Learn German With Me!

Let's make a small beginning ...

You have been corresponding with this German girl for over a year. She writes and speaks excellent English and of course German. You are on your way to meet her for the first time. You are flying to Frankfurt. You land and there she is waiting for you ...

You: "Hello!"
She: "Hallo!"

You: "Wie geht es Ihnen? How are you?" (Pronounced: v gate s ehnen)
She: "You can call me dear"

What ??? You are puzzled. What does she mean, you can call me "dear". Actually what she is telling you to do is use the more familiar form of 'you' - "du"

Ok ... rewind

You: "Wie geht es dir?" (V gate s dear)
She: "Gut! Danke. Und dir? Fine Thank you. And you?" (goot! Daanka. oont dear)

There! That was not difficult. Was it?

'Ihnen' and 'dir' are forms of 'you' or to be more specific 'to you'.
'Wie' is 'how'.
'geht' is a verb form of 'gehen' meaning 'to go'.
'es' means 'it'

So, what you asked was actually 'How goes it to you?' or 'How is it going?'

***

Exercises:

Q1. Did you notice the subtle difference between your 'hello' and her 'hallo'?
Q2. Can you find German words in the above conversation that resembles words in English?

All books on German that I have come across, teach German slightly different from how we would speak. This caused me lot of frustration because I could not begin to speak soon enough.

You see, the books first address the present tense completely and then move on to the past tense and final to the 'future' tense. Unfortunately that is not how we speak.

When we speak we mix past and present. See below ...

The scene continues from where we left it last (see last lesson).

She: "Wie war die Reise? How was the journey?" (V vaar dee Ryesa? )
You: "Nicht schlecht. Not bad." (Neesht shlesht)

As you can see, even in the first conversation we mix up the past and the present. It is a necessary part of any conversation. A delayed learning of the past tense prevents you from useful conversation.

She: "Bist du müde? Are you tired?" (bisst doo myuda)
You (male ego in place): "Nein! No!" (nine - 9)

You must have noticed that Reise is written with a capital 'R'. All nouns irrespective of where they occur in a sentence start with a capital letter.

The two small dots on top of 'u' is called umlaut. Umlauts change pronunciation.
'u' is pronounced "oo" like the 'u' in 'ullu'.
'ü' is pronounced (almost) like a 'yu' (you could try to pucker your lips to make it sound authentic).

***
Exercise:

Try to make the following sentence:

1) Are you bad? (doesn't matter if the sentence doesn't make sense)
2) No, the journey was not bad. (all words required for making this sentence is in the lesson)

She: "Wie lange bist du hier? How long are you here?" (V laanga bisst doo here)

You: "Für eine Woche. For a week." (fyur eye-nem wockha)

She: "Das ist sehr schön. Ich kann dir im Wochenende Frankfurt zeigen. That is very nice. I can show you Frankfurt in the week end." (Das ist sayrr schoen. Issh cann dear in dee wockhen-enda Fraankoort ts-eye-gen.)

You: "Prima! Great!" (preema)

One more aspect of these lessons: I am deliberately ignoring a large part of grammar at this stage. We will touch upon all aspects of German grammar eventually.

Ok! We have one more umlaut (see Chapter 1, where umlaut was first introduced)" 'ö'. The way I pronounce 'ö' is by clenching my teeth and utter 'o'. That seems to work.

One peculiarity that you would have noticed. The word 'zeigen' (=to show) has been relegated to the end of the sentence when 'kann' is used. That is standard. "kann' (=can) is a modal verb that pushes the main verb to the back. We will touch upon many such modal verbs.

You will notice that 'i' is pronounced 'ee', 'ei' is pronounced 'eye'.

The sentence "Ich kann dir im Wochenende Frankfurt zeigen" actually transliterates into "I can to you in the weekend Frankfurt show." It is a bit strange but I got used to it eventually. This peculiarity of the language also ensures that you have to listen to the complete sentence before responding - an extremely handy device to ensure politeness. Wouldn't you say? And Germans are known to be very polite.

Just to recapitulate the entire dialog so far:

You: "Hello!"
She: "Hallo!"
You: "Wie geht es Ihnen? How are you?"
She: "You can call me dear"
You: "Wie geht es dir?"
She: "Gut! Danke. Und dir?"
She: "Wie war die Reise?"
You: "Nicht schlecht."
She: "Bist du müde?"
You (male ego in place): "Nein!"
She: "Wie lange bist du hier?"
You: "Für eine Woche."
She: "Das ist sehr schön. Ich kann dir im Wochenende Frankfurt zeigen."
You: "Prima!"

Did you understand everything. No? Then go back to the first two chapters. Practice makes perfect.

***

Exercise:

Q1. List down the words that appear similar to English.
Q2. Translate: "You are here for a week. Great!"

Continuing from where we left last ...

