Learn about German ID cards
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Judith: Hello [ich heiße] Judith. |
| Chuck: Hi I’m Chuck. |
| Judith: [Sie hören GermanPod101.com] |
| Chuck: You’re listening to GermanPod101.com. This is the new beginner series lesson 2. |
| Judith: [Willkommen] |
| Chuck: Welcome to the second lesson of our new series for beginners, here you’ll learn German in a fun and interesting way. |
| Judith: Don’t forget to go to the learning center at GermanPod101.com after the lesson, in order to take your studies to the next level. |
| Chuck: Not to say that the other series weren’t interesting, but this is just a new approach, so let’s get into this conversation. This dialogue takes place at any German / Austrian or Swiss airport, or maybe if you’re entering a German speaking country by land or water. |
| Judith: So, unless you’re planning to come as an illegal immigrant, you will be able to apply what you’re learning today. |
| Chuck: All right, let’s listen. |
| DIALOGUE |
| C: Guten Tag! |
| B: Guten Tag! |
| C: Sprechen Sie Deutsch? |
| B: Ich bin Amerikaner, aber ich kann mich auf Deutsch verständigen. |
| C: Wow, das sieht man nicht oft. Nun gut. Ihren Pass, bitte. |
| B: Hier. |
| C: Danke. … Sind Sie das wirklich auf dem Foto?? |
| B: Ja. Mein Frisör hatte einen schlechten Tag. |
| C: Wie lange werden Sie in Deutschland bleiben? |
| B: Einen Monat. |
| C: Sind Sie beruflich hier? |
| B: Nein, ich bin Tourist. Ich besuche Freunde in Berlin. |
| C: Gut. Hier haben Sie Ihren Pass zurück. Gute Reise! |
| B: Danke. |
| Judith: Now it’s slowly. |
| C: Guten Tag! |
| B: Guten Tag! |
| C: Sprechen Sie Deutsch? |
| B: Ich bin Amerikaner, aber ich kann mich auf Deutsch verständigen. |
| C: Wow, das sieht man nicht oft. Nun gut. Ihren Pass, bitte. |
| B: Hier. |
| C: Danke. … Sind Sie das wirklich auf dem Foto?? |
| B: Ja. Mein Frisör hatte einen schlechten Tag. |
| C: Wie lange werden Sie in Deutschland bleiben? |
| B: Einen Monat. |
| C: Sind Sie beruflich hier? |
| B: Nein, ich bin Tourist. Ich besuche Freunde in Berlin. |
| C: Gut. Hier haben Sie Ihren Pass zurück. Gute Reise! |
| B: Danke. |
| Judith: Okay, now with the translation. Guten Tag! |
| Chuck: Good day. |
| Judith: Guten Tag! |
| Chuck: Good day. |
| Judith: Sprechen Sie Deutsch? |
| Chuck: Do you speak German? |
| Judith: Ich bin Amerikaner, aber ich kann mich auf Deutsch verständigen. |
| Chuck: I’m American, but I can make myself understood in German. |
| Judith: Wow, das sieht man nicht oft. |
| Chuck: Wow, you don’t see that too often. |
| Judith: Nun gut. Ihren Pass, bitte. |
| Chuck: Now, good. Your passport please. |
| Judith: Hier. |
| Chuck: Here. |
| Judith: Danke. … Sind Sie das wirklich auf dem Foto? |
| Chuck: Thank you. Is that really you in that picture? |
| Judith: Ja. Mein Frisör hatte einen schlechten Tag. |
| Chuck: Yeah, my barber had a bad day. |
| Judith: Wie lange werden Sie in Deutschland bleiben? |
| Chuck: How long will you be staying in Germany? |
| Judith: Einen Monat. |
| Chuck: One month. |
| Judith: Sind Sie beruflich hier? |
| Chuck: Are you here for business? |
| Judith: Nein, ich bin Tourist. Ich besuche Freunde in Berlin. |
| Chuck: No, I’m a tourist. I’m visiting friends in Berlin. |
| Judith: Gut. Hier haben Sie Ihren Pass zurück. Gute Reise! |
| Chuck: Good, here’s your passport back. Have a good trip. |
| Judith: Danke. |
| Chuck: Thank you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Judith: So Chuck, what can you tell us about entering Germany as a foreigner? |
| Chuck: Well, you don’t need a visa to come to Germany. |
| Judith: As an American. |
| Chuck: Yeah. |
| Judith: There’re plenty of people who do need a Visa. |
| Chuck: Oh, you’re asking me about how I felt coming into Germany. |
| Judith: Yeah. |
| Chuck: And your passport allows you to stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days, even for business purposes. Note that Schengen is most of the European Union. |
| Judith: And what about passports? I saw that the American passports are like a dark blue color, and German and European ones are kind of red. I heard it’s Burgundy though I would never call a color that. Germany also has an identity card, which is also convenient, because everybody has an identity card, you don’t need to apply for it, and you can use it to cross EU borders. So, if you want travel only within the EU, you don’t even need to apply for a passport. |
| Chuck: Note that although you aren’t always check when you go between European Union countries you are sometimes checked. And don’t forget your passport, which is actually what I did one time going from Netherlands to Germany, I’d left my passport back where I was staying, and I had quite upset the customs officer when I, after showing my driver’s license he hesitantly let me go. I always remember my passport after that. |
