How To Speak Simple German 12 Steps With Pictures

“Guten Tag” (goo-tehn tahg), “Good day. ” Use this as a general way of saying “hello” during daytime hours. “Guten Morgen” (goo-tehn mor-gen), “Good Morning. " “Guten Abend” (Goo-tehn Ah-bend), “Good evening. " “Gute Nacht” (goo-teh nah-cht), “Good night” (usually said to close family only, when going to bed). “Hallo” (hah-low), “hello. ” This is basically used anytime, anywhere. In Austria greetings such as “Servus” or “Grüß Gott” “Greet god” are common.

“Ich heiße [insert Name]” (“ich hi-seh [Name],” literally “I am called…”) “Mein Name ist [insert Name]” (“mine nam-eh ist [Name],” literally “my name is…”). For example, say either “Ich heiße Andreas” or “Mein Name ist Andreas” to mean “My name is Andreas. ”

“Wie heißen Sie?” (vee hi-sehn zee), “What is your name?” (formal) “Wie heißt du?” (vee heist du), “What is your name?” (informal)

“Auf Wiedersehen” or (owf vee-dair-zayn), “Good-bye!” “Tschüss!” (choos), “Bye!” “Ciao!” (chow), “Bye!” This Italian phrase is often used by German speakers (mainly children) to say goodbye.

Use the formal phrase “Wie geht es Ihnen?” (vee gate ess eenin), when asking strangers or acquaintances, “How are you?” Use the informal phrase “Wie geht es dir?” (vee gate ess deer) or simply “Wie geht’s?” (vee gates) (mainly children)to ask someone you know well, or a child, “How are you?” Generally speaking, to be polite use the formal version with someone you don’t know, unless they begin using the informal with you. This is especially the case in settings involving areas like business, education, and government. [6] X Research source

You could simply say: “Gut” (“goot”), “good”; “Sehr gut” (“zair goot”), “very good”; or “Schlecht” (“shle-cht”), “bad. ” However, a more extensive response is more polite. You can say “Mir geht es…” (“mere gate es…”), followed by “gut,” “sehr gut,” or “schlecht” to mean “I am doing…” “well,” “very well” or “bad,” respectively. [7] X Research source

“Woher Kommen Sie?” (“Voh-hair co-men zee?”) / “Woher kommst du?” (“Voh-hair comst do?”) = “Where are you from?” “Ich komme aus [insert place name]” (“Ich come-uh ow-s”) = “I am from [insert place name]”. For example, “Ich komme aus den USA” (Ich come-uh ow-s dane oo ess ah), “I am from the United States. ” “Wo wohnen Sie?” (“Voh voh-nen zee?”) / “Wo wohnst du?” (“Voh voh-nst do?”) = “Where do you live?” (in the sense of “Which country, state, or city, etc. do you reside right now?” “Ich wohne in [insert place name]” (“Ich voh-nuh in”) = “I live in [insert place name]. ” For example, “Ich wohne in Chicago. ”

“Wie bitte?” (vee bitteh), “pardon me?” “Es Tut mir leid!” (ess toot mere lied), “I am sorry!” “Entschuldigung!” (ehnt-shool-dig-ung), “Excuse me!”

If you are curious, the full formal version is “Ich danke Ihnen” (ich dank-eh eenin), while the informal is “Ich danke dir” (ich dank-eh deer). [8] X Research source The word for “please” is “Bitte!” (bittuh). The same phrase doubles as “you’re welcome!”

If you want to know how much something you see costs, then ask “Wie viel kostet das?” (vee feel cost-et dahs).

To ask for help: “Können Sie mir helfen, bitte?” (coon-en zee mere helf-en bit-teh), “Could you help me, please?” To ask for a location: “Wo ist [insert place]?” (Voh ihst), “Where is [insert place]?” For example, “Wo ist die Toilette, bitte?” (Voh ihst die Toil-et-eh, bit-teh), “Where is the restroom?” or “Wo ist der Bahnhof?” (Voh ihst dare Bahn-hof), “Where is the train station?” To be polite, introduce the question by saying: “Entschuldigen Sie, bitte, wo ist der Bahnhof?” (ent-shool-dig-ung zee bit-tuh, voh ihst dare bahn-hof), “Excuse me, please, where is the train station?” To ask if someone speaks another language: “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” (or Spanisch/Französisch, etc. ) (shpreh-chen zee english/shpanish/fran-zoo-tzish, etc. ), “Do you speak English/Spanish/French?”

1—“eins” (ayenz) 2–“zwei” (tsvai) 3–“drei” (dry) 4–“vier” (feer) 5–“fünf” (foonf) 6–“sechs” (zechs) 7–“sieben” (zee-ben) 8–“acht” (ahcht) 9–“neun” (noyn) 10–“zehn” (tsehn) 11–“elf” (elf) 12–“zwölf” (tsvoolf) 13–“dreizehn” (dry- tsehn) 14–“vierzehn” (feer- tsehn) 15–“fünfzehn” (fuenf- tsehn) 16–“sechzehn” (zech- tsehn) 17–“sieb-zehn” (zeeb- tsehn) 18–“acht-zehn” (uhcht- tsehn) 19–“neun-zehn” (noyn- tsehn) 20–“zwanzig” (Tsvahn-tsick or “Tsvahn-tsich”) “twenty” 21—“einundzwanzig” 22—“zweiundzwanzig” 30—dreißig 40—vierzig 50—fünfzig 60—sechzig 70—siebzig 80—achtzig 90—neunzig 100—hundert