In German, some verbs separate into two parts when used in present tense. While that might sound weird—to take a word and break it apart even for normal use—we do the same thing in English. In English, they’re called “phrasal verbs.”

For example, consider what you do with a library book: do you check it? No. You check it out. You can also check for the library book while you’re browsing through the aisles (you know, to make sure it’s there). And when you bring it back, you make sure it gets checked back in—once the librarian has checked it over to make sure you haven’t written all over it in crayon or spilled beer onto the cover.

Just by adding one preposition (a word that shows the relationship between two things, such as in, on, at, over, under, etc.), we can change the meaning of the verb. In German, plenty of verbs are made of a prefix (often a preposition) and a core verb. When a prefix is added to a core verb, the meaning changes.

When you start with a German separable verb, referred to in German as a “trennbares Verb” (separable verb), you might begin working with it in the infinitive form. Or at least you should if you prefer to keep life simple.

For example, aufstehen (“stand up” or “get up”) is literally “upstand” or “upget” since the preposition is stuck on the front. If you want to talk about what time you get up in the morning, you would split that “auf-” off from the front of the trennbares Verb, “aufstehen,” then you would put it at the end of the sentence and conjugate “stehen” like you normally would:

Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf. (I get up at seven o’clock.)

Let’s do another one with the verb zuhören (to listen to).

If you want to say “I listen to you,” separate the “zu-” from the front and put it at the end, again conjugating the main verb, “hören,” according to the subject:

“Ich höre dir zu.” (I listen to you.)

Also, remember that in this case we say “dir” and not “dich” or “du” because we’re using the dative case. What a lovely, easy language!

As a final, common example, if you call your friend, you use the verb “anrufen” (to call), which becomes:

“Ich rufe meine Freundin an.” (I call my friend.)

How do you know if a prefix or verb is separable?

Fortunately, you don’t have to go through and memorize every verb and whether or not it’s a separable verb. You can just memorize which prefixes come off and which ones don’t. And if you really want to keep your required efforts to a minimum, you just need to remember which verb prefixes don’t separate; that list is shorter and easier to remember.

The following are non-separable prefixes:

be-, ent-, emp-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver-, and zer-

That’s it. You’re done. No, really, it’s that simple. Seriously!

For example:

Kaufen (to buy): “Ich kaufe einen Apfel.” (I buy an apple.) No prefix. Easy.

Einkaufen (to shop or to buy): “Ich kaufe einen Apfel ein.” (I buy an apple.) Notice how that prefix isn’t on our list of separable prefixes? Then pop that ein off and stick it on the end.

Verkaufen (to sell): “Ich verkaufe einen Apfel.” (I sell an apple.) Here we have the prefix ver-, which is on our list of nonseparable prefixes, so we leave it right where it is.

One side note: the difference between kaufen and einkaufen can sometimes be confusing, so you might want to read a bit more about that.

And just for fun, here’s another example:

Sprechen (to speak): “Wir sprechen Deutsch.” (We speak German.) No prefix, no problem.

Absprechen (to agree): “Wir sprechen den Preis ab.” (We agree on the price.) Here we have a prefix that isn’t on our list of inseparable prefixes, ab, so we take it off the verb and stick it at the end.

Versprechen (to promise): “Wir versprechen, nur Deutsch zu sprechen.” (We promise to only speak German.) That there ver- is a non-separable prefix so we leave it alone.

How Do You Know Where to Separate Separable Verbs and What to Do with the Two Halves?

At this point, you probably have a pretty good handle on where the separation goes when you’re dividing up separable verbs, but in case you’d like to check out a detailed list of prefixes and their associated meanings, you’ll know exactly where to cut the verb or where to insert the “ge-”.

The rule is always to separate between the prefix and the core verb.

Here’s a basic example:

“Ich habe es abgesprochen.” (I arranged it.)

See how the “ge-“ goes between the “ab-“ and the “gesprochen?” But by now you knew that already, right?

Just in case you want to make double sure, try this one:

“Die Milch ist abgelaufen.” (The milk has expired.)

A word on negation: If you want to negate separable verbs, put the “nicht” right before the prefix.