She: "Was wird du jetzt machen? What do you want to do now?" (was weert doo yetst maachen)
You: "Zuerst, ich möchte etwas trinken. Ich have Durst. First, I would like to drink something. I am thirsty." (tsu-airst issh moeshtay aet-wass trinken. Issh haabay doorst.)

She: "Dort drüben ist ein Cafe. Gehen wir dort. Over there is a Cafe. Let's go there." (dort druyben ist eye-n kaffay. Gehen weer dort)

You would immediately see some peculiar (from an English point of view, that is) pronunciation:
(i) "j" is pronounced "yay".
(ii) "z" is pronounced "ts" (that is almost like 'zed' but not quite there)
(iii) "d" at the end of the word is pronounced "t". (In the last lesson, you would have noticed "und" (and) being pronounced "oont")

Some other aspects.

(iv) It is common to say in German 'I have thirst', 'I have hunger' (ich habe Hunger) rather than I am thirty / hungry.
(v) I have translated "Gehen wir" as "Let's go". A transliteration would be - "Go we". You will meet many such stock phrases.

(vi) "a cafe" is "ein Cafe". In lesson 2, "a week" was "eine Woche". That is because Cafe is neuter gender and week is feminine. The "ein" becomes "eine" in front of a feminine.

If this is puzzling, just you wait. But don't worry. We will negotiate genders together. Just remember that all nouns in German are either Masculine, Feminine or Neuter. Most books ask you to mug up the gender when you come across a new noun. It never worked for me. I remember genders in context. Now, that I know "Dort drüben ist ein Cafe." Cafe is either male or neuter gender.

It is not only "ein" that changes form. Even "the" takes different forms.

der - is "the" for male
die - is "the: for female
das - is "the" for neuter

Der Mann - the man
Die Frau - the woman
Das Cafe - the cafe

And finally,
(vii) The transliteration of "Was wird du jetzt machen?" is "What will you now make?" But it is used in the sense of "What do you want to do now?"
"Wird" is derived from "werden" which means to become. The usage different from the actual meaning is common across all languages and has to be learned as you go along.

***

Exercise:

Translate into German:
(a) Over there is a man.
(b) Over there is a woman.
(c) I am hungry.
(d) I would like to go there. (A little tough. Just remember the main verb will be pushed to the end)

The story so far ...

You have met up with your pen friend at the Airport in Frankfurt. After the initial exchanges you are now sitting at the Cafe at the airport.

She calls for a waiter ...

She: "Entschuldigen Sie! Herr Ober!" (Excuse me! Mr. waiter! aintshooldigen zee. hair obair.)
Ober: "Guten Tag! Was möcheten Sie?" (Good Morning. What would you like? gooten takh. waas moechten zee)
She: "Ich möchte eine Tasse Tee. Mit Zitrone, bitte." (I would like a cup of tea please. With lime please. issh moechtay eye-nay tassay tay. mitt tsitronay bittay)

Ober: "Sicher!" (turning to you) "And what would it be for you?" (Sure! ... zisshair)
You (smiling): "Ich verstehe Deutsch! Und ich nehme ein Glas Saft. Orangensaft!" (I understand German. And I will take a glass of orange juice. issh fairstayhay doyachey. oont issh naymay eye-n glass zaft. oraan-gain-zaft)

Ober: Sehr gut! Sonst noch etwas? (Very good. anything else? shayer goot. zonst nauch ate-wass)
You (to your friend): Möchtest du etwas? (Would you like anything? moechtest doo ate-wass)
She (fudgeting with her mobile): Wie bitte? (Sorry! v bittay)
You: Möchtest du noch etwas zu essen? (Would you like anything else to eat? moechtest doo nokh ate-wass tsu aissen)
She: Ja! Zweimal Schokoladekuchen. Für beide. (Yes. Two chocolate cakes. For both. ja. tswai-maal shock-o-laaday-cookhain. fuer bye-day )

Ober: Sofort! (immediately. zoforct)

Please note all the endings with "ay" like in moechtay needs to be pronounced abruptly. Do no linger on the "ay" for too long.

Interesting points:

a) "s" at the beginning of a word or syllable is pronounced like "zed"
b) Now that dreaded work "Sie". It means you. To be used when talking to seniors, complete strangers, officially, formally, and when in doubt whether to use du or Sie.

c) The most important word in German along with thank you is "bitte" - please. Use it whenever possible.
d) "Wie bitte" - actually translates to "how please". But as a set phrase always used to be "what please?", "pardon", etc.

e) "noch" is used for "still", "yet", etc. But needs to be seen in context.
f) the bit "mal" used in "zweimal" actually means times. But used in context here, it just means two. "Zwei" is two. The next lesson will be entirely dedicated to numbers. The earlier we learn the numbers the better for us.

Exercise:
By now you have a big list of vocabulary. So translate the following.

i) I would like tea.
ii) Would you like something to drink?
iii) I (will) take chocolate cake.

Ok. Time for some grammar.

