Paulina Christensen

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-22-2022

All languages have ways of showing what role a noun plays in a sentence. In English, a noun’s position in the sentence tells you how it’s being used. In German, the endings on the adjectives and articles that accompany the noun, which are based on case, tell you the noun’s function in the sentence. Here’s a quick overview of the German cases and the relationship they have with nouns, articles, and pronouns.

Article / Updated 01-13-2020

Getting your hellos and goodbyes straight in German is a matter of keeping in mind how well you know someone. If you’re on formal terms — in other words, if you’re addressing one or more people with Sie (zee) (you, formal) — then you have one set of expressions. When you’re on du (dooh) (you, informal) terms of address, you go with conversational expressions. Asking “Wie geht es Ihnen?” The next step after greeting someone in German is asking the question How are you? Whether you use the formal or the informal version of the question depends on whom you’re talking to. Sound complicated? Well, figuring out which form to use is easier than you may think. The following three versions of How are you? use three dative-case pronouns that represent you. Ihnen (een-en) is the dative equivalent of Sie, dir (deer) represents du, and euch (oyH) stands in for ihr. Here’s a breakdown of what to use when: Wie geht es Ihnen? (vee geyt ês een-en?) (How are you?) This is the formal version. Wie geht es dir? (vee geyt ês deer?) (How are you?) This is the informal, singular version. Wie geht’s? (vee geyts?) (How’s it going?) When you know someone really well, you can use this casual question. Wie geht es euch? (vee geyt ês oyH?) (How are you?) Use this when talking to several people informally. Greetings and introductions are often accompanied by some form of bodily contact. In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, hand-shaking is the most common form of bodily contact during greetings and introductions. Female friends may kiss each other on the cheek or give each other a hug. Men usually don’t kiss or hug each other, although they may greet a woman friend with a hug (and a kiss). You may notice that people in Europe often stand closer to you than you’re used to, for example, in stores, on the bus or subway, or during conversations with you. Giving a response to “Wie geht es Ihnen?” In English, the question How are you? is often just a way of saying hello, and no one raises an eyebrow if you don’t answer. In German, however, a reply is customary. Germans expect a reply because for the German speaker, asking “Wie geht es Ihnen?” isn’t the same as a casual hello but rather is a means of showing genuine interest in someone. The following are acceptable answers to the question Wie geht es Ihnen? (How are you?): Danke, gut. (dân-ke, gooht.) (Thanks, I’m fine.) or Gut, danke. (gooht, dân-ke.) (Fine, thanks.) Sehr gut. (zeyr gooht.) (Very good.) Ganz gut. (gânts gooht.) (Really good.) Es geht. (ês geyt.) (So, so.) This German expression actually means it goes. Nicht so gut. (niHt zoh gooht.) (Not so good.) As in English, you would usually accompany your reply with the question And (how are) you? Here’s the formal version: Und Ihnen? (oont een-en?) (And you?) Here’s how to pose the question informally: Und dir? (oont deer?) (And you?) (singular, informal you) Und euch? (oont oyH?) (And you?) (plural, informal you)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Getting to know the days and months of the German calendar helps you keep track of your travel plans, German holidays, and engagements. Days of the Week in German English German Pronunciaton Monday Montag mohn-tahk Tuesday Dienstag deens-tahk Wednesday Mittwoch mit-voH Thursday Donnerstag don-ers-tahk Friday Freitag fray-tahk Saturday Samstag / Sonnabend zâms-tahk / zon-ah-bent) Sunday Sonntag zon-tahk Months of the Year in German English German Pronunciation January Januar yâ-noo-ahr February Februar fey-broo-ahr March März mêrts April April ah-pril May Mai may June Juni yooh-nee July Juli yooh-lee August August ou-goost September September zêp-têm-ber October Oktober ok-toh-ber November November no-vêm-ber December Dezember dey-tsêm-ber

