On German spoken by millions of people, not only in Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and other places around the world. Of course, to speak fluent German, you will have to study for a long time, but you can master the simplest phrases very quickly. Whether you're traveling to a German-speaking country, want to impress someone, or just want to learn a little about a new language, you'll benefit from the tips in this article. We will teach you how to greet people, introduce yourself, say goodbye, thank them, ask basic questions or ask for help.
Steps
Part 1
Greetings and farewells- "Guten Tag" (guten so) - "good afternoon" (used as the most common greeting during the day)
- “Guten Morgen” (guten morgen) - “good morning”
- “Guten Abend” (guten abent) - “good evening”
- “Gute Nacht” (gute nacht) - “ Good night"(said before bed, usually only between close people)
- “Hallo” (halo) - “hello” (used anywhere and anytime)
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Remember the difference between formal and informal address in German. In German, as in Russian, it is customary to address unfamiliar and unfamiliar people differently. strangers(formally, on “you”) and to close friends (informally, on “you”). However, unlike Russian, in German the polite “you” in the singular and “you” in the plural are two different words. For example, to ask someone's name, you would say:
- "Wie heißen Sie?" (vi haisen zi) - “what is your name?” (formally)
- "Wie heißt du?" (vi haist do) - “what is your name?” (informal)
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Say goodbye. Forms of farewell, like greetings, may differ depending on where you are and who you are talking to. However, in general you can't go wrong if you use one of the following:
- "Auf Wiedersehen" - "goodbye"
- “Tschüss” (chyus) - “for now”
- “Ciao” (ciao) - “for now” (this word is Italian, but is often used by Germans)
Part 2
Starting a conversation-
Ask the person how he is doing. Not only will you be polite, but you will also demonstrate your knowledge of German!
Tell me how you are doing. If you are asked the question “wie geht es Ihnen?” or “wie geht"s?”, you can answer in different ways.
Ask the person where they are from. Good start conversation will ask the interlocutor what city or country he is from. There are the following phrases for this (both formal and informal).
- “Woher kommen Sie?” (woher komen zi) / “woher kommst du?” (voher comst du) - “Where are you from?” / "Where are you from?"
- “Ich komme aus...” (ikh kome aus...) - “I am from...”. For example, “ich komme aus Russland” (ich kome aus Russland) - “I am from Russia.”
- “Wo wohnen Sie?” (wo wonen zi) / “wo wohnst du?” (vonst doo) - “where do you live?” / "where do you live?". The verb “wohnen” is used with the name of a city, street, exact address; for a country or continent (but often for a city too) “leben” is used - “wo leben Sie?” (wo leben zi) / “wo lebst du?” (in lebst do).
- “Ich wohne in...” (ikh vone in...) or “ich lebe in...” (ikh lebe in...) - “I live in...”. For example, “ich wohne/lebe in Moskau” (ich wohne/lebe in Moscow) - “I live in Moscow.”
Part 3
Further communication-
Learn a few more simple ones useful phrases. "Ja" means "yes", "nein" means "no".
- "Wie bitte?" (vi bite) - “I beg your pardon?” (if you need to ask again)
- “Es tut mir leid!” (es here is peace - “I’m sorry!”
- "Entschuldigung!" (entschuldigung) - “sorry!”
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Learn to say "please" and "thank you." In principle, there is a formal and informal way of expressing gratitude, but the usual “danke” - “thank you” - can be used in any situation.
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Learn to formulate simple requests and questions about items. To find out if something is available in a store, restaurant or similar place, you can ask “haben Sie...?” (haben zi...) - “do you have...?” For example, "haben Sie Kaffee?" (haben zi cafe) - “do you have coffee?”
- If you want to ask about the price of something, ask the question “wie viel kostet das?” (vi fil costat das) - “how much does it cost?”
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Learn to ask for directions. If you are lost or want to find a place, the following phrases will come in handy.
- To ask for help, say: "Können Sie mir helfen, bitte?" (kyonen zi world helfen, bite) - “Could you help me, please?”
- To ask for a location, say "Wo ist...?" (in ist...) - “where is...?” For example, “wo ist die Toilette, bitte?” (wo ist di toilette, - “where is the toilet?” or “wo ist der Bahnhof?” (wo ist der Bahnhof) - “where is the train station?”
- To make your question sound more polite, start it with an apology: “Entschuldigen Sie bitte, wo ist der Bahnhof?” (entschuldigen si bite, vo ist der Bahnhof) - “excuse me, please, where is the station?”
- To find out if a person speaks another language, ask: “Sprechen Sie englisch (russisch, francösisch...)?” (sprechen si english (russish, french...)), that is: “Do you speak English (Russian, French...)?”
