In this lesson for beginners, we'll look at what are often also called "question words." Actually, they are mostly either interrogative pronouns/interrogative adverbs or relative pronouns/relative adverbs, depending on the usage. 

Let's begin with the word was and look at how it can be used in both interrogative and declarative sentences. In addition to meaning "what," was can also be translated in certain sentences as "something," "anything," or "that which."

Was machst du denn noch in deiner Freizeit? Joggst du gerne?

What else do you do in your spare time then? Do you like to go jogging?

Caption 8, Nicos Weg: Was macht dir Spaß?

 Play Caption

Und was man dabei auch bemerkt hat, ist, dass da kaum Eis ist...

And what you've also noticed is that there's hardly any ice...

Caption 29, WWF Deutschland Klimawandel hautnah:Was sind die Auswirkungen?

 Play Caption

The word wer may look like the English word "where," but it means "who" in German. Here is an example used in a question and also in a very common structure in which it means "anyone who" or "whoever." 

Wer friert uns diesen Moment ein?

Who will freeze this moment in time for us?

Caption 2, Andreas Bourani: Auf uns

 Play Caption

Wer unnötige Begegnungen vermeidet, hilft allen, die sich in den Krankenhäusern um täglich mehr Fälle kümmern müssen.

Those who avoid unnecessary social interaction will help all of those in the hospitals who are having to take care of more cases every day.

Captions 49-50, Coronavirus: Fernsehansprache von Angela Merkel

Play Caption

The word wer serves as a pronoun and is therefore different in the accusative and dative cases. Whereas many people rarely use "whom" in English, the words wen and wem are not optional in German!

Weißt du, wen ich gestern getroffen habe?

Do you know who I ran into yesterday?

Caption 9, Deutsch mit Eylin: Menschen beschreiben

 Play Caption

Mit wem willst du denn Valentinstag feiern?

Who do you want to celebrate Valentine's Day with?

Caption 32, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

 Play Caption

The German word for "where" is wo. You may have already learned the variations woher and wohin in order to ask people where they are from and where they are going.

Sag mir doch zuerst einmal, wo das Bundesland liegt.

First of all, tell me where the state is located.

Caption 14, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte: Nordrhein-Westfalen

 Play Caption

Wohin muss man in Deutschland zuerst gehen, wenn man heiraten möchte?

Where do you first have to go in Germany if you want to get married?

Caption 3, Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Einbürgerungstest

 Play Caption

Not to be confused with wenn, which can also mean "if," wann is the interrogative adverb for "when." It refers solely to time and not to probability. You can find a lesson on the difference here. 

Wann kommt der nächste Bus?

When is the next bus coming?

Caption 23, Deutsch mit Eylin: Fragewörter

 Play Caption

The word wie has several meanings, because in addition to "how" it also can be translated as "such as" or "like."

Hier Daniel Müller am Apparat. Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?

Daniel Müller speaking. How can I help you?

Caption 54, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

 Play Caption

Ich liebe meine Freunde und wie wir miteinander sind.

I love my friends and how we are together.

Caption 12, AnnenMayKantereit: Ozean

 Play Caption

And finally we come to warum. Note that even though the word darum exists, it is only rarely translated as "because!" That would be too easy. 

Warum ist denn hier nicht abgeschlossen?

Why isn't this locked here?

Caption 1, Die Pfefferkörner: Endspurt

 Play Caption

Further Learning
Next week we will look at how to say "whatever," "however," "whoever," and "whenever" in German. For now, notice how these question words are integrated into various sentences on Yabla German and watch Eylin's video Deutsch mit Eylin: Fragewörter.

The verb kennenlernen ("to get to know," "to make the acquaintance of," "to meet") is without a doubt an important one, but it's a bit tricky. For our beginners and anyone who needs a review, let's look at various conjugations of this separable verb as we look at some sentences from Yabla German. 

First of all, here it is again in the infinitive. Note that kennenlernen is one word:

Der Vermieter möchte uns kennenlernen.

The landlord would like to meet us.