We will only focus on verb forms in present tense only.

First the easy past. Notice how the verb changes.

gehen = to go (called the infinitive form)
--------------

ich gehe --------- I go (it took me a while to realise that there is no present continuous tense in German language. "I am going" is same as "I go"

du gehst --------- you go
sie/er/es geht ---- she/he/it goes
Sie gehen -------- you go (formal you)
wir gehen -------- we go
ihr geht ----------- you (plural, informal) go
sie gehen ---------- they go

Ok! now for confusion points. You (formal), she, they are "Sie", "sie" and "sie" in German. In other words, identical in spelling and pronounciation. Note that for "you" (formal), "Sie" is written with a capital "C".

She (=sie) is easy to make out as the verb has a different form. However, the formal you (=Sie) and they (=sie) take the same verbs. The only way you can make out the difference is by context. I have also commented on this in Lesson 0.

Let's now go to some other verbs. Another example of a verb that is similar to "gehen" (see above).

trinken = to drink
-----------------
ich trinke --------- I drink
du trinkst --------- you drink
sie/er/es trinkt ---- she/he/it drinks
Sie trinken -------- you drink (formal)
wir trinken -------- we drink
ihr trinkt ----------- you (plural, informal) drink
sie trinken ---------- they drink

Prost! (Cheers)

Now for some irregular verbs. These are irregular because they do not take the normal form. These have to be learnt as we go.

essen = to eat
---------------
ich esse --------------- I eat
du isst --------------- you eat
sie/er/es isst ---------- she/he/it eat
Sie essen ------------- you eat (formal)
wir essen ------------- we eat
ihr esst ---------------you (plural, informal) eat
sie essen -------------- they eat

Here are the two most used verb: sein (to be) and haben (to have). Unfortunately "sein" is highly irregular. Fortunately, its English equivalent "to be" is also irregular.
Does that make things easy?

Here we go.

sein = to be
-----------
ich bin ---------------- I am
du bist --------------- you are
sie/er/es ist ---------- she/he/it is
Sie sind -------------- you are (formal)
wir sind -------------- we are
ihr seid -------------- you (plural, informal) are
sie sind -------------- they are

haben = to have
---------------
ich habe ---------------- I have
du hast ----------------- you have
sie/er/es hat ---------- she/he/it has
Sie haben -------------- you have (formal)
wir haben -------------- we have
ihr habt -------------- you (plural, informal) have
sie haben -------------- they have

Pronounciation key:

gehen -- gay-hen
gehst -- gay-st
geht -- gay-t
trinken/trinkst/trinkt -- pronounced exactly the way it is written
prost - pr-o-st
esse -- essay
isst -- east
essen -- aye-ssen
bin -- bin
bist -- bisst
ist - isst
sind - zint
seid - zye-t
habe -- haa-bay
hast - haast
hat - hut
haben - haa-ben
habt - haa-bt

In the chapter 5, your friend's focus was on her mobile when you asked her a question. Remember? When she responded with a "Wie bitte?" Good!

So obviously you are curious.

You: "Wer ist das?" (Who is that? were isst dass)
She: "Ein Freund von mir" (A friend of mine. Eye-n froynt fawn meeyer)

Do I see your face fall? Don't worry. There is a world of difference between my boyfriend (mein Freund) and a friend of mine ("ein Freund von mir").

You: "Was ist es über?" (What is it about? wass isst es ueber)
She: "Ich muss jetzt gehen." (I have to go now. ishh mooss yet-st gay-hen )

Ober: "Hier ist Ihr Tee mit Zitrone, Saft und zweimal Schokoladekuchen." (Here is your tea with lime, juice and two chololate cakes. Hear isst ear tay mit tsitronay, zaaft unt tswai-maal shocko laaday-cookhen.)
Both: "Danke schön!" (thank you. Daankay schoen)
Ober: "Bitte schön!" (bittay schoen)

You: "Wie heißt er?" (what is his name? v hiyst air)
She: "Wer?" (who? Were)
You: "Dein Freund!" (Your friend. dye-n froynt)
She: "Tom. Er ist ein Engländer" (Tom. He is English. Air isst eye-n Aing-laeder)
You: "Oh!"
Sie: "Tom kommt aus England. Er ist hier für nur eine Woche. Ich muss mit ihm kaufen gehen." (Tom comes from England. He is here for only one week. I have to go with him for shopping. Tom kommt aus Aingland. Air isst here fuer noo-er eye-n wockhay. Issh mooss mit ee-hm cow-fen gay-hen)

Interesting points:
----------------------------------

1) "v" is pronounced "f" - von (fawn)
2) A repetition: "d" at the end of a word is pronounced " t" - Freund (froynt)
3) In german, "must" and "have to" conveys the same meaning. Since this is a modal verb (mussen), the main verb goes to the back. (Ich muss jetzt gehen)

4) "Your" also takes two forms like "you". Thus, in the formal form it is "Ihr" (with a capital "I") and informally it is "dein" (both Ihr and dein used here come before masculine - Ihr Tee & dein Freund)

5) "j" is pronounced "y" - jetzt (yet-st)
6) "aus" is used in various ways. In this context it is used as coming from a place.
7) "I am called ------- " is more common that "My name is ------". Similarly, "How is he called?" is more used than "What is his name?" Actually, "Wie heißt er?" means "What is he called?"

