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| M: Hello and welcome to German Survival Phrases brought to you by germanpod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Germany. You will be surprised at how far a little German will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by germanpod101.com and there you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
| F: German Survival Phrases. Lesson 28, Decline Politely. |
| M: In this lesson, we will introduce you to some useful phrases for when you’ve had enough or you want to turn something down. One of these phrases just may make your trip. In Germany, no thank you is [Nein danke] let’s break it down by syllable [Nein danke] and now let’s hear it once again [Nein danke]. The first word [nein] in English means no. Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time [nein] This is followed by [danke] which thanks in English. Let’s break this word down by syllable [danke] and now let’s hear it once again [danke] So altogether we have [Nein danke] literally this means no thanks. This can be used when declining street vendors, food at the table and in any other situation you want to politely decline something. When sitting down for a meal or when eating or drinking in excess, thank you but I’ve had enough may just be the most useful bit of German you ever use. In Germany, thank you but I’ve had enough is [Danke, aber ich habe genug] Let’s break it down by syllable [Danke, aber ich habe genug] And now let’s hear it once again [Danke, aber ich habe genug] The first word [Danke] means thanks. Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time [Danke] This is followed by [aber] which in English is the conjunction but. Let’s break this word down by syllable [aber] and now let’s hear it once again [aber] So to recap here, we have [Danke aber] literally this means thanks but…Let’s take a look at the next word [ich] means I. First person singular personal pronoun [ich] It’s followed by [habe] which means have. It’s the first person singular of the verb [haben] to have. Let’s break down this word [habe] and now let’s see it one more time [habe] Finally we have the adverb [genug] enough [genug] and [genug]. So altogether we have [Danke aber ich habe genug] Literally this means thanks but I have enough. And here is a phrase that may come in handy if someone handed over a gift to you that looks very expensive. It’s considered rude if you just take it with a nod. So you should try to reject it, wait for a response from the donor and accept it then. Though you are not really going to reject the gift, you still should say, thanks a lot but I can’t accept this which in German is [Vielen Dank, aber ich kann das nicht annehmen] Let’s break this phrase down by syllable [Vielen Dank, aber ich kann das nicht annehmen] Now let’s hear it one more time [Vielen Dank, aber ich kann das nicht annehmen] The first word of the phrase is [vielen] which literally means much or a lot of. Let’s break down this word and hear it once again [vielen] and [vielen] This is followed by [Dank] thanks. This time used as a masculine noun. Let’s break it down by syllable and then let’s listen to it one more time. [Dank] So to recap here, we have [Vielen Dank] which literally means a lot of thanks but it’s translated as thanks a lot. Let’s take a look at the next words. First we have the conjunction [aber] meaning but in English [aber] Next is [ich] I first person singular personal pronoun. Let’s hear this word one more time [ich] Then we have [kann] which in English is can. It’s the first person singular form of the helping verb [können] can [können] This is followed by [das] that. The demonstrative pronoun [das] refers to the gift of the something you want to reject. Let’s hear it once again [das] Then we have [nicht] which in English is not [nicht] And finally we have [annehmen] which means accept Let’s break this word down by syllable and hear it one more time [annehmen] and [annehmen] So altogether we have [Vielen Dank, aber ich kann das nicht annehmen] Literally this means a lot of thanks but I can that not accept. It is translated as thanks a lot but I can’t accept this. Okay to close our today’s lesson, we would like you to practice what you’ve just learned. I will provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So [Viel Glück] which means good luck in German. No thank you [Nein danke] Thank you but I’ve had enough [Danke, aber ich habe genug] Thanks a lot but I can’t accept this. [Vielen Dank, aber ich kann das nicht annehmen] That’s going to do it for today. |
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