Caption 42, Mein Weg nach DeutschlandL Auf Wohnungssuche

 Play Caption

In this next example, kennenlernen is used in the present tense, and more specifically in the third person singular. You'll note that lernen gets conjugated, whereas kennen remains in the infinitive but moves to the end of the sentence:

Man lernt mehr Leute kennen.

One gets to know more people.

Caption 37, Anna Am Strand: in Mexiko

 Play Caption

The same thing, which is normal for separable verbs, happens in the simple past tense:

Und so lernte die Prinzessin ihren Ehemann kennen.

And this is how the Princess met her husband.

Caption 35, Märchen - Sagenhaft: König Drosselbart

 Play Caption

In the following phrases, which you will most certainly need to know, kennenlernen is integrated into a subordinate clause with zu:

Schön, dich kennenzulernen. -Schön, dich kennenzulernen.

Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.

Caption 10, Paula & Heide: aus Berlin

 Play Caption

Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen. -Hallo.

Pleased to meet you. -Hello.

Caption 16, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

 Play Caption

Nun, ich freue mich, Sie dann kennenzulernen.

So, I am looking forward to meeting you then.

Caption 49, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

 Play Caption

In the present perfect, which is often used to talk about the past in German, we see the participle of the verb: 

Ich habe diesen netten Kerl kennengelernt.

I met this nice guy.

Caption 35, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Die Verabredung

 Play Caption

And this example also refers to what has already happened: 

Aber ich find's nett, Sie kennengelernt zu haben.

But I think it's nice to have met you.

Caption 36, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

 Play Caption

Further Learning
There's no shortage of examples on Yabla German, so have a look and practice telling people it was nice to meet them, or talking about when you first met various people you know. 

You too may be suffering from the post-Halloween blues. If you're a kid and went trick-or-treating, you've probably eaten about ten times your usual allowed amount of candy. If you're a grown-up like myself, you may have had half of a big bag of candy left over from the few trick-or-treaters brave enough to pass by the scary pumpkin on the doorstep. My problem is that I can't just leave candy lying around, I have to eat it. Either way, too much sugar can make you feel pretty down later on—your body's way of telling you that eating that much sugar just can't be very good for you.

By now, if you still have a carved pumpkin sitting outside, it's probably starting to sag and look even scarier than it did when it was fresh. You probably wouldn't want to eat it after it's been sitting out for a couple of days, but if you saved some of the inside bits (not the seeds and slimy stringy bits!), you can make some very tasty meals and desserts out of it. Let's talk today about pumpkins in German!

Kinder höhlen Kürbisse aus und feiern Halloween-Partys.

Children hollow out pumpkins and celebrate at Halloween parties.

Caption 15, Cettina erklärt: Halloween

 Play Caption

Weil Halloween ohne Kürbisse kein Halloween ist, oder?

Because Halloween isn't Halloween without pumpkins, right?

Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

 Play Caption

Es entstand die Tradition, zum Totenfest Laternen aus Rüben zu schnitzen. Daraus hat sich nach und nach die Tradition entwickelt, Kürbisköpfe auszuhöhlen und sie in hässliche Fratzen zu verwandeln.

The tradition emerged of carving lanterns out of turnips for the festival of the dead. Out of that, the tradition gradually developed of hollowing out pumpkin heads and and transforming them into ugly faces.

Captions 28-30, Cettina erklärt: Halloween

 Play Caption

From der Kürbis, we get der Kürbiskopf. It's a good thing we don't still carve out hard turnips for Halloween, especially since we might have to eat something made of turnips later! Speaking of food:

Wir haben damals im Herbst immer ganz viele Gerichte aus Kürbissen gemacht, zum Beispiel Kürbissuppe, Kürbiskuchen, Kürbismarmelade, Kürbismuffins, Kürbisbrot...

We always used to make a ton of dishes from pumpkins in autumn — for example, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin jam, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread...

Captions 22-24, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

 Play Caption

Die Kürbissuppe, der Kürbiskuchen, der Kürbismuffin and das Kürbisbrot all sound delicious, but die Kürbismarmelade?  Sorry, but pumpkin marmalade just sounds weird!

Ich finde Kürbis total lecker.

I think pumpkin is totally delicious.