8) "ß" is actually "ss". Not exactly, but for the time being this will do.

Exercise:
-----------------------

Translate:

a) I come from India (Indien = India and kommen = to come. Also see Lesson 5 for the verb ending with "I")
b) My name is ----------- (heißen = to be called. Also see Lesson 5 for the verb ending with "I")
c) What is your name? (The more used form is: "How are you called?" Use formal you. See Lesson 5 for the verb ending with formal you)

she: "Sagmal, was ist dein Plan denn?" (say, what is your plan then? zakmaal, wass isst dye-n plaan denn.)
you: "Heute, ich fahre nach Bremen. Dort habe ich ein paar Besprechung morgen und übermorgen ... Mittwoch und Donnerstag. Am Freitag bin ich frei. Dieser Tag besuche ich die Dom, die Bremen-Sänger und den Markt. Samstag komme ich nach Frankfurt zurück. Bist du frei am Samstag?" (Today, I go to Bremen. There I have a few meetings tomorrow and the day after ... Wednessday and Thursday. On Friday I am free. This day I visit the Cathedral, The Bremen Singers and the market. Sauturday I return to Frankfurt. Are you free on Saturday? hoy-tay issh faahray naakh Bray-men. Daw-rt haa-bay issh eye-n paar bay-spray-schung morgue-en oont ueber-morgue-en mitt-wockh unt donners-takh. Am fry-takh bin issh fry. Dees-er takh bay-sookh ish dee dome, dee bray-men saenger unt den mark-t. Zams-takh come-ay issh naakh Frank-foo-ert tsurukh. Bisst doo fry um Zamstakh.)

she: "Natürlich. Ich werde am Samstag und Sonntag Frankfurt zeigen." (Of course. I will show you Frankfurt on Saturday and Sunday. Naatyur-lish. Issh ware-day um Zams-takh oont zoon-takh Fraank-foo-ert ts-eye-gen)

you: "Das ist sehr nett von dir. Treffen wir sich deine Eltern?" (That is very nice of you. Will we meet your parents? Dass is seyer net fawn deer. Tray-fen wir dye-nay elt-urn)

she: "Natürlich. Wir treffen sich mit ihnen. Und mit meiner Schwester und meinem Bruder auch. Sie wohnen noch mit meiner Mutti und meinem Vati." (Of course, we meet them. And my sister and brother too. They still live with mother and father. Naatyur-lish.Wir tray-fen zish mitt ee-nen. Oont mitt miner shvester oont my-nem brooder aukh. Zee woh-nen nokh mitt miner mooti oont faati)

you: "Gut! Und am Montag, ich treffe mich mit einem Kunde in Baden-Baden." (Good. And on Monday I meet a customer in Baden-Baden. Oont um Monn-takh, issh tray-fay missh eye-nen koond-ay in Baaden-Baaden)

she: "Baden-Baden ist sehr schön." (Baden-Baden is very beautiful. Baaden-Baaden isst seyer schoen.)

you: "Ich weiß. Und am Dienstag fliege ich nach Indien zurück." (I know. And on Tuesday I fly back to India. Issh Why-ss. Oont um deens-takh flee-gay issh nakg Indi-n tsurukh.)

she: "Beschäftigt! Wie fahrst du?" (Busy! How are you travelling? Bay-shaef-tiggt. V faahr-est doo)

you: "In Duetschland? Mit dem Zug." (In Germany? By Train. In Doy-ch-laand. mitt dem tsuk)

Interesting Points:
----------------------------------
a) The word "Sagmal" is used to switch a subject. In formal situations, the word "Sagen Sie" is used.
b) The word "denn" is used to soften the abruptness of a question. I told you Germans are very polite!
c) As in English, many 'future' tense sentences (where "will" is used) can expressed in present tense in German. You will see lots of example in this lesson.

d) The word "Natürlich" actually translates as naturally. Also means "of course".
e) Be careful about pronouncing "ei" and "ie" - "frei" is pronounced "fry" while "frie" would be pronounced - "free". I am not aware of any word in German that goes "frie" - I have just used to show the difference.

f) "einen" and "meinen" are applied to masculine gender and neuter gender is the main verb is not "to be". Hence, "Und meine Schwester und meinen Bruder auch."

