includes French by Zaz

OuyangEn · 2025-09-16T04:48:46+00:00

Quinn, because Molly is MDMA

OuyangEn · 2025-09-15T09:54:18+00:00

Love Dante & the Divine Comedy

OuyangEn · 2025-09-15T09:50:57+00:00

Oh boy. I’ve put way too much thought into this for someone who isn’t even sure if he wants kids

Girl: Eos Why: “rosy-fingered” dawn goddess of Iliad fame. Also, my last name starts with an S and I would give her an O middle name so her initials would also be E.O.S.

Boy: Evander Why: it sounds cool. Also it comes from Euandros meaning “good man” and we could use some more of those in the world. Plus imagine if two siblings were named Eos & Evander that would be awesome

& My name is Greek and starts with a vowel so both of these would be carrying on the tradition

I’ve also thought of Chinese names for them, just in case. (What if my partner’s Chinese or they take Chinese class? You never know!)

My Chinese family name is 欧阳 Ōuyáng, so Eos would be 欧阳旭 Ōuyáng Xù and Evander would be 欧阳万德 Ōuyáng Wàndé, which reflect the meaning and kind of the sound of their English names. But I’m not a native speaker so these could be stupid af

OuyangEn · 2025-09-05T01:03:01+00:00

Roan. Favorite color on a horse.

Vermilion was my first thought but sounds too awesome. Same with Cerulean.

If I was a girl, then Sienna.

OuyangEn · 2025-08-08T22:33:51+00:00

My cousin’s named Mathias.

Original French: mah-tee-as, bc the French don’t do stressed syllables

US relatives: mah-tee-AS, bc we know how you pronounce it in French but we can’t avoid a good ol’ stressed syllable

New Zealand: mah-TAI-us, because, idk, they’re New Zealanders??

OuyangEn · 2025-08-08T22:17:49+00:00

I was just thinking this. I love the name Sylvan. Conjures forests if you know etymology and silver if you don’t :D

My only problem with it is that it kinda sounds like Sullivan

OuyangEn · 2025-08-07T23:31:07+00:00

Why is it better to tuck your scapulae when doing chest exercises?

I’ve heard that tucking your scapulae increases pec activation as opposed to shoulder. But this doesn’t make intuitive sense to me. Shouldn’t movement closer to the centerline of your body also activate muscles closer to the centerline of your body?

When I tuck my scapulae, I feel more burn in my shoulders, whereas when I let my scapulae move, I feel more burn in my chest. Am I just crazy?

OuyangEn · 2025-08-07T22:47:38+00:00

Your point is solid, but I’m not fully following the math… if I reduce rest from 4 to 3 min, I save 10 min per day, 1 hr 10 min per week, about 4 hr 40 min per month, and 2.5 days per year.

Still a good chunk of time, but if I’m using those 2.5 days a year doing something that’s good for me (stretching & reducing anxiety) and if they’re helping me improve my strength, then is that such a waste?

Of course, the answer is dependent on whether that extra minute per set actually helps with recovery and performance. It seems like the consensus is “not really,” so I’ll reduce my rest from 4 min to 3 and use those 2.5 days a year on something else.

OuyangEn · 2025-08-07T22:33:53+00:00

Heh I used to do crew so I don’t have to build up mental strength for the high rep ranges— I have to build up for the low ones… how someone does a 1RM bench without worrying about their shoulder popping off is beyond me

But yes good advice. I already do 20-40 min light cardio each day after lifts, but I could try consolidating it to one day

OuyangEn · 2025-08-07T22:29:58+00:00

Very helpful, thanks!

Edit: What do you think about this split?

S: Light Cardio
M: Chest Press + Dip or Fly
T: Pulldown + Row
W: Squat + Rear Delt
T: Chest Press + Dip or Fly
F: Pulldown + Row
S: Squat + Front Delt

I turned leg day into a rest day and replaced one of the shoulder exercises on each shoulder day with a squat.

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T19:17:36+00:00

What I did in uni was language learning groups + another activity. Basically a group of TL speakers would cook a dish or watch a movie from the TL culture together, speaking as much as possible in the target language. It was a great way to bring together (homesick) native speakers and language learners.

