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Humanizer for German: Why AI Text Detection Is Language-Specific

AI-generated text has telltale patterns. But those patterns aren't universal.

When you read a text that feels wrong—too smooth, perfectly structured, every paragraph the same length—you can often sense that an LLM wrote it. But what you're sensing is mostly English. German AI text sounds different. It has its own tells.

The problem: most AI detection tools and guides are designed for English. They catch English patterns beautifully. They miss German ones entirely.

Why German AI Text Is Different

English and German diverge in their vulnerabilities to LLMs. The same model that produces flawless English can betray itself immediately in German through patterns that native English speakers don't even notice.

Take these examples:

• Participle-I constructions like "gewährleistend" or "hervorhebend" (ensuring, highlighting). In English, "-ing" forms are natural everywhere. In German, this construction screams LLM.
• Overused transition phrases like "Darüber hinaus" (furthermore) appearing three times per paragraph. Native German writers vary their transitions. LLMs repeat the same mechanical connectors.
• Em-dashes everywhere — a punctuation habit from English that German doesn't share natively.
• Vague authorities like "Experten sagen" (experts say) with no sources attached.
• Symbolic overload like "steht als Zeugnis für" (stands as testimony to)—nobody actually writes like this.
• Promotional tone with "atemberaubend" (breathtaking) in contexts where it doesn't belong.
• Chatbot artifacts like "Stand Januar 2024" (as of January 2024) appearing in articles written months later.

Before (LLM):

Die atemberaubende Stadt mit ihrem reichen kulturellen Erbe steht als Zeugnis für die künstlerische Brillanz vergangener Generationen.

"The breathtaking city with its rich cultural heritage stands as testimony to the artistic brilliance of past generations."

After (human):

Die Stadt hat eine lange Geschichte. Ihre Denkmäler zeigen die Handwerkskunst des Mittelalters.

"The city has a long history. Its monuments show medieval craftsmanship."

The difference? Concrete instead of abstract. Short instead of nested. Direct instead of flowery.

Why I Created the German Humanizer

I discovered Siqi Chen's original Humanizer and immediately saw the problem: it worked brilliantly for English, but German AI had different patterns. Testing it on German text was like using an English spell-checker on German—not wrong, just missing the point.

The German Wikipedia maintains its own resource: a guide to AI-generated content indicators. 31 patterns that Wikipedia editors use to catch LLM submissions. Siqi's original pulls from the English Wikipedia's signs; German Wikipedia documents something different.

So I adapted the concept. Same philosophy as Siqi's tool—analysis, not auto-rewriting. Same commitment to openness. But trained on German-specific patterns.

That's why I created the German Humanizer.

How It Works

The tool is a Claude Code skill. Install and run it like any other skill:

git clone https://github.com/marmbiz/humanizer-de ~/.claude/skills/humanizer-de

Then use it:

/humanizer
[paste your German text]

Or just ask: "Humanize this text for me."

The tool shows you:

1. Which patterns it found
2. Why those patterns matter
3. Concrete suggestions for revision

What it doesn't do: automatically rewrite your text. It's an analysis tool. You decide what to change. Sometimes "darüber hinaus" is perfectly appropriate. Sometimes an em-dash is exactly right. Context matters.

The goal isn't to hide AI usage. The goal is to write better. With or without AI.

Who Needs This

• German content creators using AI who want their writing to sound authentic
• Marketing teams reviewing copy for AI artifacts
• Wikipedia editors evaluating German submissions
• Bilingual teams where English editors need to catch German AI patterns
• Anyone learning how to recognize German AI-generated text

Credits and Open Source

The tool is MIT licensed and open source. It builds on:

• Original concept & English Humanizer: Siqi Chen (blader)
• Pattern research: German Wikipedia's AI detection guide
• German adaptation: github.com/marmbiz/humanizer-de

I built the German version. Siqi built the original. German Wikipedia documented the patterns. All of us contributed to tools that make AI-assisted writing more honest.

The Irony

This post was written with AI assistance. But reviewed with language-specific awareness. Because the patterns that reveal AI aren't just in what you write—they're in which language you write it in.