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I traced my heritage and am about 65% German, with about 35% being English. I'm a 5 ft 9 inch female with blue eyes and blonde hair. I have wide shoulders and high cheek bones. My parents are the same in build, eye color and hair. My ex-husband is of German heritage also…last name Hoeft. Our 3 boys are all blonde, blue eyed, muscular and athletic.
Hello. I am Asian American living in U.S. I have a number of European American friends and often get it wrong on guessing their ancestry. For instance, I can't distinguish between Germans and Irish or between Spanish and Portuguese.
Without relying upon their last name for guessing their nationality, do you know a way to accurately determine how to distinguish German Americans from other European Americans? For instance, what is the typical facial feature of Germans in distinction with other Europeans? On one more note, is it true that Germans are almost never late to a meeting?
Thanks in advance for any insights.
You cannot tell a Germans from other Central and Northern Europeans, and many times Eastern Europeans as well. In hair color vary from blonde, blue-eyed which is the stereotype to brown/dark-haired folks. Obviously they speak German.
However generally they would differ more from Southern Europeans, but of course not in every case.
A good example is below;
Most Americans really aren't clear-cut on the ancestry, but I have noticed a peculiar yellowness (not just blondeness...actual yellowness) in the hair of many German folks I have known or seen, especially in actual Germany!
But on the German-American side of things, I suppose they often seem to look more muscular/sturdily built on average. That's about all I notice, if anything.
I am half German (and Italian) and so is my spouse (and English). We come from a long line of German engineers and are never late to meetings...LOL... Our son looks very Italian - dark eyes, curly hair, olive skin, smaller build, etc.
However, our daughter seems to have the stereotypical German look. Wherever we go (Europe, Germany, visiting German relatives in the midwest, etc.), she is told she looks "so German." We have even met German tourists who tell us she looks like all the girls from their area in Germany. Here is what she looks like:
- tall and long-limbed (extremely long legs/arms, shorter upper body)
- bigger-boned, wider shoulder/hip, but very lean, a very "athletic" build
- thick, golden-blond hair
- a golden, glowing skin tone
- eyes are hazel/green/gold (I was told hazel eyes are prevalent in Germany)
- strong, chiseled features (nose, cheekbones, eyebrows)
- full lips (not as thin as my English relatives, but not as thick as my Italian relatives)
- cleft-chin
Maybe there are some other indications that she is German? She has the look/coloring/shape of Heidi Klum who also has the hazel eyes. It is just interesting that so many people have told her she looks 100% German, whereas I just think she looks European.
You cannot tell a Germans from other Central and Northern Europeans, and many times Eastern Europeans as well. In hair color vary from blonde, blue-eyed which is the stereotype to brown/dark-haired folks. Obviously they speak German.
My daughter looks very much like the woman in the pic you posted above - same hair/skin color (I call her "golden"), looks like her exact nose, similar cheekbones/face shape - even a very similar cleft chin. So I guess that is the "German look." The only difference is my daughter has a unique hazel eye color. I have met very few people with her eye color. I am wondering if that hazel eye color is more unique to Germans than the blue color? I seem to meet a lot of Germans with hazel eyes.
There is no "German look." Anyone bother to think about this topic beyond the first thought?
My post was about the "stereotypical German look" that people associate with the nationality as I've encountered this stereotype in Europe, Germany/Switz, U.S midwest.... Of course, there are many different looks/characteristics of Germans (from the very light to the very dark) and ethnic Germans are a significant population in many countries... U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Poland, U.K., South Africa, etc...
However, many people still associate "the look" as being Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen (even though she is from Brazil), etc... Very tall, lean, athletic, strong-boned, long nose, chiseled features, etc... This is different than the stereotypical "English look" or "French look" or "Irish look" or "Swedish look" or "Finnish look" or "Polish look." People also often associate Germans with more Nordic coloring (sadly what the third reich wanted with the breeding programs) but many, including my relatives are darker.
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