That is the question that we'll be looking at today! In English the formal "you" ("thee," "thy," "thou" etc.) has fallen out of formal use. But as you probably know, the formal Sie and all of its grammatical forms are still used in German as polite forms of social address to people you don't know and to show respect for elders, figures of authority, and colleagues in the workplace.
I have known people who were friends in their personal lives, but who as colleagues at work addressed each other with the formal Sie. When uncertain whether to call somebody du (the verb is duzen) or Sie (with the verb siezen), it's usually best to start with Sie.
But if it's a less formal situation, and you note that others are using the informal du, there is a polite way to suggest using the informal du:
Hm, hm, danke, aber Sie dürfen mich gerne duzen, ich bin Eva.
Hm, hm, thanks, but you can gladly address me informally, I am Eva.
Caption 36, Das Lügenbüro: Die Bewerbung
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And you can simply ask, too:
Darf ich dich duzen? Oh, ungern.
May I address you informally? Oh, grudgingly.
Captions 32-33, 18 Miss-Kandidatinnen: beim Friseur
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Luckily, the person in the last caption was kidding, as they continue the conversation using the informal du. After spending some time among native Germans, it's actually much easier than you think to get a feel for when it's more appropriate to be less formal.
Fremde Menschen werden üblicherweise gesiezt. In der heutigen Zeit sind die Umgangsformen lockerer als früher.
Strangers are usually addressed formally with "Sie." Nowadays, manners are more relaxed than in the past.
Captions 29-30, Cettina erklärt: Sitten und Bräuche
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Being addressed for the first time as Sie can also be a bit alarming for younger adults:
Hat der mich grade gesiezt? Ja. -Oh, Janosch hat mich gesiezt, jetzt bin ich... Jetzt bin ich wirklich alt.
Did he just address me with "Sie"? Yes. -Oh, Janosch addressed me with "Sie," now I'm... Now I'm really old.
Captions 23-24, Free Birds Interview: mit Nora Tschirner & Rick Kavanian
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So while there's a very small chance that somebody might be offended if you accidentally address them informally, as a rule most Germans will be pleased to find a foreigner speaking German and make allowances for the fact that US Americans, at least, are generally less formal. In my experience, they'll even find it charming.
There's a likely apocryphal story that German Chancellor Helmut Kohl once told US President Ronald Reagan—or was it British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher?— "You can say 'you' to me." The point of the joke being that Kohl's English was so poor that he directly (mis)translated Sie dürfen mich duzen.
Further Learning
Do a search for videos on Yabla German for duzen and watch the video results in their entirety to get a feel for when people feel comfortable shifting to a less formal means of communication.
There are several ways to express "anyway" in German, depending on the function that the word is supposed to have. There are four main words to know, but you'd be surprised at which words can take on a similar meaning.
Let's start with examples in which "anyway" has a confirming function, which can be expressed with eh, sowieso, or ohnehin. In the following sentences, there is a match in what is going on, or something may already be the case.
Ist das aber kalt! und schwimmen kann ich sowieso nicht.
Is that ever cold! and I can't swim anyway.
Captions 35-36, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Himmel
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Ich hab ja auch eh nichts mehr zu verlieren.
I have nothing left to lose anyway.
Caption 11, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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...aber da ich ohnehin lieber ein Marmeladenbrot essen möchte,
...but since I'd rather have a slice of bread with marmalade anyway,
werd' ich jetzt rübergehen zum Brot und mir eine Scheibe Brot schneiden.
I am going go over to the bread and cut myself a slice of bread.
Captions 5-6, Jenny beim Frühstück - Teil 2
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However, eh and sowieso can't always be used. For sentences in which "anyway" has a contradictory meaning (and could potentially be replaced with "despite that" or "nevertheless"), trotzdem is the word you're looking for.
Die Hühner legten aber trotzdem weiter Eier
But the chickens kept laying eggs anyway,
und sogar mehr als sonst.
and even more than usual.
Captions 17-18, Cettina und Sabine - Ostern
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Hätte ich voll Angst vor, aber würde ich trotzdem machen.
