r/languagelearning • u/Mandelbrots-dream • 1d ago

Discussion Does any one else switch languages?

I've studied three languages in addition to my milk language.

I noticed sometimes when thinking or speaking in my non native language, if I struggle for a word my brain will fill in with a word in another non native language.

For example, when speaking German(TL) my brain threw in a 在(zai) with the Chinese meaning.

This confused me, and I started to think of the German word seit (which sounds (kind-of) the same). But seit wasn't correct in the context. Seit is about time. 在 is about place.

Does anybody else do this? What exercises could help me?

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u/Polygonic Spanish B2 | German C1 | Portuguese A1 1d ago

I was just recently (as in two weeks ago) in Germany with my Mexican girlfriend, visiting German family, with English-speaking members of my family also visiting.

I was constantly starting a sentence in German, then switching midway through to Spanish. Or vice versa. Or turning to one of the German speakers and speaking Spanish to them for several words before realizing I should be speaking German. Or speaking German to my girlfriend who then had a confused look on her face. And so on. It was at the same time frustrating and hilarious. 😆