Zum Beispiel (for example), we would say “he washed his hands” as:

“Er wäscht sich seine Hände ab.”

If Herr Muster (Mr. Sample) is a bit of a slob, we can say:

“Er wäscht sich seine Hände nicht ab.”
(He doesn’t wash his hands off.)

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Learning German doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, if you take it one step at a time it becomes almost effortless.

German separable verbs come easily after you have a good handle on a few core verbs and you know which prefixes separate. With that knowledge under your belt, you should be able to use separable verbs with confidence. And before you know it, your verb separation anxiety will be a thing of the past.

Tongue twisters, or Zungenbrecher, are a fantastic way to train your tongue in German pronunciation. It’s not only language learners who use tongue twisters—even speech therapists use them to help train native speakers, so you’re in good company!

Just as English-speakers enjoy a good “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” challenge every now and then, Germans love their Zungenbrecher – literally, tongue-breakers.

The key to tongue twisters is the repetition in their sounds. This is the whole point of them: They repeat a bunch of really difficult sounds over and over, forcing your tongue to get to grips with them. After stumbling over the difficult phrases a few times, your tongue will eventually become used to the sounds. Once you can fluently say a tongue twister, you will be able to copy the sounds in your everyday spoken German.

Tongue twisters will also improve your memory and focus. The repetition will help to focus your brain on a single task. While this is good in your native language, it’s much more of a benefit in a foreign tongue. After a few tongue twisters, your brain will be in the German zone and tuned in for language practice.

Being able to ace a German tongue twister may seem like an impossible task, but if you take things slowly you’ll soon realize just how easy they are to pick up.

Here are 10 German tongue-twisters to improve your German!

1. Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische; Frische Fische fischt Fischers Fritz.

Translation: Fritz, the fisherman’s son, fishes for fresh fish; For fresh fish fishes Fritz, the fisherman’s son.

Okay, so there’s a lot going on in this one. Continually switching between the fi and fri sounds is hard enough, but there’s also the tricky sche which non-native speakers often struggle with. To tackle this one, take each word separately.

Once you can pronounce each individual word without any problems, begin to pair them up. Eventually—and don’t worry if this takes a lot of practice—you’ll be able to build up and say one sentence all at once. As your confidence rises, speed it up and impress your friends!

2. Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid und Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut. 

Translation: A wedding dress will always be a wedding dress and red cabbage will always be red cabbage.

All those b sounds are the potential pitfalls here. There’s also a sneaky br in there. Germans usually roll their r when it follows a consonant, something which is uncommon in English and can be difficult for an English speaker to correctly pronounce. Once you’ve nailed it in this tongue twister, it’ll come naturally in your spoken German.

3. Der Dachdecker deckt dein Dach, drum dank dem Dachdecker, der dein Dach deckt.

Translation: The roofer roofs your roof, so thank the roofer who roofs your roof.

So much alliteration! And it’s this alliteration that’s so often used in English tongue twisters too. There aren’t any overly complicated sounds in this one—it just requires perseverance to get over all those d sounds. If you slow things down from the start you’ll be singing it before long.

4. Am Zehnten Zehnten um zehn Uhr zehn zogen zehn zahme Ziegen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo.

Translation: On October 10th at 10:10, 10 tame goats pull 10 centners (a European unit of weight) of sugar to the zoo.

The German z can be difficult for the native English speaker. We just don’t have a sound like it in our language. Once you know how to do it, it’s relatively easy to say—you just have to imagine that there’s an imaginary t in front of it, so you pronounce it as ts. This tongue twister becomes slightly easier to rattle off once you know this trick!

5. Acht alte Ameisen assen am Abend Ananas.

Translation: Eight old ants ate pineapples in the evening.

Again, this one shouldn’t be too difficult. The main point is being able to say all those a sounds in such a short span of time! One benefit of this twister is getting your brain used to pronouncing the German a as ah—unlike an American ay sound.

6. Bierbrauer Bauer braut braunes Bier.

Translation: Beer brewing farmers brew brown beer.

Even more b sounds! We’ve already seen these difficult b and br sounds in tongue twister #2 on this list. This one ups the ante along with its br pronunciation.