I would be totally afraid of it, but I would do it anyway.
Caption 51, Free Birds - Interview mit Nora Tschirner & Rick Kavanian
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There is then also a conversational "anyway," which various words in German provide in particular contexts. As you will notice right away, these words are not always or even usually translated as "anyway," but the equivalent phrase uses it to express the intended meaning.
Gut. Und wo befindet sich Bayern überhaupt?
Good. And where is Bavaria located anyway?
Caption 10, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte - Bayern
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Wer braucht schon Hollywood?
Who needs Hollywood anyway?
Caption 1, Berlinale - Schauspieler Jürgen Vogel
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Wie alt ist er denn?
How old is he anyway?
Caption 8, Ein Herz für Tiere - Tierschutzhof und Border Collie
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Na, jedenfalls, arbeiten wir mit sechs Kameras.
Well, anyway, we'll be working with six cameras.
Caption 34, Otto Waalkes - Hier kommt Otto!
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Na ja, wie auch immer, also, wie Sie das mit der Kerze hingekriegt haben, das war... fantastisch.
Well, anyway, so, however you did that with the candle, that was... fantastic.
Caption 13, Weihnachtsmann gesucht - Bist du verliebt?
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Further Learning
You can find many examples of sowieso, eh, ohnehin, and trotzdem being used on Yabla German. When you see one, consider why the chosen word is being used. When you find yourself using the word "anyway," you can consider which German word would fit the particular meaning you are conveying.
I recently received an email in German in which the writer replied gerne geschehen, a standard response when somebody has thanked you for something. I often hear this phrase in spoken German, but usually as gern geschehen, without the -e after gern. The adverbs gern and gerne have the same meaning, usually translated as "gladly" or "like," so how do we know which one to use in which contexts?
The answer is very simple: you can use both interchangeably. The original Old German word, from which our modern usage originates, is gerno. This eventually became the modern German word gerne. Even as recently as 20 or so years ago, teachers may have admonished students for using gern instead of gerne in their written German. But eventually, the language as it is spoken began to have an impact on what was considered correct usage, and with time, the dropping of the extra syllable -e allowed for the word to be accepted on equal footing as either gerne or gern: they are, for all intents and purposes, the same word!
Let's take a look at some examples of gern and gerne being used in a spoken context on Yabla German:
Ich würde gern mit dir in einer Altbauwohnung wohnen.
I would like to live with you in an apartment in an old building.
Caption 7, AnnenMayKantereit - 3. Stock
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Ich würde gerne aus privaten Gründen meine Stunden reduzieren.
I would like to reduce my hours, for personal reasons.
Caption 10, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern - Part 4
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Ich würde in der Tat gern wissen, wie groß das Team ist, mit dem ich dann zusammenarbeite.
In fact, I would like to know how big the team is that I would be working with
Captions 48-49, Eva erklärt - Bewerbungen - Part 2
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Danke, aber Sie dürfen mich gerne duzen.
Thanks, but you can gladly address me informally.
Caption 36, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung - Part 1
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Wir würden gern mal auf Deutschlandtournee gehen.
"Well, we would like to tour Germany. [Magicians]
Caption 34, 3nach9 - Ehrlich Brothers - Show-Magier - Part 1
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Die kannst du gerne haben.
You can gladly have them.
Caption 26, JoNaLu - Der Piratenschatz
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Further Learning
Take a look at these interesting articles about gerne and gern at Tandem Göttingen, German with Nicole, and the Zwiebelfisch series at Der Spiegel magazine. You can also search Yabla German for other examples of gerne and gern being used in conversations. In a forthcoming lesson, we'll discuss the the difference between gerne and mag!
Some of the most practical German words that you can use immediately upon arrival in a German-speaking country (don't forget that German is spoken in Austria and Switzerland too!) are related to ordering food. When you first enter a restaurant, the waitstaff may invite you to take a seat:
Nehmen Sie bitte Platz.
Please have a seat.