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When traveling in a German-speaking area, you need to know numbers for shopping, dining, transportation, and exchanging money. With this list, you can start practicing German numbers. 0 null (nool) 17 siebzehn (zeep-tseyn) 1 eins (ayns) 18 achtzehn (âHt-tseyn) 2 zwei (tsvay) 19 neunzehn (noyn-tseyn) 3 drei (dray) 20 zwanzig (tsvân-tsîH) 4 vier (feer) 21 einundzwanzig (ayn-oont-tsvân-tsiH) 5 fünf (fuenf) 22 zweiundzwanzig (tsvay-oont tsvân-tsiH) 6 sechs (zêks) 30 dreißig (dray-siH) 7 sieben (zee-ben) 40 vierzig (feer-tsiH) 8 acht (âHt) 50 fünfzig (fuenf-tsiH) 9 neun (noyn) 60 sechzig (zêH-tsiH) 10 zehn (tseyn) 70 siebzig (zeep-tsiH) 11 elf (êlf) 80 achtzig (âHt-tsiH) 12 zwölf (tsverlf) 90 neunzig (noyn-tsiH) 13 dreizehn (dray-tseyn) 100 hundert (hoon-dert) 14 vierzehn (feer-tseyn) 200 zweihundert (tsvay-hoon-dert) 15 fünfzehn (fuenf-tseyn) 1000 tausend (tou-zent) 16 sechzehn (zêH-tseyn)

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If you go to a German restaurant, these expressions can come in very handy. Practice them first, so that you can relax and enjoy the dining experience. English German Pronunciation The menu, please. Die Speisekarte bitte. dee shpay-ze kâr-te bi-te. I’d like…. Ich hätte gern…. iH hê-te gern…. I’d like…. Ich möchte gern…. iH merH-te gern…. Could you recommend something? Könnten Sie etwas empfehlen? kern-ten zee êt-vas êm-pfey-len? Another (beer) please. Noch (ein Bier) bitte. noH [ayn beer] bi-te. Excuse me. Entschuldigen Sie bitte. ênt-shool-dee-gen zee bi-te. The check, please. Die Rechnung bitte. dee rêH-noong bi-te. A receipt, please. Eine Quittung bitte. ayn-e kvi-toong bi-te. Enjoy your meal. Guten Appetit. gooh-ten âp-e-teet .

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Practice these German greetings and expressions, which you’ll use daily when you visit a German-speaking country. With these expressions, you can communicate politely, feel more confident, and travel more comfortably. English German Pronunciation Hello! Hallo! hâ-loh! (informal greeting) Good day! Guten Tag! gooh-ten tahk! Good evening! Guten Abend! gooh-ten ah-bent! Good-bye! Auf Wiedersehen! ouf vee-der-zey-en! Please./You’re welcome. Bitte. bi-te. Thank you. Danke. dân-ke. Excuse me. Entschuldigung. ênt-shool-dee-goong. My name is…. Ich heiße…. iH hays-e…. Pleased to meet you. Freut mich. froyt miH.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If you’re traveling in a German-speaking country and find yourself in an urgent situation, you can get the assistance you need by memorizing these important German phrases. English German Pronunciation Help! Hilfe! hilf-e! Police! Polizei! po-li-tsay! Fire! Feuer! foy-er! Get a doctor! Holen Sie einen Arzt! hohl-en zee ayn-en ârtst! I am sick. Ich bin krank. iH bin krânk. I don’t know my way around here. Ich kenne mich hier nicht aus. iH kên-e miH heer niHt ous.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

If you travel to a German-speaking country and need to know the time or where something is located, or you just want to get some basic information, a few common questions can come in very handy. English German Pronunciation Do you speak English? Sprechen Sie Englisch? shprêH-en zee êng-lish? How are you? Wie geht es Ihnen? vee geyt ês een-en? Would you help me please? Würden Sie mir bitte helfen? vuer-den zee meer bi-te hêl-fen? What’s your name? Wie heißen Sie? vee hays-en zee? What time is it? Wie viel Uhr ist es? vee feel oohr ist ês? What’s the weather like? Wie ist das Wetter? ee ist dâs vêt-er? How much does . . . cost? Wie viel kostet . . .? vee feel kos-tet…? Where do I find . . .? Wo finde ich . . .? voh fin-de iH…? Where are the bathrooms? Wo sind die Toiletten? voh zint dee toy-lêt-en? Do you have…? Haben Sie…? hah-ben zee…? Where is…? Wo ist…? voh ist…? Could you please talk more slowly? Können Sie bitte langsamer sprechen? kern-en zee bi-te lâng-zâm-er shprêH-en? Could you repeat that, please? Können Sie das bitte wiederholen? kern-en zee dâs bi-te vee-der-hoh-len?