To master this one, take the words Bierbrauer, braut and braunes on their own and learn their pronunciations separately. Once you’ve conquered them individually, join the sentence back together and slowly take it on as a whole.

7. Graben Grabengräber Gruben?
Graben Grubengräber Gräben?
Nein!
Grabengräber graben Gräben.
Grubengräber graben Gruben.

Translation: Do gravediggers dig ditches?
Do ditchdiggers dig graves?
No!
Gravediggers dig graves.
Ditchdiggers dig ditches.

There are lots of vowel sounds jumping around in this mini poem-like twister. The umlaut on some of the a‘s changes their sound from ah to ay. Once you know this, the tongue twister becomes much simpler. But there are still some r sounds in there that need rolling—but if you’re this far down the list, you’ll have met them already!

8. Hottentottenpotentatentantenattentat 

Translation: Assassination of a Hottentot potentate’s aunt.

Who thought just one word would count as a tongue twister?! Welcome to the world of German compound words! Germans love joining their words together which results in some ridiculously long trains of letters just like the one above.

To have this word effortlessly trip off your tongue, you need to attack it as if it were smaller words. Take each of its component parts on their own: Hottentotten, Potentaten, Tanten, Attentat. As previously mentioned, say these very slowly until you know the pronunciation inside out. Then join them up into the one long word.

9. In Ulm, um Ulm, und um Ulm herum.

Translation: In Ulm, around Ulm, and all around Ulm.

None of the sounds in this sentence should be difficult for American tongues (apart from maybe that sneaky r in herum, but by now you’re able to handle this, right?). The trick is being able to slip in the l where needed. It’s not the most difficult tongue twister on this list, but it’s probably the most fun to say at full speed!

10. Im dichten Fichtendickicht sind dicke Fichten wichtig.

Translation: In the thick spruce thicket thick spruces are important.

For this tongue twister you need to be able to differentiate between ch and ck. The former is more of a guttural sound, one which we don’t have in English. The latter sound is pronounced just as we would say it.

It can be tricky interchanging these as quickly as is needed in this phrase but, as with all tongue twisters, speed is the key! Start off slowly and build it up until you can say it like a native!

There is a number of ways to say “I’m sorry” in German.

Basically, “Entschuldigung!” means “Excuse me!” or “Apologies!” and “Es tut mir leid” means “I am sorry.”

If you look a bit closer, “die Entschuldigung”(feminine) is a noun meaning: “the apology”, but the root of the word is “die Schuld” = “guilt”. “ent-” is a prefix of verbs meaning “de-” or “dis-” and “-ung” makes it a noun. So literally it means: “deguiltyfication”. So you ask for your sin or guilt to be forgiven or, which is more present in the word, you give a reason why it should be forgiven. In most cases this reason is that you ask for it by saying: “Entschuldigung”. If the case is more severe, it won’t be so easy though.

Then it might be better to try “Es tut mir leid.” Important word here is the verb “leidtun”. It is a separable verb so the first part gets sent to the end of the sentence when the verb is being conjugated. “Tun” means just “to do”, or in this connection it is close to “inflict”. So the word means “to inflict ‘leid’ on someone”. In the form above: “It(es) inflicts ‘leid’ on me(mir).” Now “leid” stems from the noun “das Leid” = “the harm/suffering/sorrow”. But here it is not meant as strongly, “sorrow” would be the highest border when you want to express what you feel about somebody’s loss. But basically it expresses that in hindsight you are sorry about it, wish you didn’t do it and already feel bad because you did it. It can be used more casually but looking at the heritage of the word it cannot surprise that many Germans don’t use it for every small thing.

Here are some examples of expressing the apology in German, with English translation:

Entschuldigung! – Pardon!

Es tut mir leid, ich kann heute Abend nicht bleiben. – I’m sorry, I cannot stay tonight.

Es tut mir leid, nicht in der Lage zu sein, Ihren Wunsch zu erfüllen. – Excuse me for not being able to fulfill your request.

Entschuldigen Sie die Störung. – Excuse me for disturbing you.

Verzeihen Sie meine Ausdrucksweise. – Pardon my French.

Modal particles are flavoring words that add a deeper element to language. In German, these could be words that soften the harshness of a comment, add a persuasive or suggestive element to a request or otherwise add subtle meaning to a sentence without changing the grammatical context.