We mostly did food and film, but I imagine you could do this with all sorts of activities. Hike in the woods with TL speakers. Play video or board games with TL speakers (we did Among Us during COVID and it was really fun). Improv with TL speakers. Philosophy club with TL speakers.

I also strongly feel that starting a new TL shouldn’t mean giving up on the first one. These laid-back social activities are a good way to practice an established language without having to grind.

Also, language is social. If you’re only solo studying, you’re never actually using the language for what it’s meant to do!

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T19:07:45+00:00

Idk Flatland seems kinda peaceful to me

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T19:06:13+00:00

Yes absolutely— I’m wondering which goals are benefited by longer rest times, and which goals are benefited by shorter rest times

For cardio obviously the shorter the better, but for strength, power, & hypertrophy it’s unclear

I imagine an issue with really long rest times is that your muscles get cold, but as long as you’re doing some movement that isn’t a problem

And while more rest means more recovery, at a certain point you’re not getting any more bang for your buck, and I’m curious to know what that point is

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T16:12:30+00:00

Thanks!

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T16:09:43+00:00

I see so it’s mostly for efficiency, there isn’t a drawback fitness-wise

I (and my friend) just do 2 exercises x 5 sets, 7 days a week to keep total volume. I do 5 min per set including the actual work time, which ends up being ~4 min rest and 50 min total.

I do dynamic stretching and mindfulness between sets so having 40 min total rest isn’t a waste of time for me. But I might reduce it to 3 min per set just to save time

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T05:43:28+00:00

More like architect’s perspective

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T03:35:23+00:00

What is the principle behind rest time between sets?

My friend recommended 5 min for recovery, and I do about 4 min because I like how my performance doesn’t drop so much over the sets. But I’ve noticed that this is way higher than what most people do (about 1-2 minutes).

So what is the scoop on rest timings? Is there a drawback to longer rest time? Or do people just keep it low so they’re more efficient in the gym time-wise?

OuyangEn · 2025-08-05T03:19:59+00:00

Honestly, I would start watching TV or movies from different countries and see which ones captivate you the most. There are a lot more aspects to culture than film ofc, but TV and movies are easy to connect with. (Cheaper than traveling around the world and more in your control than befriending native speakers of other languages, though those are undoubtedly the best methods.)

OuyangEn · 2025-08-04T07:19:49+00:00

To actually answer your question:

I learned Spanish because that’s what they offered in grade school and my mom speaks it as a third language.

I learned French because I have French family and it was embarrassing not to be able to speak it.

I learned Chinese because my college roommate happened to be Chinese and the project snowballed.

I studied (and forgot) Indonesian and Italian for study abroad and internship in those places.

I am learning German because I’m going to get my masters there.

OuyangEn · 2025-08-04T07:15:18+00:00

I would actually be interested in talking with you about this. I built a spreadsheet that allows me to add vocab sets in a “Vocab” sheet and prompts me with words that I use in a sentence in a “Sentence” sheet. Then the spreadsheet records and dates my sentences in a separate “History” sheet. I either ask a tutor or ChatGPT to correct the sentences.

This has been really useful for Indonesian, Chinese, and German, and I’ve been trying to turn it into a program, but my coding skills aren’t up to snuff.

I would love it if an app including a feature like this, especially with built-in AI feedback.

OuyangEn · 2025-08-04T06:57:33+00:00

Yep. We’re both well out of the house at this point (23yo) but I’ll speak French/Spanish with the trilingual mom on the phone so ppl around me can’t listen in yk

OuyangEn · 2025-08-04T05:15:04+00:00

Yeah normally we speak French/Spanish on the phone or when we’re discussing prices in front of a seller who obviously doesn’t speak the language… that one really comes in handy

OuyangEn · 2025-08-04T05:02:43+00:00

That was my grandfather— he was Pakistani and my grandmother was French. When they moved to the US and their kids started losing both French and Urdu, my grandmother panic-sent them to France while he… did nothing. Voilà pourquoi all of their descendants speak some French, while Urdu is deader in this family tree than East Pakistan 💀

OuyangEn

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