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Learn to count in German. In general, German numerals follow the same logic as Russian or English ones. The main difference is that in numbers from 21 to 100, units are placed before tens. For example, 21 is “einundzwanzig”, literally “one and twenty”; 34 is “vierunddreißig” (firundreisikh), literally “four and thirty”; 67 is “siebenundsechzig” (zibenuntzekhtsikh), literally “seven and sixty” and so on.
- 1 - “eins” (ains)
- 2 - “zwei” (tswei)
- 3 - “drei” (dri)
- 4 - “vier” (fir)
- 5 - “ünf” (fuenf)
- 6 - “sechs” (zeks)
- 7 - “sieben” (ziben)
- 8 - “acht” (aht)
- 9 - “neun” (noyn)
- 10 - “zehn” (tseyn)
- 11 - “elf” (elf)
- 12 - “zwölf” (zwölf)
- 13 - “dreizehn” (draizen)
- 14 - “vierzehn” (firzein)
- 15 - “ünfzehn”
- 16 - “sechzehn”
- 17 - “siebzehn” (ziptsehn)
- 18 - “achtzehn” (achtzein)
- 19 - "neunzehn"
- 20 - “zwanzig” (tsvantsikh)
- 21 - “einundzwanzig”
- 22 - “zweiundzwanzig” (tsvayuntzvantsikh)
- 30 - “dreißig” (dreisikh)
- 40 - “vierzig” (firtsikh)
- 50 - “ünfzig”
- 60 - “sechzig” (zekhtsikh)
- 70 - “siebzig” (ziptsikh)
- 80 - “achtzig” (ahtsikh)
- 90 - "neunzig"
- 100 - “hundert” (hundert)
Use standard greeting forms. Each German-speaking country has its own special greetings. However, the standard forms below will be appropriate in any of them.
After studying the material in this lesson, you will be able to:
- say hello
- start a conversation with a stranger
- introduce yourself
- ask the other person's name
Pronunciation lesson(click) - for those who, for some reason, have not yet studied it. Now there is the most up-to-date information about German sounds.
Learn words and expressions for dialogue
| wie in and:
How |
(see example below) |
| heißen X A Ysen
to be called, to be called |
Wie heißen Sie? What is your name? |
| Sie zi:
you (form of politeness) |
Heißen Sie Martin? Is your name Martin? |
| Entschuldigen Sie! entsh at iceman
Sorry! |
Entschuldigen Sie! Sind Sie Rolf? Sorry! Are you Rolf? |
| sind zint
(usually not translated) |
Sind Sie Walter Scholz? Are you Walter Scholz? |
| Herr N. dick
Mr N. |
Sind Sie Herr Kunze? Are you Mr. Kunze? |
| Frau N. fr A at
Mrs. N. |
Sind Sie Frau Müller? Are you Mrs. Müller? |
| ja ya:
Yes |
Heißen Sie Fischer?-Ja. Is your name Fischer? - Yes. |
| nein nain
No |
Sind Sie Herr Schmidt?-Nein. Are you Mr. Schmidt? -No. |
| ich ugh
I |
Ich heiße Alexej. My name is Aleksey. |
| bin bin
(usually not translated) |
Ich bin Wladimir Petrow. I'm Vladimir Petrov. |
| gut gu:t
good, kind |
(see example below). |
| der Tag dea ta:k
day |
Guten Tag! Good afternoon Hello! |
| der Morgen dea m O rgen
morning |
Guten Morgen, Frau Stein! Good morning, Mrs. Stein! |
| der Abend dea a:bent
evening |
Guten Abend, Paul! Good evening, Paul! |
| der Freund dea front
Friend |
Sind Sie Freunde? You are friends? |
Pay attention to the form and use of words
- Sie- personal pronoun of the 3rd person plural, used as a form of politeness (always written with a capital letter). Yes, yes, you heard right, polite you in German it's the 3rd person!
- sind- 3rd person plural of linking verb sein"be".
- ja used when answering a question in the affirmative without a question word.
- nein used for a negative answer to a question without a question word.
- ich- personal pronoun of the 1st person singular.
- bin- 1st person singular from a linking verb sein"be".
- der- an article (functional word) that stands before a noun and determines its gender, number and case. Article der is an indicator of masculine nouns.
You should memorize nouns with articles!
Remember the basic ways of word formation
- compounding (combining two or more roots)
- formation of derivative words using suffixes and prefixes
- root vowel alternation
- substantivization (using parts of speech as nouns)
Practice reading individual words
| a - a | uh | ||
| Tag | T A: To | Herr | dick |
| ja | ya: | der | dea |
| Abend | A: bent | u-y | |
| au-ay | gut | gu:t | |
| Frau | fr A at | entschuldigen | entsh at iceman |
| i, ie-i | ei-ai | ||
| bin | bin | nein | nain |
| sind | zint | heißen | X A Ysen |
| ich | ugh | eu | |
| Sie | zi: | Freund | front |
| wie | in and: | Neumann | n O yman |
Wie heißen Sie?