Most of the time, particles are only used in spoken contexts. However, in the digital age, they’re also commonly used in German social media, due to the informality of the medium. A lot of the time, the particle will follow the verb in the sentence—however, some come at the end.

When spoken, particles remain unstressed, so even though you’re excited to use your favorite particle in a sentence, hold back and don’t stress it—just throw it in there to add an extra flare to your speech. Native speakers will definitely take notice!

Modal particles can be broken down into a few different types: particles that affirm elements of a sentence, particles that negate or resign elements of a sentence and particles that intensify or highlight elements of a sentence.

There are also a handful of particles that don’t fall into any category and simply need to be memorized. These are just guidelines, however, as some particles have different meanings depending on context.

Affirmation

1. Aber

This can sometimes mean “indeed” or “however,” depending on how it’s used. Don’t get it confused with aber (but) when used as a coordinating conjunction.

“Donnerstag wird aber wärmer als Heute sein.” (But Thursday will be warmer than today.)

“Das Pferd ist aber sehr klug!” (The horse is [indeed] very smart!)

“Du bist aber süß!” (Aw, you’re so sweet!)

2. Ja

This one is possibly easiest to remember as an affirmation because of its generally translated meaning of “yes.” Much like aber, it’s used to affirm whatever the sentence is trying to say.

“Sein Geburtstag ist ja wichtig!” (His birthday is [indeed] important!)

“Deine Freundin ist ja attraktiv.” (Your girlfriend is [quite] attractive.)

Ja can also be used as an intensifier.

3. Wohl 

Wohl is a very tricky particle to use because it’s usually translated to mean “well,” as in the phrase Ich fühle mich wohl (I feel well). However, as a particle it can mean that the speaker is assuming something to be true.

“Klaus isst nie Fleisch, er ist wohl Vegetarier.” (Klaus never eats meat, he is [assumingly] vegetarian.)

In this sentence, the wohl signifies that the speaker does not for certain know Klaus is vegetarian, but since he never eats meat the speaker is assuming it to be true.

It can also be used in an ironic context, when the speaker does know something to be the case, or wants to imply that it’s the case.

“Er hat sich einen Porsche gekauft.” (He bought himself a Porsche.)
“Er muss wohl jemanden beeindrucken.” (Looks like he needs to impress someone.)

 

Negation

4. Doch

Ah, doch. It sometimes seems like this word is used so often just because it’s so hard to translate. In fact, it simply does not have a one-word English equivalent. The best way to think of it is “really!” or “on the contrary.” A children’s argument might look like this:

“Nein!” “Doch!” “Nein!” “Doch!” (No! Yeah! Nuh-uh! Yeah-huh!)

Here’s another example:

“Du spinnst! Er hat nicht vor seinem Professor gekotzt!” (You’re kidding! He didn’t barf in front of his professor!)
“Doch, und es war ihm nicht mal peinlich!” (On the contrary, he didn’t even find it embarrassing!)

Perhaps the true appeal of doch lies in how concisely it can be used. It says in one word what would take several in English. English is, however, a Germanic language after all, and what remains of doch can be seen in the word “though.” The usages don’t line up, but they’re in the same family.

5. Halt

While not quite as common as the previous particles, halt is one that’s still important to understand. When it’s used, it shows the speaker attempting to displace blame or burden onto another force. Depending on who’s speaking, though, you might hear halt all the time (think of, like, the often ridiculed valley girl).

“Alter, du hast mein ganzes Schnitzel aufgegessen!” (Dude, you ate my whole schnitzel!)
“Ich hatte halt Hunger!” (What can I say, I was hungry!)

“Wie hat sie denn darauf reagiert?” (How did she react, then?)
“Sie war halt richtig sauer.” (She was, like, totally peeved.)

Intensification

These particles exaggerate or intensify. They may be used to draw emphasis to something or to illustrate the significance or importance of part of a sentence.

6. Schon

Schon can be used to intensify the message that’s being conveyed or to show a sense of anger.

“Die Katze ist schon traurig!” (That cat really is sad!)