g) "mit" changes "meine" to "meiner" and "meinen" to "meinem", "einen" to "einem". Also note that if the main verb is not "sein" (am, ist, sind, bist, etc) then the personal pronoun (ein, mein) become (einen, meinen). "Mit" also converts "der" to "dem". This can only be learned with practice. But no one will kill you if you make a mistake. Germans appreciate the fact that you are making an attempt. In any case, you would notice that "die" is generally untouched. Skip these points if it sounds too difficult. We will visit these in our next Grammar stop - later.

h) "Mutti" and "Vati" is actually "Mutter" and "Vater". Like "Mama" and "Papa" instead of "Mother" and "Father"
i) In Germany you don't travel on train! You travel with the train. Hence "mit dem Zug".)
j) I have visited many places in Germany, but I am most familiar with Baden-Baden, Frankfurt, Cologne and Bremen :-) I will keep Cologne (Köln) for another lesson.

k) Remind me later to touch upon the "sich" and "mich" that is attached to "treffen". For the time being just memorize it. Think it of, "We meet ourselves with your parents" or "I meet myself with my customer."

Exercise:
-----------------------
a) Translate: You are going on train. (Use formal "You")
b) Write down the names of the days of the week in order (Monday to Sunday).
c) Translate: My sister lives in Cologne. (Wohnen = lives. Check Grammar Lesson to work out the verb ending for third person. Wohnen is a regular verb).

The story so far ...

You are chatting with your pen friend in a cafe at the Frankfurt airport. You have just learned that she is meeting up with a 'friend of hers'. In any case you have a busy week ahead. So you call for the waiter to pay up and ...

You: "Herr Ober!" (Mr. waiter! Hair obeyer)
Ober: "Ja Bitte." (Yes please. Ya bittay)
You: "Ich möchte bezahlen." (I would like to pay. Issh moe-sh-tay bay-tshaal-en)
Ober: "Neun Euro zwanzig bitte" (9 Euros and 20 Cents please. Noyen oyrow, swn-sish bittey)
You: "Zehn Euro." (Ten Euros. Tsane Oyrow.)
Ober: "Und achtzig Euro zurück." (And 80 Euros back. Oont aaktish oyrow tsurook)
You: "Hier. Ein Euro für Sie."(Here. 1 Euro for you. Here. Eye-n oyrow fuer zee.)
Ober: "Danke sehr! Und haben Sie noch ein schöner Tag." ( Thanks very much. And have a nice day. Daankay seyer. Oont haaben zee nokh eye-n schoen-air takh)

You & She: "Auf wiedersehen!" (Bye. Aauf weeder-seyhen)
Ober: "Auf wiedersehen!"(Bye. Aauf weeder-seyhen)

Alright!

Now It is time to go on with your business. Go on! Say good bye to your pen friend with a promise to meet soon.

You: "Also denn! Bis später denn." (Alright! See you later. Aalzo den. Bis shpaeter)
She: "Rufst du mich huete Abend an. ok?" (call me this evening. ok? "roofst doo mish hoytay aabent un. Ok?) - you heart gives a small jump.

You: "Ok!"
She: "Bis Samstag denn! Tschüss!" (Till Saturday then. Bye-bye. Bis zaamstakh den. Chuss)
You: "Tschüss!" (Chuss)

And then with a quick handshake she is gone. You turn towards the rail station.

Interesting Points:

a) "Euro" does not change for plural. Ein Euro ... Drei Euro

b) Any German word with "sp" is pronounced with a "shp" - for example, for später (meaning, later) we would say shpaeter! not spaeter.

c) In Germany, one tips by handing over the money to the waiter in person. Not just leaving some change on the table. Hence, "Ein Euro für Sie."

d) "Tschüss" is an informal way of saying bye. "Auf Wiedersehen" is formal: "wieder" means "again", "sehen" means "to see". Translated, auf wiedersehen means to see you again.

e) German has many verbs that separate (called separable verbs). If the sentence has an auxiliary verb (like, haben (have), muss (have to), etc.) separable verbs stay together. If separable verb is the only verb in the sentence, it splits and the prefix goes to the end of the sentence. In the sentence, "Rufst du mich huete Abend an", "anrufen", meaning "to call", is a separable verb. You can see that "an" has been pushed to the end of the sentence. This is very similar, but not exactly, to words like "pick up" in English. Thus, "I will pick you up". In English such phrases are not strictly governed by rules of grammar. In German very strict grammar rules apply.

Ok! Some lessons ago I had promised an introduction to numbers. Here goes ...

eins - one (eye-ns)
zwei - two (tsw-eye)
drei - three (dryii)
vier - four (fee-er)
fünf - five (fuenf)
sechs - six (zeks) - be careful with the pronunciation here!
sieben - seven (zeeben)
acht - eight (aakht)
neun - nine (noyen) - not "nine" - that is how you would pronounce "nein", meaning "no".
zehn - ten (ts-ain)
elf - eleven (elf) - that is easy
zwölf - twelve (ts-vohlf)
dreizhen - thirteen (dryii-ts-ain) - starts getting easier now! dreizehn = drei + zehn! Simple.
vierzehn - fourteen - easy
fünfzehn - fifteen - easy
sechzehn - sixteen - easy
siebzehn - seventeen - easy
achtzehn - eighteen - easy
neunzehn - nineteen - easy
zwanzig - twenty (swan-sish)

Exercise

1) Memorize the above numbers.