(play)media/sound/de/popov/01-1.mp3(/play)
| W. | Entschuldigen Sie! Sorry! Sind Sie Herr Smirnow? Are you Mr. Smirnov? |
entsh at icegen zi:! zint zi: kher smirnof? |
| S. | Ja, ich bin Smirnow. Yes, I'm Smirnov. |
ya:, ihy bin smirnof |
| W. | Guten Tag, Herr Smirnow! Hello, Mr. Smirnov! Ich heiße Fred Neumann. My name is Fred Neumann. |
G y: ten ta:k, har smirnof! ugh x A yse fret neuman. |
| S. | Guten Tag, Herr Neumann! Hello, Mr. Neumann! |
gu:ten ta:k, her neuman! |
Grammar explanations
- IN German, unlike Russian, the place of the predicate (verb) in a sentence is strictly fixed, namely:
a) in simple declarative sentence verb costs In second place, the tone decreases towards the end of the sentence:
c) in interrogative sentence no question word verb costs at the first place, the tone rises towards the end of the sentence:
The words ja and nein do not affect the word order in a sentence.
Remember personal pronouns and their corresponding linking verb forms sein"to be", "to be":
1st person singular
3rd person plural
Sie sind
Unlike the Russian language, the linking verb in the German language is necessarily present in the sentence. Compare:
Are you Mr. Bergman? Sindh Sie Herr Bergmann? - Remember that the official address to a man named Lenz is Herr Lenz, and to a woman - Frau Lenz. Appeal Genosse"comrade" is used only when talking with members of the socialist and workers' parties. When addressing young people and tourists, the word is often used Freund.
Word order in a German sentence
Each exercise, both in this and all subsequent lessons, should be performed first with visual support, that is, looking at an example, and then without visual support. You can check yourself using the key.
1. You are looking for Mr. Mayer. Ask a relevant question. How would you answer if you were Mr. Mayer?
2. You are looking for Mrs. Berg. Ask a relevant question. How would you answer if you were not Mrs. Berg, but Liszt?
3. They ask you what your name is. Answer the question. Ask your interlocutor about the same.
Having become acquainted with the basics of German grammar, we will consider a basic set of phrases that will be useful in different situations communication.
After studying this lesson, you will learn how to say hello and goodbye in German.
Greetings
Like any other language, German has several ways to greet someone. You can say good morning or just say hello, or you can say a simple “hello.” The main thing is to remember who your interlocutor is and what kind of relationship you are in.
If you say hello to a stranger or with people you are associated with business relationship, then you can use the following phrases:
Guten Morgen[´gu:ten ´morgen] - Good morning. You can usually say this phrase before noon.
Guten Tag[´gu:ten ta:k] - Good afternoon. This phrase is used from noon to 6 pm.
Guten Abend[´gu:ten ´a:bent] - Good evening. This greeting is used after 6 pm.
Also in German there is a neutral greeting Hallo [halo], which means “Hello” and can be used in any situation. There is no analogue to the Russian word “hello” in the German language.
When meeting, in addition to greetings, you can also use a number of useful phrases or questions.
“Wie geht es Ihnen?”[vi gate es ´inen] - How are you (with you)? - do not forget that this question is formal.
"Geht es Ihnen gut?"[gate es ´inen gut] -Are you all right?
The answer to this question is the phrase: "Gut, danke."[gu:t ´danke] - Everything is fine, thank you.
Or phrase “Es geht mir sehr gut.”[es gate mia zea gut] - I'm fine.
Or: "Ziemlich gut."[´tsimlikh gu:t] - Good enough.
You can also use the phrase "Sehr erfreut."[zea er'froyt] - Glad to meet you.
To be polite and ask a question in return, use the phrase "Und Ihnen?"[unt ´inen] - What about you?
Remember that all of these phrases are very formal and are used in business communication situations.
In an informal communication situation, use analogues of the above phrases, namely:
"Wie geht es dir?"[vi gate es dia] - How are you (with you)?
This phrase in spoken German is often shortened to "Wie geht's?"[vi gates] - How are you?
The answer to this question could be the following phrase: “Es geht mir gut.”[Es gate mia gu:t] – I’m fine.
"Super!"[´zu:pea] – Excellent!
"Nicht schlecht."[nykht shlekht] - Not bad.
In response, it is customary to ask the question: "Und dir?"– [unt dia] - What about you?