Caption 35, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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You may then be offered a menu:
Die Speisekarte, bitte schön. -Danke schön.
Here's the menu. -Thank you.
Caption 7, Abendessen - mit Marko
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Note that another word for menu is das Menü, and sometimes Speisekarte is shortened simply to die Karte. When you are ready to order, you may inform the waitstaff:
Wir würden gerne bestellen, bitte.
We would like to order, please.
Caption 47, Melanie und Thomas - im Restaurant
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Those of you with dietary restrictions may wish to discuss some menu items:
Kichererbsenbuletten sind das, ist auch vegetarisch, rein vegan ist das... ohne tierische Produkte.
Those are chick pea burgers, it's also vegetarian, it's purely vegan... without animal products.
Captions 26-28, Jonathan Johnson - Nahöstliches Essen in Berlin
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Then there are several ways you can express your order to the waitstaff:
Ich hätte gerne eine Berliner Kartoffelsuppe.
I would like a Berlin potato soup.
Caption 21, Abendessen - mit Marko
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Dann nehmen wir doch die Apfelküchle mit Vanilleeis.
Then we'll take the apple pies with vanilla ice cream after all.
Caption 43, Melanie und Thomas - im Restaurant
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Before you begin eating:
Zu Beginn der Mahlzeit sagen wir „guten Appetit“.
At the beginning of the meal we say "Enjoy your meal."
Caption 19, Tisch decken - mit Eva
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And when you are ready to pay, you can simply say bezahlen, bitte or die Rechnung, bitte. If you wish to pay with a credit card, you may ask:
Kann ich auch mit Kreditkarte bezahlen?
Can I also pay with a credit card?
Caption 7, Diane - auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt
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If you need a receipt for tax or expense account purposes, after you pay you can ask for eine Quittung, bitte. As for tipping in Germany, you may want to read this Yabla lesson!
Further Learning
There are a lot of Yabla German videos related to food. Here are a few for you to start with!
Apfelpfannkuchen: mit Alina und Sabine
Grillzeit: Grill anzünden und los geht's
Jonathan Johnson: Nahöstliches Essen in Berlin
Kochhaus Berlin: Rucola-Salat-Rezept
In German, there are many different salutations and closings for letters and emails. Which one you choose will depend on your relationship with the person you are writing and whether they identify as male or female.
Friends who write each other emails may simply write Hallo Gitta, or Hallo Micha, or Hallo zusammen, (if addressing a group). For this salutation, the comma comes after the name and not after Hallo as it would in longer sentences.
However, unless you are on very casual terms with someone, you will need to use the other salutations and make sure you use the appropriate declension. If you have never met a person and know that the circumstances are formal, you will want to use Sehr geehrter or Sehr geehrte which literally translates as "Very honored..." If you don't know exactly who will receive your letter, Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, is the German version of "Dear sir or madam."
Gut. Also... „Sehr geehrte Frau Larsen, vielen Dank für Ihre Rückmeldung“.
Good. So... "Dear Ms. Larsen, Many thanks for your response."
Captions 17-18, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung - Part 1
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„Sehr geehrter Herr Frederick“, sagte er, „lassen Sie das sofort nach, sonst hau ich Ihnen eins auf die empfindliche Nase“.
"Very honorable Mister Frederick," he said, "stop that immediately, otherwise, I'll sock you one on [your] sensitive nose."
Captions 32-33, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Brief
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Lieber or Liebe which translates simply as "Dear" is more flexible. It may be followed by a first name (Lieber Hans,) or a formal term of address (Liebe Frau Hoffmann,), and is used for different types of friends and acquaintances.
„Lieber Tiger, teile dir mit, dass es mir gut geht“.
"Dear Tiger, I'll share with you that I'm doing well."
Caption 17, Janoschs Traumstunde - Post für den Tiger
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One important thing to remember is that the first word after the comma is usually not capitalized like it would be in English.
When concluding your letter or email, there are a number of options. The typical closing for formal letters is Mit freundlichen Grüßen, which the Schlager star Heino recently used as an album title when he covered other musicians' songs.