2) As you travel to work, read the registration numbers on the car in German. Read the numbers in single digits for now. Do the same with the telephone numbers you know. Here's what I mean. For the first few days read the number 2574, for example, as zwei-fünf-sieben-vier. We will move to double and higher digits soon.

Just below Terminal 1 Frankfurt airport is the Long Distance Rail Station. Very convenient.
This is your chance to witness the world famous punctuality of the DB, the Deutsche Bahn.
DB is the German Rail company.
The service is fantastic.
Both Terminals, 1 and 2, have Travel Centres where one can buy tickets.

***

You said bye-bye to your friend and are now standing, patiently, in a queue to buy tickets to Bremen.
As you approach the ticketing clerk, he greets you with a warm smile and says ...

TC: "Guten Tag!" (Good day! Gooten Takh)
You: "Guten Tag! Ein Ticket nach Bremen bitte. Zweite Klasse." (Good day! A tickt to Bremen please. Gooten Takh. Eye-n ticket naakh Bremen bittay. Ts-why-te classe)

TC: "Einfach oder hin und zurück?" (single or return. eye-n-faakh odour hin oont tsurukh)
You: "Einfach bitte." (single please. eye-n-faakh bittay)

The TC enters the details in the computer and takes out an A-4 size printout with all details of your trip and a ticket.

He explains ...

TC: "Der nächste Zug kommt am vier sechs." (The next train comes on platform 4. Dair nextay tsukh commt um gly-ish fee-er.)

You: "Muss ich umsteigen?" (Do I have to change. Mu-ss issh umsty-gen)
TC: "Ja! In Heidelberg." (Yes at Heidelberg. Ya in Heidelberg)

The instruction on the printouts are absolutely clear. It tells you which platform you will get down, when and which is the connecting train from which platform. All neatly documented. Many a times the two connecting trains are separated by a few minutes, but more often than not you will make it.

TC: "Das macht Neunundsiebzig Euro bitte." (That would be 79 Euros please. Daas maakht noyen-oont-siebtsish ou-row bittay)

You: "Nehmen Sie Kreditkarten?" (Do you take credit cards? Nay-men zee credit-carten)
TC: "Natürlich nehmen wir Kreditkarten!" (Of course we take credit cards. Naatyurlish nay-men we-er credit-carten)

And he points to the display indicating in large bold colours - 'Kreditkarten'.

You pay and walk off towards the platform with a "Danke schön". (Thank you. Daankay schoen)

You hear someone calling out: "Entshuldigung!" (Excuse me. ent-shool-dee-goong)
Now what?
Oh the tickets!
You sheepishly pick up the tickets.
Another "Danke sehr!" (Thank you very much. Daankay Seyer.)

And off you go to catch the train.

Interesting Points:
----------------

a) "Guten Tag" or good day can be used any time of the day. Tag is masculine gender. Hence Gut becomes Guten.
b) "hin und zurück: stands for to and back. Hence return journey.
c) Most of the bigger Travel Centres have people who speak good English. But it is a good idea to speak with them in German to get used to their manner of speaking. The small rail stations - even in cities like Frankfurt - may have people who cannot speak a word of German.

d) "Machen" is an universal sort of word. "das macht .." (= that makes ...) means that would cost. "Was machen Sie?" means what are you doing? It could also mean, what are you making? Depends on the context.

e) And now for two digit numbers. Germans speak two digit numbers greater than 20 in the reverse order. Meaning one and twenty (einundzwanzig = ein-und-zwanzig), two and twenty(zwei-und-zwanzig) and so on. Germans love compound words. Always written and spoken without a break.

The numbering system above 20 is as follows:

21 -- einundzwanzig (eye-n-oont-tswan-sish)
22 -- zweinundswanzig (ts-why-oont-tswan-sish)
23 -- dreiundzwanzig (dry-oont-tswan-sish)
:
:
29 -- neunundzwanzig (noyen-oont-tswan-sish)
30 -- dreißig (ß=ss) (dry-sish)
31 -- einunddreißig (eye-n-oont-dry-sish)
:
:
34 -- vierunddreißig (fee-er-oont-dry-sish)
35 -- fünfunddreißig (fyun-oont-dry-sish)
:
:
40 -- vierzig (fee-er-sish)
:
:
46 -- sechsundvierzig (zekhs-oont-fee-er-sish)
47 -- siebenundvierzig (zee-ben-oont-fee-er-sish)
48 -- achtundvierzig (aakht-oont-fee-er-sish)
:
50 -- fünfzig (fyunf-sish)
60 -- sechzig (zekh-sish)
70 -- siebzig (zeeb-sish)
80 -- achtzig (aakht-sish)
90 -- neunzig (noyen-sish)
:
:
99 -- neunundnuenzig (noyen-und-noyen-sish)

Exercise
--------

In the last lesson I asked you to read aloud the numbers in single digit. Now, read the numbers in double digits. Any number. Your phone number. The car license plate number driving in front of you. Any number.