“Gib mir schon das Geld!” (Give me the money already!)

7. Mal

This one conveys a sense of interest, and can be used as a suggestion. It can also soften commands or make things sound less formal.

“Hörst du mal gern Reggaemusik?” (Do you like to listen to reggae music?)

“Moment mal, ich bin müde!” (Give me a minute, I’m tired!)

8. Nun

Nun is often used with questions to show an intensification or possibly anger in what is being asked. In more formal contexts, it just means “now.”

“Was machst du nun mit dem Gewehr?” (Now what are you doing with that gun?)

“Bist du nun blöd oder einfach nur faul?” (Are you [in fact] stupid or just lazy?)

9. Denn

Used almost exclusively to convey a subtle interest in something, denn is an excellent particle to use on first dates! Depending on how you say it, however, the word can also add annoyance or anger to a sentence. Don’t worry, though, if you’re speaking with the right tone of voice, nobody will ever get confused.

“Wo hast du denn Russisch gelernt?” (So, where did you learn Russian?)

“Was machst du denn mit dem Einhorn?” (What are you doing with that unicorn?)

“Bist du denn immer noch nicht fertig?!” (Are you still not finished?)

What’s the hardest part of learning German? For English speakers, it is most probably German word order. It’s one of the many obstacles that need to be overcome for German learners.

It might seem confusing and bizarre at first, but in time it will eventually begin to click. Learn the rules of German word order and practice them so that you can you use the language more confidently.

1. Learn which conjunctions change word order in German and which don’t

There are different kinds of conjunctions that have different effects on the sentence.
The “normal” word order, as we expect it to be, is Subject Verb Object.

Ich werfe den Ball.

Coordinating conjunctions have no effect on word order: und, denn, sondern, aber, and oder.

Ich renne vorwärts und ich werfe den Ball.
Ich kann den Ball nicht gut treten, aber ich werfe den Ball ziemlich gut.
Entweder sagst du mir die Wahrheit, oder ich werfe dir den Ball ins Gesicht!
Ich bin stark, denn ich werfe jeden Tag im Basketball-Training den Ball.

Subordinating conjunctions do something much more confusing—they kick the first verb in the clause to the end of the clause. The most common subordinating conjunctions are: während, bis, als, wenn, da, weil, ob, obwohl, and dass.

Ich kann ihn nicht leiden, weil er so ein egoistischer Idiot ist.

Normally, the word order would be:

Er ist so ein egoistischer Idiot.

But if you use a subordinating conjunction, then the verb gets moved to the end of the clause:

Ich habe auch schon immer gedacht, dass er ein egoistischer Idiot ist.
Obwohl er ein egoistischer Idiot ist, sollten wir nett zu ihm sein.

2. Learn when to hold the verbs until the end

In German, there are many situations where the verb absolutely has to come at the end of the sentence. This is one of the reasons why German is considered to be such a strange and difficult language.

Modal Verbs

In German, the infinitive of the verb is usually easy to spot – almost every verb in the entire language ends in “-en.” (there are some like sammeln– to collect, and segeln– to sail, which are a little different!)

Laufen, gehen, sagen, singen, lieben, führen, usw. (und so weiter…)

Modal verbs are a very common kind of “helping verb,” and in German you’ll see them, in various forms, all of the time.

müssen, können, sollen, möchten

When you use a modal verb, the second verb in the sentence is always in the infinitive and comes at the end of the sentence.

It’s not going to feel natural for you at first to put the infinite at the end of sentence! Just imagine picking it up, juggling it, and putting it down in the right place.

Müssen wir ihm mit seinem blöden Umzug nochmal helfen?

NEVER: Müssen wir helfen mit seinem blöden Umzug?

Relative Clauses

In German, in every relative clause (Nebensatz), the verb comes at the end.

Kommt auch der Idiot, der mich so nervt,  zur Party?
Kommt Magdalena, die letztes Wochenende so witzig war, auch ins Kino?

If there are two verbs in a relative clause, the verb that gets booted to the end of the sentence is always the first verb. That means the “habe” in “habe…. geschlafen” or the “ist” in “ist… gegangen,” or the “muss” in “muss… lernen.” The other verb stays in its normal position. (past participle is the jargon but i can understand you leaving that out!)

