Bitte Schön

Imagine (just imagine) you don't know any German, except "thank you", "danke." You move to Germany and order some food. You get it and you say, "danke." They reply, "bitte." It's a good assumption that this means, "you're welcome."

Great, now you know two German words.

Next, you try "danke schön" (thank you very much). You get back, "bitte schön". You figure that means "you're very welcome." Aw, that's cute. You start to hear it all the time. "Very welcome, very welcome, very welcome."

Only, the next time you order your Döner, you forget to say anything. You still hear "bitte schön"." Is he being smart with you? They start to say "bitte schön" before you have time to say anything "thank you"s at all. What's with these people? Are they being spitful? Imagine hearing "you're welcome" without saying "thank you".

Turns out, this is one of many phrases that doesn't translate between cultures. From what I've experienced, it's something like, "glad to have helped you." "Bitte schön" is just one of many endearing things about this culture that I'm going to miss. I'm already nostalgic.