In German, there are many ways to accept or reject an offer or a situation, or talk about doing so. First, there is die Zusage and die Absage, and the verb forms zusagen and absagen. The noun die Zusage is essentially a positive answer, a confirmation (another noun is die Bestätigung), or can even refer to an acceptance letter. You may remember that absagen often means "to cancel" rather than "to reject" or "to decline." Have a look at the Yabla examples below:
Ich muss den Leuten, mit denen ich gesprochen habe, noch heute eine Zusage geben, sonst ist das Angebot weg.
I have to give the people I've spoken with a positive answer today or the offer is gone.
Captions 27-28, Nicos Weg: Ein Praktikum beim Film
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Aber ich kann Ihnen heute noch nicht zusagen.
But I can't give you a confirmation today.
Caption 34, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang
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Es ist bestimmt eine Zusage.
It's probably an acceptance letter.
Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Das hört sich gut an!
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... die radikale Absage an Putin, an die Gasimporte.
... the radical rejection of Putin, of the gas imports.
Caption 3, Umweltbewusstes Wohnen: Zu Besuch in einem Wiener Passivhaus
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Am liebsten würd ich ihn absagen.
I'd actually prefer to cancel it.
Caption 10, Nicos Weg: Freizeitstress
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Ich will wissen, warum du unser Treffen abgesagt hast.
I want to know why you canceled our meeting.
Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Der Umzug
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Among the other verbs that can be used in the context of accepting something are annehmen and hinnehmen. The verb akzeptieren can be used in the sense of "to come to terms with something" in German, and hinnehmen may have a negative connotation as well.
Die Partner sollten dieses Angebot annehmen und die Chance nutzen...
The partners should accept this offer and use the opportunity...
Caption 63, Angela Merkel: Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama
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Wir würden einen kleinen Verlust hinnehmen.
We would accept a small loss.
Caption 43, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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Und das ist schwierig zu akzeptieren, dass andre auch vom Grundgesetz profitieren.
And it's difficult to accept that others also benefit from the constitution.
Caption 4, Böhmermann: Wie geht man als Satiriker mit Rechtspopulismus um?
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There are then the verbs ablehnen, zurückweisen, and verweigern for expressing rejection or refusal, or declining an offer.
Früher bedeutete dies, dass man einen Heiratsantrag abgelehnt hat.
It used to mean that you rejected a marriage proposal.
Caption 18, Eva erklärt: Sprichwörter
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Darf die Müllabfuhr wegen falscher Mülltrennung den Abtransport verweigern?
Is the garbage collection service allowed to refuse transport due to incorrect trash separation?
Caption 75, Richter Alexander Hold Wer hat recht bei falscher Mülltrennung?
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Further Learning
You will find many examples of these words in use on Yabla German, so do a quick search to get a better understanding of how they are implemented in sentences. Most of the verbs mentioned above have a related noun (like die Hinnahme and die Ablehnung), so you can also look these up and memorize their articles.
Whether you visit Germany in the future and bump into someone in a train station, or accidentally interrupt someone in an online class or meeting, it's important to know how to excuse yourself or apologize in German to an appropriate degree.
First, you need to know (and learn to pronounce!) the word Entschuldigung and the verb sich entschuldigen. As you can see in the following two examples from Nicos Weg, our series for beginners, Entschuldigung can mean either "excuse me" or "sorry" depending on the context.
Entschuldigung, wen suchen Sie? -Lisa Brunner.
Excuse me, who are you looking for? -Lisa Brunner.
Caption 4, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 39: Wo ist der Aufzug?
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Ach, Nico, Entschuldigung, ich komme viel zu spät.
Oh, Nico, sorry, I'm much too late.
Caption 27, Nicos Weg - A1 Folge 35: Wann spielen wir?
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Occasionally, you may hear the word Verzeihung used to apologize. This is a bit more formal.
„Oh, Verzeihung, mein Herr!", sagte Frederick.
"Oh, excuse me, sir!" said Frederick.
Caption 37, Piggeldy und Frederick - Der Esel
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To apologize for something more serious than just being late or interrupting someone, the phrase Es tut mir leid is used to say "I'm sorry." It can also be used to express sympathy.
Es tut mir wirklich leid, das zu hören, Frau Hoffmann,
Ms. Hoffmann, I'm very sorry to hear
dass es Ihren Kindern nicht gut ging.
that your children aren't doing well.
Captions 48-49, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern
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The phrase Mein herzliches Beileid is used to express sympathy in the face of loss. Be careful not to get it mixed up in any way with the verb beleidigen, which means "to insult."
Herzliches Beileid, Lilly.
Heartfelt condolences, Lilly.
Caption 4, Lilly unter den Linden - Kapitel 1: Im Krankenhaus
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Wenn man etwas durch die Blume sagt, dann bedeutet das,
If you say something through the flower, then it means
dass man sein Gegenüber nicht beleidigen möchte.
that you don't want to insult the other person.
Captions 7-8, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter
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If you have unintentionally insulted someone or made a decision that affected someone adversely, you can also express regret with the verbs bereuen and bedauern.
Bereut er den Entschluss, sein Studium abgebrochen zu haben?
Does he regret the decision to have broken off his university studies?
Caption 62, Deutsche Welle - Lieber Ausbildung als Studium
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Doch, doch! Obwohl ich noch immer bedauere, dass
Yes, yes! Although I still regret that
er damals nicht zu mir in die Firma gekommen ist.
that he didn't join me in the company back then.
Captions 20-21, Die Pfefferkörner - Endspurt
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Further Learning
Search for Entschuldigung, the verb sich entschuldigen, and the imperatives Entschuldigen Sie (formal) and Entschuldige (informal) on Yabla German to hear all of these options used in context. You can also look up the verb verzeihen. This is the best way to get an understanding of which expression is right for a particular kind of situation.
The words "somebody," "someone," "anybody," and "anyone" are indefinite pronouns that are usually translated as jemand in German. The indefinite pronoun jemand is similar to the definite pronouns I (ich), you (Sie or du), we (wir), or they (sie), but is referring to an indefinite rather than specific person.
Just like the definite pronouns in German, jemand is also subject to changing its form when used in the dative case after prepositions like nach, zu, mit or von. In the dative case, jemand gets an additional -em ending:
Sie suchen nach jemandem für ihre Marketingabteilung.
They're looking for someone for their marketing department.
Caption 8, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch
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Es ist lange her, dass ich so eine Verbindung zu jemandem gespürt habe.
It's been a long time since I felt such a connection to anyone.
Caption 53, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Die Verabredung
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Habt ihr mit jemandem Probleme, sagt's ihm ins Gesicht
If you have problems with someone, tell him to his face
Caption 57, Golo - Smile
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Der Vorschlag müsste von jemandem kommen.
The proposal would have to come from someone.
Caption 46, Pastewka - Neue Serie für Kessler
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This is also true when the sentence structure requires the dative case, such as when you give somebody something:
Jemandem einen Korb geben.
To give someone a basket.
Caption 17, Eva erklärt - Sprichwörter
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The above expression usually is an idiom that means you are rejecting something that has been offered. Another figure of speech that you may already know is:
Und wenn ich jemandem die Daumen drücke,
And if I press my thumbs for someone,
dann wünsche ich der Person ganz viel Glück.
then I'm wishing the person a whole lot of luck.
Captions 28-29, Eva erklärt - Redewendungen
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Further Learning
Look for other examples of how jemandem is used in a real-world context on Yabla German and try devising some sentences of your own using jemandem and have a fellow student check your work! If you're feeling brave you can explore the related expressions irgendjemandem and irgendwem!
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