Learn Hardcore German: In unserer Familie zeigen wir Respekt und respektieren andere Meinungen. - In our family we show respect and respect other opinions.

Familie is feminine: die Familie.
With in meaning “in / within” (location, answering wo? = “where?”), German uses dative.
Feminine dative singular of die Familie is der Familie.
The possessive adjective unser- has to match that:
- nominative feminine: unsere Familie
- dative feminine: unserer Familie

So:

In unserer Familie = in our family (stable location → dative)
In unsere Familie would be accusative and would suggest movement into our family, which doesn’t fit the meaning here.

What case is Respekt in, and why is there no article?

Respekt is in the accusative case as the direct object of the verb zeigen:

wir (subject, nominative)
zeigen (verb)
Respekt (direct object, accusative)

There is no article because abstract nouns in German often appear without an article when used in a general sense:

Wir zeigen Respekt. – We show respect (in general).
With an article, it becomes more specific:
- Wir zeigen den Respekt, den du verdienst. – We show the respect that you deserve.

So leaving out the article here is natural and idiomatic.

Why is Respekt capitalized but respektieren is not?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, while verbs, adjectives, and other word types are not (unless at the beginning of a sentence or part of a proper name).

Respekt is a noun → capitalized.
respektieren is a verb → written in lower case.

Same pattern:

die Meinung (noun) → capitalized
meinen (verb) → not capitalized

Why is the word order zeigen wir instead of wir zeigen after In unserer Familie?

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule (V2): the conjugated verb must be in second position in the sentence.

When you start with In unserer Familie (a prepositional phrase), that entire phrase counts as position 1. The verb must then come next:

In unserer Familie (position 1)
zeigen (position 2 → conjugated verb)
wir (position 3 → subject)

So:

In unserer Familie zeigen wir Respekt. (fronted phrase → inversion)
Wir zeigen in unserer Familie Respekt. (subject first, still verb-second)

Both are correct; the first simply emphasizes “in our family”.

Can I put a comma after In unserer Familie like in English: In unserer Familie, zeigen wir …?

Normally, no comma is used there in standard German.

Correct and normal: In unserer Familie zeigen wir Respekt …
Adding a comma: In unserer Familie, zeigen wir Respekt … is generally seen as incorrect in standard written German, except in very special cases for emphasis/clarity.

So: avoid the comma after such a fronted prepositional phrase.

What case are Respekt and andere Meinungen in?

Both are in the accusative case as direct objects:

wir zeigen Respekt → we show respect
- wir = subject (nominative)
- Respekt = direct object (accusative)
wir respektieren andere Meinungen → we respect other opinions
- wir = subject (nominative)
- andere Meinungen = direct object (accusative plural)

In German, the accusative plural of most nouns looks like the nominative plural, so Meinungen doesn’t change form between those cases.

Why is it andere Meinungen and not anderen Meinungen?

Because andere here is in the accusative plural without an article, and the correct adjective ending in that pattern is -e.

Pattern for adjectives with no article:

Accusative plural (all genders): -e

So:

andere Meinungen (accusative plural, no article) → correct
anderen Meinungen would be:
- dative plural (mit anderen Meinungen = with other opinions), or
- part of a different article pattern (e.g. den anderen Meinungen = to the other opinions in dative plural)

In this sentence we need accusative, so andere Meinungen is right.

Why is Meinungen plural here? Could I say andere Meinung instead?

You could say andere Meinung, but the meaning changes slightly:

andere Meinungen = other opinions (plural)
- Describes various different opinions in general.
- This is the most natural for the idea “we respect other people’s opinions”.
andere Meinung = a different opinion / another opinion (singular)
- Focuses on one specific differing opinion, not on opinions in general.

The original sentence wants a broad, general statement, so andere Meinungen (plural) fits best.

What’s the difference between Respekt zeigen and jemanden respektieren?

They’re related but not identical:

Respekt zeigen – to show respect
- Focuses on the visible behavior: how you act.
- Can be used without a person:
  - Wir zeigen Respekt. – We show respect.
  - Wir zeigen unseren Eltern Respekt. – We show our parents respect.
jemanden respektieren – to respect someone / something
- Focuses more on the attitude or inner respect you have.
- Takes a direct object in the accusative:
  - Wir respektieren andere Meinungen. – We respect other opinions.

In the sentence, both aspects are mentioned:

zeigen wir Respekt (our behavior)
respektieren andere Meinungen (our inner attitude to differing views)

Can I say Wir haben Respekt instead of Wir zeigen Respekt? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, but there is a nuance:

Wir haben Respekt. – We have respect.
- Stresses that we feel respect, that it exists in us.
Wir zeigen Respekt. – We show respect.
- Stresses that we express this respect in our behavior.

In many contexts both are possible; in a “family values” sentence, zeigen Respekt sounds a bit more active and practical (not just feeling it, but acting accordingly).

Is respektieren a separable verb? How do you conjugate it?

respektieren is not a separable verb. It’s a regular verb ending in -ieren, and those are:

always non-separable
always have a weak (regular) past tense.

Present tense conjugation:

ich respektiere
du respektierst
er/sie/es respektiert
wir respektieren
ihr respektiert
sie/Sie respektieren

Past forms:

Präteritum: ich respektierte
Perfekt: ich habe respektiert

Note that the stress is on the last syllable: re-spek-TIER-en.

Why is in followed by dative here? When would in take the accusative instead?

The preposition in can take dative or accusative, depending on the meaning:

Dative (wo? where?) – location, no movement:
- In unserer Familie zeigen wir Respekt.
  → Where do we show respect? In unserer Familie → dative.
- Ich bin in der Schule. – I am at school.
Accusative (wohin? where to?) – movement into something:
- Ich gehe in unsere Familie ein. (very unusual, but grammatically: “I enter our family.”)
- Ich gehe in die Schule. – I’m going into the school.

In your sentence, in describes a situation within the family (no movement), so it takes the dative → in unserer Familie.