Learn Hardcore German: Wir sprechen offen miteinander.

ein offenes Gespräch – an open conversation (adjective, describing Gespräch)
offen sprechen – to speak openly (adverbial use, describing sprechen)

So Wir sprechen offen miteinander means that the way of speaking is frank, direct, and without hiding things.

What exactly does miteinander mean, and is it literally “with each other”?

Yes. miteinander literally combines mit (with) and einander (each other). Today it is written as one word and behaves like an adverb / pronoun-like form meaning:

miteinander = with one another, with each other

It stresses that the action happens reciprocally among the people involved, not just side by side.

Compare:

Wir sprechen. – We speak. (no information about to whom)
Wir sprechen miteinander. – We speak with each other. (reciprocal: I speak to you, you speak to me, etc.)

Is miteinander always one word? Can I write mit einander instead?

In modern standard German miteinander is written as one word.

Older texts sometimes show mit einander, but according to current orthography rules and dictionaries (like Duden), miteinander is the correct and normal spelling.

So:

✔ Wir sprechen offen miteinander.
✘ Wir sprechen offen mit einander. (old‑fashioned / incorrect in modern usage)

Why is it miteinander and not mit uns in this sentence?

mit uns just means with us and does not automatically mean with each other. It can include people outside the group:

Die Chefin spricht mit uns. – The boss is speaking with us. (one person to the group)

miteinander explicitly expresses reciprocity among the group members themselves:

Wir sprechen miteinander. – We talk with each other (everyone within we is involved with one another).

So Wir sprechen offen miteinander focuses on the way group members communicate among themselves, not on an outside person talking to them.

Why is the word order offen miteinander? Could I say Wir sprechen miteinander offen instead?

Wir sprechen offen miteinander is the most natural and idiomatic order.

offen describes the manner of speaking, and miteinander is closely tied to sprechen (like mit + Person). In practice, native speakers typically place offen before miteinander in this common chunk: offen miteinander sprechen.

You can say Wir sprechen miteinander offen, and it is grammatically possible, but it sounds unusual or marked. It might put a slight extra emphasis on miteinander, but most of the time people will choose the original word order.

Can I also say Wir sprechen offen miteinander using reden or sich unterhalten instead of sprechen?

Yes, with small nuances:

Wir reden offen miteinander.
- reden is a bit more colloquial, everyday speech. This sounds very natural in casual contexts.
Wir unterhalten uns offen miteinander.
- sich unterhalten suggests a more “conversational” or “chatting” style. With offen, it can sound slightly more formal or reflective, depending on context.

All of these are grammatically fine; sprechen is the most neutral choice.

What’s the difference between offen and ehrlich in this kind of sentence?

Both can be positive, but they focus on different aspects:

offen sprechen – to speak openly:
- emphasizing transparency, not hiding topics, willing to address everything directly.
ehrlich sprechen – to speak honestly:
- emphasizing truthfulness, not lying or deceiving.

You could say:

Wir sprechen offen miteinander. – We are transparent and frank; nothing is swept under the rug.
Wir sprechen ehrlich miteinander. – We tell each other the truth.

Often both are true at the same time, and you might also hear offen und ehrlich miteinander sprechen as a fixed phrase.

How is sprechen conjugated here, and why is it wir sprechen?

wir is 1st person plural (“we”), and regular present-tense conjugation of sprechen is:

ich spreche
du sprichst
er/sie/es spricht
wir sprechen
ihr sprecht
sie/Sie sprechen

So with wir, you must use sprechen.

Wir sprechen offen miteinander. is the correct and only standard form with wir in the present tense.

Can I move offen to the front: Offen sprechen wir miteinander? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

Offen sprechen wir miteinander.

The basic meaning stays the same, but moving offen to the front puts extra emphasis on how you speak. It sounds like you are highlighting the openness, maybe in contrast to another way of speaking:

Früher haben wir vieles verschwiegen. Offen sprechen wir miteinander erst seit letztem Jahr.
(We used to hide a lot. It’s only since last year that we speak openly with each other.)

So: same content, but Offen at the beginning makes the manner more prominent.

Is Wir sprechen offen miteinander formal, informal, or neutral? In what contexts would people say this?

The sentence is stylistically neutral. It fits in:

personal contexts:
- In unserer Beziehung sprechen wir offen miteinander.
family:
- Mit unseren Kindern sprechen wir offen miteinander.
professional / corporate or political language:
- In unserem Team sprechen wir offen miteinander.
- In unserer Firma wollen wir offen miteinander sprechen.

It’s slightly “serious” or reflective in tone (you’re talking about communication style), but not overly formal or technical.

What is the difference between miteinander and zusammen here?

Both can be translated with “together,” but they focus on different things:

miteinander – stresses interaction between people:
- miteinander sprechen / spielen / arbeiten
  → doing something with each other, in direct relation.
zusammen – more general “together,” often just the fact of jointly doing something:
- Wir arbeiten zusammen. – We work together (in the same place / on the same thing).
- Wir sprechen zusammen. – Sounds odd in most contexts; you nearly always say miteinander sprechen.

For talking, miteinander is the standard word:

✔ Wir sprechen offen miteinander.
✘ Wir sprechen offen zusammen. (does not sound idiomatic)