It's best to think of the word "barbarian" as just "foreigner" without adding the negative aspect we have for the word.

In the sense of "foreigner", the Goths and Vandals certainly thought of the Huns in that way. They were a group of people who posed a threat to their land and lives. They reacted to that threat either by moving south and west into the Roman Empire (Vandals, Visigoths) or by joining the Huns as allies or tribute payers (Ostrogoths and others).

In addition, the Huns have an extra factor of otherness, being true nomads. We don't have anything from Goths or any non-Roman groups about the Huns but odds are they had a similar reaction to the Romans: disbelief. The Huns were true nomads, a type of life that none of the Germanic groups shared. They spoke an unrelated language. They had noticeably different complexion and facial features (some even bound their head as babies to give them flat foreheads). I think it's safe to say that the Goths would have found the Huns more alien than they found the Romans, Vandals, or any other German group.

Our best source on the Huns is Priscus's History of Attila. For a quick read on the Huns that includes their effect on Germans and Romans, check out Kelly's The End of Empire.