Er covert auf seinem Album „Mit freundlichen Grüßen“ Rock- und Popsongs.
He is covering rock and pop songs on his album "With Friendly Greetings."
Captions 5-6, Heino - Neue Volkslieder
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Other closings for formal acquaintances include Herzliche Grüße, ("Heartfelt greetings") and Viele Grüße, ("Many greetings"). Between friends or informal acquaintances, Liebe Grüße, or simply Lieben Gruß, or Grüße, are more common options.
„Liebe Grüße, Elisabeth“. -Elisabeth?
"Kind Regards, Elisabeth." -Elisabeth?
Caption 46, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche - Part 3
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Further Learning
For more vocabulary related to letter-writing, go to Yabla German and watch the full episode of Piggeldy and Frederick in which the brothers tackle the topic. More salutations and closings can be seen on this informative website. For a more detailed account of how to use punctuation with the word Hallo, you can look at this Duden article.
This week we are going to take a look at the differences between dann and denn, a fairly difficult topic even for experienced non-native German speakers. Part of the problem lies in the fact that in Old High German and Middle High German, these two currently distinct words were just one word, thus they both come from the same root. If we reduce dann and denn to their basic grammatical forms, it's possible to get a better understanding of how they are used.
1. As an adverb, dann is usually translated as "then":
Wenn die Klassen größer werden als 15 bis 20,
When the classes get bigger than 15 to 20,
dann fange ich an zu teilen.
then I start to split them.
Caption 67, Strothoff International School - Interview mit dem Rektor
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Dann ist auch die Mutter damit beschäftigt, Nahrung herbeizuschaffen.
Then the mother is also occupied with providing nourishment.
Caption 31, Alpenseen - Kühle Schönheiten
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If you ever hear a native German say denn as an adverb in sentences similar to the above, that's because in Northern German dialect, denn and dann are still interchangeable. According to Duden, any other use of denn as an adverb is only very rare.
2. As a particle, denn is usually translated as "then":
Und was ist denn los?
And what is happening then?
Caption 45, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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Wo wollen wir denn hin?
Where do we want to go then?
Caption 30, Die Klasse - Berlin '61
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Note that the particle denn is almost exclusively found in interrogative sentences (sentences that ask a question)!
3: As a coordinating conjunction, denn is usually translated to English as "because" (or sometimes "since"):
Wir erleben Emotionen und heben ab, denn wir sind frei.
We experience emotions and lift off, because we are free.
Caption 12, Christina Stürmer - Fieber
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Denn plötzlich wurden wir eine richtig moderne Familie.
Because suddenly we became a really modern family.
Caption 21, Mama arbeitet wieder - Kapitel 1: Alle haben sich lieb
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Notice that denn is a conjunction like und or aber or oder and does not force the sentence order to place the verb at the end of the sentence.
So to recap:
1. dann as an adverb usually translates as "then";
2. denn as a particle is usually found in sentences asking a question and usually translates as "then," though as an emphasis word it may not be translated at all;
3. denn as a conjunction usually translates as "because," except in
4. Northern German dialect, where denn is used interchangeably for the standard German adverb dann.
Perhaps the easiest way to remember the basic gist of this is: if you want to say "then" in a sentence, it's usually dann; if you want to say "then" in a question, it will most often be denn; or if you want to say "because" you can use denn. This is somewhat oversimplifying the situation, but should serve as a good way to sort out the basics of the differences between dann and denn!
In next week's lesson, we will learn about the difference between the conjunctions denn and weil, both ways to say "because."
Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for dann and denn to see the words used in a real-world context. For an in-depth analysis of the origin of the words dann and denn, read this DWDS page under Etymologie, and be sure and click below it for the full version of the text! For a somewhat lighter-hearted view on the two words, check out this German language blog.
The German present perfect tense is mostly used in cases where we would use the simple past tense in English, although sometimes it has the same meaning in both languages. You likely know that it is most often formed with the auxiliary verb haben and the past participle of the main verb:
Und wir haben über die Themen Iran und, äh, auch den Nahen Osten gesprochen.