How do you say Merry Christmas in German?

frohe Weihnachten!(Fr-o-hay vine-akh-ten)

and how do you say Happy New Year?
glückliches neues Jahr! (Glyuk-lishes noyes yaar)

And since we are on the subject of greetings, here are some more. (Some you have encountered in my previous lesson)
guten Morgen - Good Morning (gooten morgen)
guten Tag - Good Day (gooten taakh)
guten Abend - Good Evening (gooten aabent)
gute Nacht - Good Night (goo-tay naakht)

Now it gets a little complicated
alles Gute zum Geburtstag - Happy Birthday (aales goo-tay tsoom gay-burts-takh) - since Happy Birthday is simpler most of the Germans will understand a simple happy birthday.

herzlichen Glückwunsch - Congratulations (hair-ts-lishen glyuk-woonsh)
herzliche Grüße - Best Wishes (hairts-lishay gryusse)
viel Glück - Good luck (feel glyuck)

And finally ...
Viel Spaß! - Have fun (feel spass)

You are now on the Train to Bremen. The train is more or less packed. The seat next to you is vacant. An elderly man comes up to you and says:

He: "Ist das frei?" (Is that free? Isst dass fry?)
You: "Ja!" (Yes. Ya)

He: "Danke." (Thank you. Daankay)
You: "Bitte." (You are welcome. Bittay)

You will get used to this "danke", "bitte" routine.

You smile at each other politely and ...

He: "Wohin fahren Sie? Nach Bremen?" (Where are you going? To Bremen? Vo-hin faah-ren zee? Naakh Bray-men?)

You: "Ja bitte." (Yes please. Ya Bittay.)

He: "Woher kommen Sie?" (Where are you coming from? vo-hair commen zee?)
You: "Aus Indien." (From India. aaos Indi-en)

He: "Aah! Indien. Sind Sie hier in Urlaub?" (Aah! Are you here on holiday? Zint zee here in uur-laaup)

You: "Nein! Geschäftlich." (No. On business. Nine! Gay-shaeft-lish)

He: "Ach so! Was sind Sie von Beruf?" (I see. Was are you by profession? Aakh zo! Wass zint zee fon bay-roof?)

You: "Ich bin Ingineur." (I am an engineer. Issh bin in-gin-ear)

He: "Ist dieses Ihr erste Mal?" (Is this your first time? Isst dee-zes eahr air-st maal?)
You: "Nein! Ich komme nach Deutschland oft. Aber, ich kenne Bremen nicht." (No. I come to Germany often. But, I am not familiar with Bremen.)

He: "Ach so! Bremen ist sehr schön. Kennen Sie die Bremen-Straßensänger? Sie sind noch da." (I see. Bremen is very beautiful. Do you know the Bremen Street Singers? They are there. Aakh zo. Bray-men isst zay-er schoen. Kay-nen zee dee Bray-men-straasen-saynger? Zee zint noch daa.)

You: "Ich besuche sie bestimmt." (I will definitely see them.)

When you have someone to talk to the distance to your destination grows shorter. Even if it is an old man who asks lots of questions?

He: "Wo wohnen Sie?" (Where do you stay? Vo vohnen zee?)
You: "In Bangalore."

He: "Ach so! Software!"
You: "Ja!"

He: "Wie lange bleiben Sie in Bremen?"
You: "Nur drei Tage."

And thus talking to the old gentleman you suddenly realize you are in Bremen.

Interesting Points

1. By now you know that "bitte" can be used just about anywhere. When in doubt use it.

2. "fahren" means "to drive". However, it is used by Germans for a drive, train ride, to ski, cycle ride, to go somewhere, etc.

3. "kennen" and "wissen" both mean "to know". However, the way they are used is different. I find easiest to remember "kennen" as "acquainted with" in a loose form. "wissen" goes with "I am aware."

For example,

Q: Do you know Germany is a big country?
A: Ich weiß. I am aware or I know.

Q: Do you know that place well?
A: Ich kenne. I am acquainted with that place.

4. "b" at the end of a word is always pronounced "p"

5. You must have heard of the Bremen Street Singers. Here is a photo.

6. "wo" means "where". "wohin" means "where from." "woher" means "where to".

Exercise

Translate:

a) Are you on business?
b) Where are you going?
c) Where do you come from?
d) Do you know Mr. X?
e) Do you know that ...?

