How to Say We ll Talk Again in German
When you teach yourself German, your experience is unique from everyone else's.
Sometimes, you stray from the nuts and larn strange (and fascinating) things.
I learned how to say "the ghost" and "the water ice cavern" in German before I learned how to say "dainty to meet yous" or "can I please laissez passer by?"
And I'chiliad not alone.
Sometimes, especially when yous commencement learning a language by yourself instead of in class, you can pick up interesting and fun vocabulary words at the expense of crucial information that's essential for everyday life in Germany.
This can potentially accept a toll on your High german social life.
Simply don't despair. Read on to discover some of the most of import phrases that you demand to function in everyday life in Germany, phrases that will make you audio like an expert German speaker.
Besides knowing common phrases that you'll need to navigate twenty-four hours-to-day life in Germany, it's also helpful to know mutual idioms.
You'll stand out as someone who has clearly worked to delve deeper into the language and understand its idiosyncrasies.
Oh, and one quick note: Throughout this postal service, we'll include FluentU videos that show the phrase in employ naturally. If y'all're not already a FluentU user and want to go the full experience of this blog post, feel gratuitous to sign up for a costless trial.
Now onward to the list!
1. Darf ich mal vorbei?
Many beginning High german speakers call up it's proper to say Entschuldigung (lamentable) when pushing through a oversupply on the U-Bahn or in a train station. However, you lot should actually say this phrase, which ways "may I pass past?"
two. Einen Augenblick, bitte!
Augen means "optics." Blick is a glimpse or a sight of something. Einen Augenblick is a moment. If you say Einen Augenblick, bitte! you're asking someone to please wait a moment—a useful phrase in many aspects of daily life.
3. Kannst du/Können Sie mir helfen?
This phrase is extremely important for tourists in Germany equally well as residents. It means "Can you lot (informal)/Tin can you (formal) help me?" It's essential for request for directions or other more than serious matters.
4. Schön, Sie kennenzulernen.
"Prissy to go to know you lot," or "pleased to meet you"—this phrase is essential for meeting and greeting new colleagues or friends in Germany, which you'll hopefully exercise once y'all arrive in the country.
Hear it in employ in this video clip from the historical drama "Saving Mr. Banks." Sentinel information technology on FluentU here!
five. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
This phrase literally translates as "all that's good to the birthday" but, of course, it actually means "happy altogether."
6. Guten Appetit!
Before digging into their Essen (food), Germans say Guten Appetit, an amalgamation of High german (Guten means "expert") and French (bon appétit).
7. Ich stimme dir zu.
Ich stimme… zu ways "I concur with [something]," and Ich stimme dir zu means "I agree with you."
8. Stimmt so.
Germans don't await 20% tips, only it'south still a good idea to leave the server or bartender a little something if y'all're satisfied with their service. Say your bill comes to xviii euros—you can hand your server a 20, then say Stimmt then, which means "go along the change."
9. Alles klar?
Klar is a versatile word in German. It literally translates to "clear" in English language, but it can too be used as a synonym for fertig (finished, completed) to mean that something is ready for action: Das Flugzeug ist klar zum Get-go! (The plane is ready for takeoff!) Furthermore, klar tin can accept the aforementioned connotation that "articulate" has in English language: it can too mean "understood."
Alles klar? in German literally translates to "is everything clear?" in English. In this phrase, we're generally request "do you understand?" This can be particularly useful if you're trying to explicate something to someone in German language and yous're non sure if your intended meaning is coming beyond well.
This sentence can besides be used to enquire someone, "is everything okay?" or "you lot practiced?" A standard response to this could be ja (aye) or nein (no).
10. Ich habe mich verlaufen / Ich habe mich verfahren.
There are ii literal translations for these phrases even though they have essentially the same significant. The offset phrase, ich habe mich verlaufen, ways "I've gotten myself lost" but verlaufen indicates that the mode of transportation is your own feet that got you lot lost.
The second phrase, ich habe mich verfahren, also means "I've gotten myself lost" besides, but the mode of transportation is a automobile. The difference between these ii phrases tin can be hands remembered past the verbs used: laufen means "to run" (i.east. using your feet) and fahren means "to drive" (i.e. using a form of transportation).
xi. Ich schaue mich nur um.
Imagine you're in a German Laden (store) and the Verkäufer (the sales associate) comes up to you and asks, "Kann ich Ihnen helfen?" (can I help you?). You lot're not looking for anything in specific, and then your reply should be, "ich schaue mich nur um."
Both the literal translation and meaning are the same: "I'm just looking around," or more normally in English, "I'm but browsing." This comes from the German verb sich umschauen (to look around). There's another variant of this verb sich umsehen. These verbs are interchangeable, so you could also say, ich sehe mich nur um (I'1000 just looking around).