Das Geschenk, das ich meinem Vater gekauft habe, ist nicht mehr in meinem Auto!
Ich möchte nur Mitarbeiter in meinem Café haben, die richtig gut Latte Art machen können.

3. When in German invert you the sentence?

These Yoda-esque inversions are another reason why Germans who are bad at English might say things like “Today can we going to the store?” Any time a temporal adverb or prepositional phrase comes at the beginning of the sentence, the verb has to come in the second position.

Morgen gehen wir feiern.
1914 fing der Erste Weltkrieg an.

It’s still correct for you to put adverbs in another part of the sentence:

Wir gehen morgen feiern.

But don’t mess this up! You can even put the object at the beginning of the sentence and invert it to add emphasis on the object.

Seine Umzüge habe ich niemals gemocht – Er hat einfach zu viele Möbel!

Do you see? habe comes before ich in the sentence.

Here are some examples of prepositional phrases at the beginning of the sentence that put the verb at the end:

Gestern hat sie mir etwas unglaublicheerzählt.
Gegenüber von mir sitzen zwei andere Deutsche.

4. Putting adverbs in the right word order in German

The basic rule for a German sentence is: Subject, Verb, Indirect Object (dative), Direct Object

Ich warf ihm den Ball.
Sie gab mir ein Geschenk.

Finally, when you’re putting together a long string of information in a sentence, all of the information should come in in the order Time Manner Place (TMP). That means that adverbs describing when something happened should come first, followed by how adverbs, and finally where adverbs.

Try looking at long German sentences that you find in newspapers or books so that you can get some real-life examples of how to use adverbs correctly.

Ich ging gestern gelangweilt in die Uni.
Toby kam heute morgen ins Büro gelaufen und sagte, dass Tanja heute Kuchen mitgebracht hat. Ich musste mich beeilen, weil ich noch etwas davon kriegen wollte!

Here, the modal verb wollte is booted to the end of the sentence because weil is that kind of conjunction. Dass does the same thing, moving hat to after mitgebracht.

• Time: heute Morgen
• Manner – laufend
• Place- in das Büro (note that here it’s in das Büro and not im Büro because Toby ran in, so it’s a verb with movement and that means that in takes the accusative case)

Remember, even if it seems difficult, that’s just German! Stick with it. Good luck!

Using these words will definitely make you sound like a true German!

1. “Krass”, “Hammer”, “Wahnsinnig” and “Geil”

If you love it, it’s krass. If you hate it, it’s krass. If it makes you roll around on the floor laughing, it’s krass. If it makes your hair stand on end with fear, yes you’ve guessed it, it’s also krass.

The phrase “Das ist der Hammer!” in fact has nothing to do with hammers, but actually implies that something is completely extraordinary.

“Wahnsinnig” has quite a similar meaning. Feeling the adrenaline pump through your body as you plunge down a crazy rollercoaster? “Das ist ja wahnsinnig!” will convey that you think it’s insanely fun or even exhilarating.

Do you think something’s cool, awesome, great or amazing? Don’t stick with your textbook classics of “toll”, “spannend” or “ausgezeichnet” – why not try the less standard “geil” instead?

The adjective “geil” gained superstar status in Germany when “Supergeil”, a promotional music video by supermarket giant Edeka, went viral.

But just a word of warning: be careful as to when you use this word, as in some contexts it can mean “horny” instead.

2. “Quasi”, “sozusagen”, “naja” and “halt”

If you want to avoid umming and ahhing when lost for words, these fillers are your go-to. “Quasi” and “sozusagen” are the equivalent of “so to speak”, and “naja” (“well…”) can be used if you’re a bit hesitant about a statement.

Have you heard British and American teens throwing the word “like” into sentences as if a phrase is utterly incomplete without it? It’s exactly the same here in Germany, where “halt” is sprinkled into phrases like there’s no tomorrow.

So next time you chat to your German friend, try throwing in a few fillers – you might end up with a bizarre sentence like “Naja…es war denn…halt…quasi schrecklich, sozusagen”.