As for pronunciation, remember that voiced g, b, d in German are pronounced voiceless, so in the word “guten” the first sound will be very close to the Russian sound “k”.
It is interesting to note that some parts of Germany have their own customized greetings. For example, greeting "Moin Moin!"[moin moin] or simply “Moin!” widespread in Northern Germany,
and the phrase "Grüß Gott"[grus goth] - in the South.
If you need to wish a person Good night, phrases will help you "Schlaf gut"[shlaf gut] - Sleep well,
or "Gute nacht"[´gute nakht] - Good night.
Parting
To end a conversation and say goodbye in German, the following phrases are used:
"Auf Wiedersehen!"[auf ´videa´zeen] - Goodbye! The shortened form Wiedersehen is used in informal communication.
"Auf Wiederhören!"[auf 'videa'khoren] - Goodbye! — This phrase is used if you are talking on the phone.
It is interesting to note that in the pronunciation in both of these phrases, the sounds [f] and [v] practically merge into one, so [v] weakens and is pronounced close to the sound [f]. The vowel sounds [i] and [e] are long, do not forget about this.
"Tschüss!"[chus] - Bye! — An informal farewell phrase.
If you want to sound more casual, phrases can help "Bis morgen!"[bis ´morgen] - See you tomorrow!
“Bis bald!”[bis balt] - Bye! See you soon!
"Bis dann!"[encore given] - See you soon!
A common form of farewell among teenagers and young adults is the phrase “Tschau/ciao!”- Ciao!
In some parts of Germany farewell is used Adieu![adyo] - Bye! This phrase was borrowed from French, which means “Go with God.”
What is your name?
To introduce yourself, you will need phrases such as:
Ich heiße…. [ihi ´haise] - My name is...
Mein Name ist….. [mine ´na:me] - My name is… . This phrase can be used when you want to say only the first name, or the first and last names.
To give only the last name, the following phrases will help you:
Mein Vorname… [main ´foana:me]
Mein Familyname… [main fa´milienname]
If you are interested in the name of the person you are talking to, you can ask the following questions:
Wie heißen Sie?[vi: ´haisen zi] - when addressing a person with “you”.
Wie heißt du?[vi: haist do] - when addressing a person using “you”.
Wie heißt ihr?[vi: haist ia] - when addressing a group of people using “you”.
If you have already been asked this question, and you want to show interest in return, you can use a short one:
Und Sie?[Unt zi] - And you?
Und du?[Unt doo] - And you?
Be prepared to be addressed politely as Herr/Frau (Mr./Madam) in Germany. Most often you will encounter this appeal at a hotel or airport/vocal. For example:
Sind Sie Frau Weiß?[sint zi Frau Weiss] - Are you Mrs. Weiss?
You can answer in two ways:
- agree - Ja, ich Frau Weiß[I, ich bin Frau Weiss]. - Yes, I'm Mrs. Weiss.
- or disagree - Nein, ich bin Frau Schwarz[nein, ich bin Frau Schwarz]. - No, I'm Mrs. Schwartz.
Where are you from?
To say where you are from, use the following pattern:
Ich bin aus Russia. [ikh bin aus ´ruslant]. Ich komme aus Russland [ich kome aus Russland]. - I'm from Russia. Instead of a country, you can name a city or any other locality. To indicate the place where you currently live, use the verb wohnen. Don't forget to conjugate this verb by person!
Ich wohne in Moscow[ikh vone in ´moskau] - I live in Moscow.
If you want to ask where your conversation partner is from or where they live, use these questions:
Woher commen Sie?[vo´hea komen zi] - Where are you from?
It is interesting to note that in the question word “woher” the part “her” can be moved to the end of the question, so that it turns out:
Wo kommst du her?[vo komst do hea] - Where are you from?
You can also use these phrases:
Sind Sie aus Morokko?[zint zi aus ma´roko] - Are you from Morocco?
Kommen Sie aus Italien?[´komen zi aus it´alien] - Are you originally from Italy?
Aus welchem Land kommen Sie?[aus welhem lant komen zi] - What country are you from?
Another question related to this topic - “Wo sind Sie geboren?”[wo zint zi ge´boren]
“Wo bist du geboren?”[vo bist do ge´boren] - Where were you born?/Where were you born?
The answer is the phrase “Ich bin in……. geboren"[ikh bin in….. ge´boren]. In the place of the gap, put the desired settlement, for example a city.
What is your phone number?
If you want to find out a phone number, then use the question “Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer?”[vi: ist ´ire tele´fonnumea], when you address a person with “you”.
AND “Wie ist deine Telefonnummer?”[vi: ist ´daine tele´fonnumea] - if you communicate on “you”.