And we spoke about the topic of Iran and, uh, also the Middle East.
Caption 58, Angela Merkel - Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama
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However, with many verbs that either express movement or a change of state, a conjugation of sein is used as the auxiliary verb rather than haben.
Für zwei Wochen bin ich durchs Land gereist.
For two weeks, I traveled across the country.
Caption 20, Grete - eine Freiwillige in Israel
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Ich bin nach Berlin gekommen, um ein Praktikum zu machen am Theater.
I came to Berlin to do an internship at the theater.
Caption 21, Fine - sucht eine Wohnung
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Hier ist auch alles gut, aber da ist etwas Komisches passiert.
Everything is also good here, but something strange has happened.
Caption 44, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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Um dreizehn Uhr dreißig:
At one-thirty p.m.,
Die Beatles sind aufgewacht, etwas früher als zu Hause.
the Beatles woke up, somewhat earlier than at home.
Caption 11, Die Beatles - in Deutschland
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What is quite tricky is that some verbs can be used with either sein or haben depending on the context, and may take on different meanings. The second sentence below implies that the person didn't just fly in a plane as a passenger, but was at the controls themselves.
Wir sind zum Mond geflogen
We flew to the moon
Caption 2, Christina Stürmer - Seite an Seite
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Hat vieles selber gebaut, was er geflogen hat.
He built a lot of that which he flew himself.
Caption 54, Lokalhelden - Mini-Airplane
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Further Learning
Learn the definitions and past participles of the following verbs, which also take sein rather than haben in the present perfect: gehen, laufen, einschlafen, rennen, joggen, wandern, klettern, fallen, steigen, fahren, reiten, umziehen, fliehen, gleiten, springen, kriechen, aufstehen, sinken, schleichen, eintreten, schwimmen, rutschen. Once you learn the past participles, search for them on Yabla German to see them used with the auxiliary verb sein in context.
The German imperative mood, or command form, can be very difficult or very easy depending on whom you are addressing. This week, we'll look at some various examples from Yabla German to highlight what you'll need to keep in mind.
For a person or group of people that you would address as Sie, the command form is quite easy. You will simply say the root of the verb with -en added (in most cases this will be identical to the infinitive) followed by Sie:
Nehmen Sie bitte Platz, Frau Sonntag.
Please have a seat, Ms. Sonntag.
Caption 35, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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Bitte, seien Sie jetzt ganz still.
Please, be completely silent now.
Caption 60, Magie - Die Zaubershow
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For a group of people you would address as ihr, you will simply use the present tense conjugation. The subject ihr, however, is no longer included in the sentence.
Gebt mir die schönen Sätze. Jacob beginnt.
Give me the [your] nice sentences. Jacob will begin.
Caption 20, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Relativsätze mit Präpositionen
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The most difficult imperative sentences to form are those for people you would refer to as du, because there are several different patterns they can follow depending on the characteristics of the verb. For weak verbs, the form will be the verb's stem, although an "e" is added to the end with certain consonants. For strong verbs, the imperative will take into account any changes to the root that occur. In any case, du does not usually appear in the sentence.
Atme ganz tief ein
Breathe in very deeply
Caption 43, Christina Stürmer - Wir leben den Moment
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Aber schau mal hier.
But look here.
Caption 23, Bubble Beatz - Supertalente vom Schrottplatz
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„Vergiss es! Das wird nicht passieren.“
"Forget it! It won't happen."
Caption 74, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Hans mein Igel
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Sei ruhig, Findus, ich bin ja noch gar nicht aufgestanden.
Be quiet, Findus, I indeed haven't gotten up yet at all.
Komm, bleib kurz stehen, nimm meine Hand
Come, stand still for a brief moment, take my hand
Caption 5, Michelle - Paris
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Further Learning
For more information on the du imperative, look at this website or this website. If you wish to make flashcards, use the second column of the table on this page, which shows the du imperative for a number of common strong verbs.
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