3. “Bescheuert”

While you were probably taught the adjectives “schlecht” and “schrecklich” over and over again until you could say them standing on your head, you probably haven’t heard of the more colloquial “bescheuert”.

Whether something’s rubbish, annoying, or depressing – if it brings you down, it can be described as “bescheuert”.

But when you get to Germany, you’ll hear anyone and everyone uttering the phrase “das ist total bescheuert!” as they dash onto the station platform only to have missed the train by a few seconds.

4. “Na?”

Forget “Wie geht es Ihnen heute?”, “Wie geht’s dir?”, or even “Was geht ab?”. Why trot out all those long phrases when you can stick to the one-syllable word “Na?” to ask how someone is?

You can also use “Na” to ask how something went. When your friend comes back from a date, no lengthy question is required, just a simple “Naaaa?” will get across that you want to know all the details.

But try not to confuse it with the rather more sarcastic “Na und?” (“so what?”).

5. “Alter”

In America you’d say “buddy”, in England you’d say “mate” and in Scotland “pal”. But how do you refer to a male friend very casually in German? “Alter” or “Alta” is the way.

“Alter, was geht ab?” (“Dude, what’s up?”) is often heard among German teens. As you can tell, this kind of slang is very colloquial, so it’s generally only used by younger people.

6. “Quatsch”

“Das ist totaler Quatsch”, you might think when someone shamelessly declares that they are an authority on a particular subject when they clearly don’t know the first thing about it.

If you say that something is “Quatsch”, it means that it’s utter nonsense or complete gibberish.

7. “Bock auf etwas haben”

If you know the expression “Lust haben” (“to want to do something” or “to be up for doing something”), the phrase “Bock haben” means roughly the same thing.

Not really up for the day trip that your German friends are organising? “Ich habe keinen Bock darauf” will convey your lack of enthusiasm.

Completely down for a night out, though? “Ja, ich hab’ Bock drauf” will show that you’re interested.

8. “Auf jeden Fall”

“Bock haben” and “auf jeden Fall” go hand in hand on the enthusiasm scale.

Instead of using “natürlich” (“of course”), a piece of vocab which was probably drummed into you at school, try out the more casual “auf jeden Fall” (“definitely” or “for sure”).

And if you want to be really down with the kids, you can shorten it to a simple ‘auf jeden’.

9. “Jein”

Another way of expressing uncertainty, “jein” is a mashup of, yep you’ve guessed it, “ja” and nein”.

So if you want to express that you’re quite doubtful about something, or you just don’t want to come down really strongly on one side or the other, “jein” is the one to use.

10. “Mach’s gut!” 

Forget the textbook ways of saying goodbye – the casual “Tschüß” and the more formal “Auf Wiedersehen” – by throwing in a “Mach’s gut!” to your friends instead.

Literally translated as “Make it good!”, the phrase is the equivalent of “Have a good one!” in English.

These expressions will have your mouth watering! It’s impossible in one article to discuss all the idioms in German that refer to food. But we can look at some of the most common ones with the literal translation and the meaning.

1. Er glaubt, er bekommt eine Extrawurst

Literally: He thinks he gets an extra sausage.

Does he think he’s special? Like he gets an extra sausage? We all know someone like this.
2. Du armes Würstchen!

Literally: You poor little sausage.

You have a cold! Oh you poor little sausage. Let me make you some soup. (Careful, as this one is also frequently used condescendingly, which I have to say seems extraordinarily appropriate.)

3. Die beleidigte Wurst spielen

Literally: Acting the insulted sausage

Pay no mind to Sally over there. She’s just acting the insulted sausage: pouting, because she didn’t get her way.

4. Sich die Wurst vom Brot nehmen lassen

Literally: To let someone take the sausage off your bread.

Stand up for yourself! Don’t let anyone take the sausage off your bread. You’re too good to be taken advantage of like that.

5. Das ist mir Wurst

Literally: That is sausage to me.

I don’t care about that at all. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a sausage.

6. Sieht wie eine Presswurst aus

Literally: Looks like a stuffed sausage.

She might want to rethink the size of her clothing. She looks a bit like a stuffed sausage in that top.

7. Es geht um die Wurst

Literally: It’s about the sausage.

Okay now, there are two minutes left in the game! It’s crunch time people! It’s all about the sausage!

8. Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei

Literally: Everything has an end, only the sausage has two.

9. um den heißen Brei herumreden

Literally: To talk around the hot soup/porridge.

He simply will not get to the point. He keeps talking around the hot porridge/ hot soup, or, as we say in English, beating around the bush.

10. Jemandem Honig um den Mund schmieren

Literally: To smear honey around the mouth.

Before you ask Tim for that favor, make sure you give him lots of compliments – you know, smear honey around his mouth. (English equivalent: “to butter someone up.”)

11. Jemanden ausnehmen wie eine Weihnachtsgans

Literally: To gut someone like a Christmas goose.

If I get another passive aggressive email from Bob I swear I will tear him a new one. I will take him to the cleaners. I will gut him like a Christmas goose.

12. Dreikäsehoch

Literally: Three-cheeses-high.

Little Clara is celebrating her fourth birthday today. She’s not but a wee little thing, barely three cheeses high! I don’t know what it is, but I just love this one. It literally refers to the height of three wheels of cheese stacked on top of each other.

People are often a little afraid of getting into awkward situations where they have no clue how to express what they want to say. So, by learning how to express things such as your language level or how to ask for clarification and help with understanding or explaining, you can keep the conversation flowing and you open yourself up to a whole new dimension of language learning.

Armed with these phrases, every native speaker you encounter is a potential tutor.

 

ENGLISH I only speak a little German.	GERMAN Ich spreche nur ein wenig Deutsch.
I am learning German, but I am only a beginner.	Ich lerne Deutsch, aber ich bin noch ein Anfänger.
I have been learning German for 2 days / 2 weeks / 2 months / 1 year / 2 years.	Ich lerne seit 2 Tagen / 2 Wochen / 2 Monaten / 1 Jahr / 2 Jahren Deutsch.
Will you correct me please?	Könnten Sie mich bitte korrigieren?
What does ___ mean?	Was bedeutet ___?
What does that mean?	Was bedeutet das?
Can you explain in German/English to me?	Können Sie das auf Deutsch/Englisch für mich erklären?
What does that mean in this context?	Was bedeutet das in diesem Zusammenhang?
What is the German word for ___?	Was ist das deutsche Wort für ___?
Is this/that correct?	Ist das korrekt?
Am I wrong?	Liege ich falsch?
Am I correct?	Liege ich richtig?
Do you understand?	Verstehen Sie?
I do not understand	Ich verstehe nicht
I want to improve my level in German	Ich möchte mein Sprachniveau in Deutsch verbessern
I need to practice German	Ich brauche Übung in Deutsch
Do you mind if we speak in German?	Stört es Sie, wenn wir Deutsch sprechen?
Can you please speak in German? it helps me to learn.	Können Sie bitte Deutsch sprechen? das hilft mir beim Lernen.
How do you say ‘___’ in German?	Wie sagt man ‚___’ auf Deutsch?
I struggle with spelling / reading / writing / listening / pronunciation.	Ich habe Schwierigkeiten mit der korrekten Rechtschreibung / mit der korrekten Aussprache / damit, zu lesen / zu schreiben / das Gehörte zu verstehen.
Can you please repeat? I did not understand.	Können Sie das bitte wiederholen? Ich habe es nicht verstanden.
I don’t speak German fluently.	Ich spreche Deutsch nicht fließend.
I am confused.	Ich bin verwirrt.
I don’t know how to say it in German.	Ich weiß nicht, wie man das auf Deutsch sagt.
Sorry (or ‘pardon’), what did you say?	Entschuldigung, was haben Sie gesagt?
I’ve never heard of that.	Davon habe ich noch nie gehört.
That makes sense.	Das ergibt Sinn.
That does not make sense.	Das ergibt keinen Sinn.
What’s happening? / What’s going on?	Was passiert hier? / Was ist los?
What do you mean by ‘___’ ?	Was meinen Sie mit ‚___’?

An easy, fun way to learn German adjectives! A series of pictures by Delia Tello is so self-explanatory, no translations are needed.

An easy, fun way to learn German adjectives! A series of pictures by Delia Tello is so self-explanatory, no translations are needed.