Phrases(de)

Common phrases

Commonly used phrases are often shortened versions of a longer sentence. Or they might be leftovers from some old grammar that has otherwise fallen out of use. That means that their grammar might appear strange.

Wie geht's?

There are many ways to ask someone how they are doing. Take "How are you?," "How do you do?" and "How is it going?" as examples. In German, the common phrase or idiom uses the verb gehen (go): Wie geht es dir? (How are you?). Which can be shortened to Wie geht's?.

Willkommen can be a false friend

In German, Willkommen means welcome as in "Welcome to our home", but it does not mean welcome as in "Thank you - You're welcome". The German for the latter is Gern geschehen(You are welcome) (or just Gern!) or Keine Ursache(Never mind).

Bitte!

Bitte has a few different uses in German. It’s sort of an all‑purpose politeness word!

Bitte? Pardon?

Ja, bitte! Yes, please!

Bitte! You’re welcome!

Don’t do the do!

In English, we often use do or does to ask questions. In German, don’t bother with that! Just put the verb at the beginning of the sentence.

Du kommst aus Deutschland.	Kommst du aus Deutschland?
You come from Germany.	Do you come from Germany?

Bayern(Bavaria)

Frankreich Österreich Australien Brasilien Spanien Großbritannien

Europa

Wie heißt du?

In English, we say My name is ... In German, you say Ich heiße...

Ich heiße Julia. I am called Julia.

A handshake is very important in the German‑speaking world. Make sure your handshake is firm, brief, and not bouncy!

Entschuldigung!

Sometimes, German words can be a mouthful. Later on, you will find that you can take long words apart, and recognize the meaning from its elements.

Here's an example:

Part	Meaning
ent-	de-
Schuld	guilt
-ig	-y
-gung	noun suffix

So, Entschuldigung literally means something like "deguiltification": "Take the guilt away from me" :)

Guten Morgen!

Many greetings like Good morning! begin with Guten..., but Good night! is just a biiiit different!

Guten Morgen! Good morning!

Guten Tag! Good afternoon!

Guten Abend! Good evening!

Gute Nacht! Good night!

Phrases

German	Meaning
Yes, all right!	Ja, alles klar!
Auf Wiedersehen / Tschö /Tschüss !	Goodbye!
Danke! / Ich danke dir/Ihnen!	Thank you!
Danke schön! / Danke bestens! / Danke vielmals!	Thank you very much.
In Ordnung. Danke.	Alright. Thank you.
Keine Ahnung.	No idea.
Mir geth's gut.	I am doing well. / I am fine.
Alles klar, bis morgen.	all right, see you tommorrow.
Macht nichts.	Never Mind.
leider	unfortunately