Caption 80, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe

 Play Caption

Und deswegen gibt's heute eine leckere Kürbissuppe.

And that's why there's a delicious pumpkin soup today.

Caption 3, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe

 Play Caption

Ich gebe immer gern noch ein bisschen von diesem Kürbiskernöl mit rein.

I always like to put a little bit of this pumpkin seed oil in with it.

Caption 67, Sallys Tortenwelt und Kochwelt: Kürbissuppe

 Play Caption

The Austrians are particularly proud of their fine pumpkin seed oil (das Kürbiskernöl), and for very good reason: A little drizzle over a salad or into a soup can work wonders. If you've never tried it, trust me: it's delicious, practically magical. Speaking of magic:

Aber mit einem Wink ihres Zauberstabs verwandelte die Fee den Kürbis in eine goldene Kutsche.

But with a wave of her magic wand the Fairy transformed the pumpkin into a golden carriage.

Captions 44-45, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Aschenputtel

 Play Caption

Of course, the pumpkin plays a major role in the tale of Cinderella too. This is the origin of the phrase "to turn into a pumpkin," which is something people say when it's getting late, and they are either getting tired or they're going to miss their curfew getting home on time.

Further Learning
Read the Yabla German lesson Halloween in Deutschland and watch some of the videos above in their entirety to get your head around pumpkins in German. Just be careful not to turn into one!

Yabla published a lesson on Valentine's Day in Germany a few years ago, but we thought it would be timely to address the topic again as we have a lot of newer videos that mention the holiday. Valentine's Day in Germany is not as popular as it is in some countries, but it's getting celebrated more every year.

Heute ist Valentinstag, deswegen treffen sich heute bestimmt besonders viele Leute hier.

Today is Valentine's Day, so there are bound to be a lot of people here today.

Captions 7-8, Valentinstag: in Karlsruhe

 Play Caption

banner PLACEHOLDER

The first part is literally true, since this lesson was sent out on Valentine's Day!

Valentinstag find ich ganz gut. Mit wem willst du denn Valentinstag feiern?

I think Valentine's Day is pretty good. Who do you want to celebrate Valentine's Day with?

Captions 31-32, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

 Play Caption

This can, of course, be the question if you're single. Maybe it's a good time to be brave and give somebody you like a nice platonic-ish Valentine's card–but only if it's in the appropriate circumstances, like maybe not in the workplace.

Die Floristen wappnen sich für den Valentinstag.

The florists are gearing up for Valentine's Day.

Caption 3, Rhein-Main-TV: Vorbereitungen für Valentinstag laufen

 Play Caption

Your local florist, like many small businesses, has probably suffered a lot during the pandemic. This is a great time to give them some support if you can afford it–even if the flowers are for yourself!

Valentinstag ist ein Hochbetriebstag,  an dem]einfach ganz viele Menschen kommen, die für ihre Liebste oder ihren Liebsten Blumen kaufen.

Valentine's Day is a peak day when a lot of people simply come who are buying flowers for their sweethearts.

Captions 6-9, Rhein-Main-TV: Vorbereitungen für Valentinstag laufen

 Play Caption

Of course, you want to be very sure before you buy somebody flowers, but as we mentioned above, in the worst case scenario, buy some for yourself. And no, it's not "sad," it's self-affirming!

In Deutschland gilt der Valentinstag erst seit den 1950er Jahren als Tag der Freundschaft.

In Germany, Valentine's Day has been observed as a day of friendship only since the 1950s.

Caption 14, Valentinstag: in Karlsruhe

 Play Caption

But Valentine's Day is, in fact, becoming so popular in Germany that...

...laut einer Umfrage des Verbraucherforums Mydealz erwarten rund 60% der Deutschen auf jeden Fall ein Geschenk von ihrem Partner oder von ihrer Partnerin.

...according to a survey by the consumer forum Mydealz, around 60% of Germans definitely expect a gift from their partner.

Captions 40-42, Rhein-Main-TV: Vorbereitungen für Valentinstag laufen

 Play Caption

Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and watch the full videos above to see the context in which these expressions about Valentine's day have been used.