12. Schönes Wetter heute.
Don't you love small talk? It'southward frequently demonized in modernistic society as being bad-mannered and uncomfortable, and notwithstanding, we proceed to do it. In fact, so do the Germans! So, what's their favorite small talk topic? Why, information technology's the weather, of class.
Schönes Wetter heute is a phrase that has the same literal translation and intended meaning. Information technology translates to "beautiful atmospheric condition today," and it's even sometimes used sarcastically when the atmospheric condition might not be described as "beautiful."
13. Quatsch!
"Learning German is impossible," you gripe.
"Oh, pish-posh," I retort.
For Germans, quatsch has the same meaning as "pish-posh." It literally translates to "rubbish" in English language, and it has the same meaning as the phrase "that's nonsense!" or "that's ridiculous!" So think this expression the adjacent time someone tries to tell you that learning German is impossible.
Different another ways to say "nonsense!" in English (many of which include some allusion to excrement), quatsch is a rather polite way to limited your disbelief or dissatisfaction with something in German.
You can hear quatch in use in this dizzy video poking fun at "things that hipsters say." Pick upwards some extra modernistic German vocab by watching it on FluentU.
Now we're going to shift from daily phrases to concepts and idioms which are used unremarkably in German chat.
Idioms (Sprichwörter) tin be a bit more difficult to understand than simple phrases, but retrieve that by learning them you tin can increment your Deutsch expertise and print German natives with your knowledge of their culture and language.
14. Die Nase voll haben.
Let'south say you practice the same commute to and from work every twenty-four hour period, and every fourth dimension you're on the way abode, there's a car accident on the highway and your half-60 minutes commute turns into an hour. Afterwards a couple of months—weeks, even—information technology's safety to say that you've had enough of your commute.
In German, we'd say that you dice Nase voll haben. That literally translates to "take your nose full," and while you might exist inclined to think that this means "to take a head common cold," it actually more accurately describes the feeling of being fed up with or "ill" of something.
15. Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.
Verstehen and Bahnhof: two German words you lot know, right? They respectively mean "to understand" and "train station." Put them into i sentence, and nosotros get, ich verstehe nur Bahnhof. "I but sympathize the train station." Huh?
The intended pregnant of this one is a little confusing because information technology's actually supposed to hateful, "I don't empathise anything." This phrase can exist used in situations where you lot're confused or don't want to get involved.
Possibly two German friends are fighting, and they inquire you to pick a side. Simply throw this idiom at them to go out of that situation, and perhaps confuse them a little scrap with its literal translation.
sixteen. Das ist nicht mein Bier.
Beer drinking in Germany is akin to the British fascination with tea. Information technology's no surprise, then, that Germans concord all of their likes and dislikes to the same standard that they hold their beer.
Das ist nicht mein Bier literally translates as "that's not my beer," and while it can exist used in the literal sense to let someone know they haven't accidentally grabbed your beverage, it'south intended meaning is similar to the English "that isn't my cup of tea" to politely say that something is disliked or not appreciated.
17. Abwarten und Tee trinken!
Call up that awkward German friend argument I was talking nearly? Well, now those 2 friends aren't talking to each other, and we'll simply have to wait and run into if they can ever get forth again.
That's the meaning of this German idiom, abwarten und Tee trinken: Just wait and see! Except this literal translation is, "wait and drink tea" which, in my stance, is a dandy thing to do while you're waiting.
Check this phrase out on FluentU in this sweetness Piggeldy and Frederick short animated video.
18. Es ist mir Wurst.
Es ist mir Wurst literally translates to "it'southward sausage to me." While this literal translation doesn't make much sense, it's used to give the significant of "I don't intendance." This can be used in a situation where you're impartial to the options available to you lot or to limited that y'all don't desire to get involved in a negative situation.
19. Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof.
When life gets you downward, it'southward easy to feel sorry for yourself. Worse, when you confide your troubles in someone else, they may non give yous the reassuring niceties that you expect.
Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof literally translates to "the life isn't a pony subcontract." Its intended significant equates to the English "life is no picnic," and it's used to hateful that life is hard simply you shouldn't let information technology go you lot downwards.
Imagine if life was a Ponyhof, though. How fun would that be?
twenty. Leben wie Gott in Frankreich.
European history is a hodgepodge of rising and falling kingdoms, changing borders and enough internal and external conflict to make whatever historian'southward caput spin. As such, there was one signal in time when the kingdom of France was booming, and poor German city-states struggled to feed themselves.
That's where this phrase comes from. Leben wie Gott in Frankreich literally translates to "alive like God in France," and it's a reflection of how fancy and rich the royalty in French republic was in the by while Germans lived in relative poverty.
In English language, we'd say, "to live similar a king." So, next time y'all're in a luxurious hotel in Berlin, call up that you lot're not living similar a king, you're living similar God in French republic.
21. Da haben den Salat.
Da haben wir den Salat literally translates to "here nosotros've got the salad," and while this would be a fantastic announcement to make at a German barbecue, it really means something more forth the lines of "everything is a mess."