German stations are like shopping malls. The platform itself does not have much life - unlike Indian platforms, which at any given time of the day is bristling with vivacity. But once you come down to the main concourse, you can see all sorts of establishments and shops - selling insurance, books, magazines, food, meat (meat?), and in some cases fur-covered handcuffs (hmm...)

***

You get down at the Bremen station. It is now evening. You drag your luggage to the help desk.

You: "Entschuldigen Sie!" (Excuse me! Ent-shool-dig-en zee!)

The person at the help desk has buried her head deep into a novel. She raises her head ... where was she all your life? ... Such angelic beauty ...

She: "Wie kann ich für Sie tun?" (What can I do for you? V cann ish fuer zee toon?)

Wake up!

You: "Wie komme ich zum Hotel Atlantic?" (How can I go to hotel Atlanta? V commay ish tsum Ho-tail Aatlaantic?)

She: (with a smile - oh! what a smile) "Dort drüben sind die S-bahn. Die nummer elf geht zum Hotel Atlanta. Oder, Sie kann das Taxi nehmen. Gehen Sie links, dann geradeaus und dann rechts. Die Taxis steht dort. Das Hotel ist gegenüber der Flughafen."

(Over there are the trams. The number 11 goes to the hotal Atlanta. Or, you can take the taxi. Go to your left, then straight on and then right. The taxis are there. The hotel is opposite the Airport. Dort drue-ben zint dee s-baan. Dee nummer elf gay-t tsum Ho-tail Aatlaanta. Oder, zee cann dass taaxi nay-men. Gay-hen zee links, dann geraadaa-aus oont dann rekhts. Dee taaxis stay-t dort. Dass ho-tail ist gaygen-uber dair fluk-haafen.)

You: "Danke sehr." (Thank you very much. Daankay zay-r)

She: "Bitte sehr." (You are welcome. Bittay zay-r)

And she dives right back into whatever she was reading. You wish you had something else to ask.

You do not feel like taking the tram after a long, tiring journey. You go to the taxi rank and go to the hotel.

Interesting Points
--------------------------

1) To ask where to go somewhere, the Germans always ask how do I come there. Wie komme ich ...

2) Links = left; Rechts = right. Easy to remember (l, r).

Exercise
--------------

Instead of attempting something new, why don't you revisit all the previous classes? It is always good to revise.

At the Hotel Atlantic.

The hotel is bang opposite the Bremen Airport. Your car waits for the tram to pass and stops in front of the hotel. You enter the building lobby. The hotel is to your left through the lobby.

At the reception, you find a smart gentleman, greeting you with a ...

Receptionist: "Guten Tag! Willkommen im Hotel Atlantic." (Good day! Welcome to Hotal Atlantic. Gooten Takh.Wil-com-men eem ho-tail Atlaantic.)
You: "Guten Tag! Ich heiße Rahul X. Ich habe eine reservierung." (Good Day.My name is Rahul X. I have a reservation. Gooten Takh. Issh hye-say Rahul X. Ish haabay eye-ney reser-veer-ung.))

I had to use some name! I know that Shah Rukh Khan is extremely popular in Germany. Hence Rahul :-)

R: "Ja! Herr X. Von heute bis Freitag." (Yes. My. X. From today till Friday. Ya. Hair X. Fon hoy-tay bis Fry-takh)
You: "Das ist Korrect. Was kostet das Zimmer?" (That is correct. How much does the room cost? Dass isst co-rect. Wass cost-et dass tsimmer?)
R: "Neunzig Euro pro Nacht. Mit Bad und Frühstück." (90 Euros per night. Includes bath and breakfast. Noyn-tsish Oy-row pro naakht. Mit baad oont frueh-stook.)
You: "Danke." (Thank you. Daankay)

The receptionist gives you a form to fill.

You fill up the following ...

Vorname
Familie Name
Addresse
Staat
Pass Nummer
Unterschrift
First Name
Surname
Address
Country
Passport Number
Signature

R: "Zimmernummer einhundertdreizehn." (Room number 113. Tsimmer nummer eyen-hundert-dry-tsen)
You: "Danke!" (Thank you. Daankay)
R: "Bitte!" (You are welcome. Bittay)

Interesting Points:

1) The receptionist called you by your surname. This is normal in Germany and considered polite.
2) Generally, rooms come with a bath or a shower. But it is better to ask. Breakfast is usually included. Hotel Atlantic has a restaurant at the top of the building.
3) Note the tendency to form bigger words. All numbers are merged to form one big word. (More on bigger number in my next lesson.)
4) Joined words take the gender of the last word. Thus, Zimmer is a neuter word where as Nummer is of feminine gender. Therefore, the word Zimmernummer will be feminine. das Zimmer, die Nummer, therefore, die Zimmernummer.

Exercise:
Translate the following:

a) I would like a room with a bath. (check out the previous lessons for the German word for "would like")
b) I need breakfast. (check out previous lessons for the German word for "need")
c) What is your surname?
d) Where do you come from? (see previous lessons)