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Modal verbs help you convey your attitude or explain how you feel about an action in German. They usually accompany another verb and appear in the second position of a sentence. The verb they assist generally appears at the end of the clause. The following table shows each German modal verb in infinitive form along with the English translation, followed by a statement using the modal verb. Look at the various ways of modifying the statement Ich lerne Deutsch (I learn German) with the modal verbs. Notice that the modal verb is in second position in the sentence, and the main verb gets booted to the end. German Modal Verb Translation Example English Equivalent dürfen may, to be allowed to Ich darf Deutsch lernen. l may/am allowed to learn German. können can, to be able to Ich kann Deutsch lernen. l can/am able to learn German. mögen to like to Ich mag Deutsch lernen. l like to learn German. möchten would like to Ich möchte Deutsch lernen. l would like to learn German. müssen must, to have to Ich muss Deutsch lernen. l must/have to learn German. sollen should, to be supposed to Ich soll Deutsch lernen. I’m supposed to/should learn German. wollen to want to Ich will Deutsch lernen. I want to learn German. These verbs all have regular verb endings in their plural forms (wir, ihr, sie, and Sie). Most of them also have irregular verb changes, some of which you can see in the examples in the table.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

German grammar has some striking differences to English grammar. One difference that newcomers to German notice right away has to do with word gender. Basically, you have three genders in German — masculine, feminine, and neuter — and although English has the same three genders, they play a very different role in German grammar. Gender in English is what’s called natural gender; for instance, boy and girl are examples of masculine and feminine gender words, while computer is an example of a neuter gender word. In German, most gender is unnatural. So instead of referring to a word’s meaning, gender refers to the word itself. To point out the gender of nouns, you use different gender markers. The three gender markers that mean the (singular) in German are der (masculine), die (feminine), and das (neuter). The plural form of the definite article is die. English has only one gender marker for the definite article of all nouns, namely the. Look at the words for eating utensils, where you have all three bases covered: der Löffel (the spoon), die Gabel (the fork), and das Messer (the knife). Why should a spoon be masculine, a fork feminine, and a knife neuter? Don’t worry if you don’t see any logical pattern here because there isn’t one. So how do you know how to form/use genders correctly in German? First, remember that gender is an integral part of each noun; it’s like a piece of the noun’s identity. So when you add new German nouns to your vocab, be sure to learn the article of each noun at the same time. You won’t be able to use a noun correctly if you don’t know its article. The following table breaks down the three definite articles — der, die, and das — by gender, and shows an example for each. German Definite Articles by Gender (Nominative Case) German Definite Article (English meaning) Gender (Abbreviation Seen in Dictionaries) German Example (English meaning) der (the) masculine (m) der Löffel (the spoon) die (the) feminine (f) die Gabel (the fork) das (the) neuter (n or nt) das Messer (the knife) die (the) plural (pl) die Menschen (the people) Some categories of nouns are consistently masculine, feminine, or neuter. For instance, noun gender usually follows the gender of people: der Onkel (the uncle) and die Schwester (the sister). In many other cases, the noun categories have to do with the ending of the noun. The following two tables provide some fairly reliable categories of nouns and their genders. Common Genders by Noun Ending (Or Beginning) Usually Masculine (der) Usually Feminine (die) Usually Neuter (das) -er (especially when referring to male people/jobs) -ade, -age, -anz, -enz, -ette, -ine, -ion, -tur (if foreign/borrowed from another language) -chen -ich -e -ium -ismus -ei -lein -ist -heit -ment (if foreign/borrowed from another language) -ner -ie -o -ik -tum or -um -in (when referring to female people/occupations) Ge- -keit -schaft -tät -ung Common Genders by Noun Subject Usually Masculine (der) Usually Feminine (die) Usually Neuter (das) Days, months, and seasons: der Freitag (Friday) Many flowers: die Rose (the rose) Colors (adjectives) used as nouns: grün (green) das Grün (the green) Map locations: der Süd(en) (the south) Many trees: die Buche (the beech) Geographic place names: das Europa (Europe) Names of cars and trains: der Audi (the Audi) and der ICE (the Intercity Express) Names of aircraft and ships: die Boeing 767 (the Boeing 767), die Titanic (the Titanic) Infinitives used as nouns (gerunds): schwimmen (to swim) das Schwimmen (swimming) Nationalities and words showing citizenship: der Amerikaner (the American) Cardinal numbers: eine Drei (a three) Young people and animals: das Baby (the baby) Occupations: der Arzt (the doctor) Almost all the chemical elements and most metals: das Aluminium (aluminum) and das Blei (lead) Names of most mountains and lakes: der Großglockner (the highest mountain in Austria) Most rivers outside of Europe: der Amazonas (the Amazon)