This is used to describe a state of affairs that's gotten out of hand or something that'due south hopelessly complicated. It comes, perhaps, from the idea that salads are composed of ingredients that are all tossed together, often getting mixed up and blended with their fellow tasty veggies. That same idea can be practical to a messy situation in High german.
22. Innerer Schweinehund.
Y'all know the English language language concept of an angel sitting on i shoulder telling yous the correct thing to practise, while a little devil sits on your other shoulder, trying to persuade you to wander downwards his irresponsible road?
The innerer Schweinehund is the High german equivalent of this concept. The phrase translates direct to "inner squealer-domestic dog." The innerer Schweinehund is the voice within your head that steers yous wrong, saying "You lot don't accept to become to the gym," or "Yous can accept that extra piece of cake" or "Yous've studied German enough today." Silence your innerer Schweinehund and you'll get a lot more done.
23. Der Zug ist schon abgefahren.
This phrase is roughly equivalent to the American expression, "that ship has sailed." If a state of affairs is irredeemable, or at that place's nothing else y'all can do to change something, y'all'd employ this phrase. It translates direct to "the/that train has already left."
24. Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund.
This phrase literally means "morning hours accept gold in mouth." Nonsensical? Not if you know the idiom. This is basically the German equivalent of "the early on bird gets the worm"—if you lot wake upwardly, become out of bed and start work early, yous'll be a lot more productive.
25. Hunde, die bellen, beißen nicht.
This Sprichwort has an equivalent in English language also: "his bark is worse than his seize with teeth." This ways that people who make a big fuss about things or seem fearsome are often not so scary at all. The phrase in German translates directly to "dogs that bark don't bite."
Conveniently enough, you tin use this phrase to describe the German language itself—remember, it seems complex with all those picky grammatical rules, but later you dedicate some time to nailing those downward, it's really not so challenging at all.
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Why Are Common German Phrases Important to Larn?
Sounds simple enough, right? Common German language phrases are common. You'll hear them everywhere in German conversation—y'all're expected to understand them, reply to them accordingly and know how to say them yourself.
Hither are a few examples of when yous'll observe yourself in make-or-break situations thanks to these common German phrases:
one. They're often essential for daily life.
Shouting the wrong phrase for "excuse me" on a crowded subway car volition immediately mark yous as a tourist or a foreigner. Since everyday phrases are so commonly used, learning them will immediately increase your German know-how and make daily life that much easier.
two. Idioms can exist hard to understand if you don't already know them.
As stated above, idioms often brand no sense when translated straight into some other linguistic communication. Some German idioms are the aforementioned equally English idioms, merely others make no sense when translated into English. You but accept to know them—and, if yous learn them, you can salve yourself a lot of confusion the next time your High german friend starts talking about his or her "inner pig-dog" or wisely tells you lot that forenoon hours accept gilt in their mouths.
3. Using phrases will make you sound more like a native speaker.
Using idioms and phrases yourself will merely brand you seem like more than of a native speaker, someone who's lived in Germany, experienced the culture and befriended Germans, as opposed to someone who'south only studied from textbooks or other official sources.
How to Learn Common German Phrases
There are plenty of ways to learn High german phrases, but the best ones typically involve consulting unofficial sources. That is, getting out of the classroom, consuming German language culture or talking to some Germans.
Hither we've provided some specific ways you tin go near learning mutual High german phrases. Endeavour these out, and you'll exist sure to pick up some new phrases and idioms in no fourth dimension.
1. Watch TV shows or heed to music.
Television shows and music are often great means to selection upwardly the idiosyncrasies and slang terms of a language.
Check out some German TV shows or wait at this listing of archetype High german songs to find some new media to consume and learn German from.
2. Inquire your High german friends for a list of phrases.
If you accept German friends, pay attending when they say something yous don't quite understand and ask them to explicate information technology.
Or ask them to provide you with a few phrases and idioms that they use on a daily basis, and work on learning those.
3. Make sure to integrate phrases into your daily conversations.
As with whatever facet of language learning, it'due south important to practice, practise, do.
Use the daily life phrases as often every bit possible, pick your favorite idioms and work on integrating them into your conversation.
Soon, you'll develop a High german personality through your unique language patterns and vocabulary choices—only like how you limited your personality through language choice and speaking style in your native tongue.
four. Finally, check out FluentU!
Now y'all're all set to get have conversations with these mutual German language phrases and idioms!
Emily Cataneo is an American fiction writer and announcer who lives in Berlin, Germany. She learned how to say "the ghost" (der Geist) and "the ice cave" (der Eishöhle) in High german before she learned how to say "tip" (Trinkgeld) or "garbage tin" (Mülleimer). Learn more almost her and her piece of work at www.emilycataneo.com.
Source: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/common-german-phrases/
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