Lesson 5 - Some German Expressions
This page has been taken (with permission :-) from Irene Rose Catague's site on Geocities. Irene's site covers many things as well as the German language, including photos of her travels through Germany and elsewhere. I strongly recommend you visit.
Welcome to the German-speaking world!
Willkommen zur deutschsprachigen Welt!
"German is quite a difficult language to learn, I must admit. But since nearly 100 million
people throughout the world use German as their principal language, I decided to take
efforts in writing this page to help those of you who might be interested in grasping
some every day German, with my hope that it would help you in one way or the other.
Good luck in your struggle. Viel Glück!"
---Irene Rose---
Interrogatives
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| Was? |
What? |
| Wer? |
Who? |
| Wer sind Sie? |
Who are you? |
| Wo? |
Where? |
| Woher? |
From where? |
| Wohin? |
Where to? |
| Wann? |
When? |
| Wie? |
How? |
| Warum? / Wieso? |
Why? |
| Wessen? |
Whose? |
| Wessen Auto ist das? |
Whose car is this? |
| Woher kommen Sie? |
Where do you come from? |
| Wieviel? |
How much? |
| Wieviel kostet das? |
How much does it cost? |
| Wieviele? |
How many? |
| Wozu? |
What for? |
Greetings & Introduction
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| Hallo. |
Hello. |
| Guten Tag. |
Good day. |
| Guten Morgen. |
Good morning. |
| Guten Abend. |
Good evening. |
| Gute Nacht. |
Good night. |
| Mein Name ist Irene. |
My name is Irene. |
| Wie heißen Sie? |
How are you called? (What is your name?) |
| Ich heiße Jennifer. |
I am called Jennifer. |
| Wer ist das? |
Who is that? |
| Das ist Richard Krajicek. |
That is Richard Krajicek. |
| Entschuldigung, sind Sie Oliver Bierhoff? |
Excuse me, are you Oliver Bierhoff? |
| Nein, ich bin Kai Edel. |
No, I am Kai Edel. |
| Woher kommen Sie? |
Where are you from? |
| Ich komme aus Karlsruhe. |
I come from Karlsruhe. |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? |
How are you? |
| Gut. Sehr gut. |
Good. Very good. |
| Ja. /Nein. |
Yes. /No. |
| Wie bitte? |
Come again? (Pardon?) |
| Ich verstehe nicht. |
I don't understand. |
| Bitte/Bitte schön |
Please /Welcome |
| Danke. Vielen Dank. |
Thanks. Many thanks. |
| Auf Wiedersehen. |
Goodbye. |
| Bis morgen. |
Until tomorrow. |
| Bis dann. |
Until then. |
| Ich habe Dich gestern angerufen. |
I called you up yesterday. |
| Heute ist ein schöner Tag. |
Today is a beautiful day. |
| Wir sehen uns morgen. |
We see each other tomorrow. |
Asking for the Time
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| Wie spät ist es? |
What time is it? (How late is it?) |
| Es ist (schon) acht Uhr. |
It is (already) eight o'clock |
| Es ist acht Uhr zwanzig. |
It is 8:20. |
| Es ist viertel nach elf. |
It is 11:15. |
| Es ist viertel vor zwölf. |
It is 11:45. |
| Halb eins. |
12:30 |
| Halb vier. |
3:30 |
| Es ist dreizehn Uhr. |
It is one o'clock. |
| Es ist vierzehn Uhr. |
It is two o'clock. |
| Punkt sieben Uhr. |
Exactly seven o'clock. |
Note: Germany uses the 24-hour system.
At Different Places
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| Wo sind Sie jetzt? |
Where are you now? |
| Ich bin jetzt zu Hause. |
I am now at home. |
| Ich bin im Wohnzimmer. |
I am in the living room. |
| Ist Mara in der Küche? |
Is Mara in the kitchen? |
| Nein, Mara ist im Badezimmer. |
No, Mara is in the bathroom. |
| im Schlafzimmer |
in the sleeping room |
| Ich gehe zur Post. |
I go to the post. |
| Wir fahren nach Venedig. |
We drive to Venice. |
| Wir fliegen nach Griechenland. |
We fly to Greece. |
| Apotheke |
pharmacy/ drug store |
| Bahnhof |
train station |
| Bibliothek |
library |
| Friedhof |
cemetery |
| Kirche |
church |
| Parkplatz |
parking area |
| Schule |
school |
| Geschäfte |
shops |
| Strand |
beach |
| Supermarkt |
supermarket |
| Tankstelle |
gas station |
| Universität |
university |
| Wohnung |
apartment |
PRONOUNS (+ Grammar)
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| ich |
I |
| du |
you (informal) |
| er |
he |
| sie |
she |
| es |
it |
| wir |
we |
| ihr |
you (plural) |
| sie |
they, you (formal) |
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| ich bin / habe |
I am / have |
| du bist / hast (informal) |
you are / have |
| er ist / hat |
he is / has |
| sie ist / hat |
she is / has |
| es ist / hat |
it is / has |
| wir sind / haben |
we are / have |
| ihr seid / habt (plural) |
you are / have |
| sie sind / haben |
they are / have |
Adjectives
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| alt |
old |
| billig |
cheap |
| faul |
lazy |
| fleißig |
hardworking |
| freundlich |
friendly |
| geduldig |
patient |
| günstig / preiswert |
inexpensive |
| häßlich |
ugly |
| jung |
young |
| lang |
long |
| launisch |
moody |
| nett |
nice |
| neu |
new |
| schlau |
clever |
| schön |
beautiful |
| teuer |
expensive |
| toll |
terrific |
The Weather (Das Wetter)
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| Wie war das Wetter? |
How was the weather? |
| Wie ist das Wetter in Deutschland? |
How is the weather in Germany? |
| Es war warm. |
It was warm. |
| Es ist immer kalt in Deutschland. |
It is always cold in Germany. |
| Wie warm / kalt ist es? |
How warm / cold is it? |
| Es ist 15 Grad plus. |
It is 15 degrees above zero. |
| Es ist 15 Grad minus. |
It is 15 degrees below zero. |
| Es regnet. |
It rains. |
| Es schneit. |
It snows. |
| sonnig |
sunny |
| heiter |
bright, fair |
| wolkig |
cloudy |
| Regen |
rain |
| Schauer |
shower |
| Gewitter |
thunderstorm |
| Nebel |
fog |
| Schnee |
snow |
German Expressions for Special Occasions
| GERMAN |
ENGLISH |
| Herzlichen Glückwunsch! |
Congratulations! |
| Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag! |
Congratulations on your birthday! |
| Ich liebe Dich. |
I love you. |
| Ich vermisse Dich. |
I miss you. |
| Hochzeitstag |
wedding day / anniversary |
| Alles Gute für die Zukunft. |
Best wishes for the future. |