| Judith: Yeah, it’s a better to always have it on you. I mean you also use your identity card in Germany for, if you want to drink, like alcohol, or if you’re making a contract, or if you’re proofing residence, or if you had an accident and you want to show the other driver who you are. It’s really all-purpose this identity card. And I don’t think that driver’s licenses are accepted instead of that. Even if they are American driver’s licenses, people just don’t send them that kind of value. It’s as a very foreign thought to use it like an ID. |
| Chuck: Yeah, well, like you can show it and you hope they’re having a day where they don’t care as much. |
| Judith: Normally you have to be able to show your ID, as in a real passport or identity card. It’s also convenient when you get checked by the police. They will often want to know who you are and where you’re staying and that’s actually on the identity card in Germany, the passport doesn’t contain your address but your identity card does, so you can use it to show them where you live. |
| Chuck: But don’t expect to be looking for the police in blue uniforms with white and black cars, here they have green uniforms and white and green cars, you may have seen them in German movies. |
| Judith: Yeah, or also silver green, white and green or silver and green. The green is the important part, green uniforms, and that’s also kind of person you will see at the passport control. |
| Chuck: And this is also one of the most important times to remember to use [“Sie”] when speaking to someone, because in Germany if you use [“Du”] with a police officer you can-- you may get fined for it. |
| Judith: Yes, it’s like an insult. One of the German comedians actually almost got fined for addressing officer with [“Du”] the informally, but then the court decided that it was just his style to say [“Du”] to just about everybody on his show including film stars and he got away with it. I wouldn’t count on getting away with it myself though. |
| Chuck: Yeah, so I guess it’s really like walking up to George Clooney, and to saying, “Hey, George, what’s up?” |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Judith: Okay, let’s do some vocabulary. [Vokabeln] |
| Chuck: Yeah. |
| Judith: First word is [Sprechen] |
| Chuck: To speak. |
| Judith: [Sprechen] |
| Chuck: To speak. I would really that you already know this word. |
| Judith: Yeah, but some of them might not know. Especially since it’s a bit irregular, the second person is [Du sprichst], and the third person is [Er spricht], and then the other cases it’s all based on [Sprechen] but you have this word change for the second and third person. |
| Chuck: I see you’re trying to sneak some conjugation into our vocabulary lesson. |
| Judith: Hey, it’s not fair. I’m just helping people. The next word is [Sich verständigen] |
| Chuck: To communicate, or in the case in this dialogue, to get by. |
| Judith: Yes, how did you translate it? [Ich kann mich auch auf Deutsch verständigen] |
| Chuck: I can make myself understood in German. |
| Judith: Yes. The next word is [Können] |
| Chuck: Can. |
| Judith: [Können] |
| Chuck: Can. |
| Judith: It’s also irregular, [Ich kann, du kannst, er kann, wir können, ihr könnt, sie könnt] You probably heard it before. |
| Chuck: I think I’ve heard it often. |
| Judith: Yeah, you would of course. Next [Oft] |
| Chuck: Often. |
| Judith: [Oft] |
| Chuck: Often. |
| Judith: This word’s easy for Americans or English speakers. Next [Nun] |
| Chuck: Now. |
| Judith: [Nun] |
| Chuck: Now. That word’s easy for Esperanto speakers. |
| Judith: It is. Same word in Esperanto. |
| Chuck: And spelled like nun, like in the Catholic Church. |
| Judith: Next, [Pass] |
| Chuck: Passport. |
| Judith: [Pass] |
| Chuck: Passport. That could also be [Reisepass] couldn’t it? |
| Judith: Yes, [Reisepass] is specific passport for travelling, because pass is also used, for example [Freizeitpass] is some kind of card with which you can get cheaper entrance at museums and the swimming pools and the like. |
| Chuck: And you also say a VIP pass? |
| Judith: Yeah, that too. |
| Chuck: Backstage pass? |
| Judith: But pass is enough to say passport when the situation is not confusing. |
| Chuck: All right. |
| Judith: And it’s masculine [Der Pass] and the plural is [Pässe]. Next [Foto] |
| Chuck: Photo. |
| Judith: [Foto] |
| Chuck: Photo. And note it’s spelled with F instead of PH. |
| Judith: Yes, all words with PH are now spelled with F in German. |
| Chuck: But also note that [Fotograf] is a bit of [inaudible] doesn’t it? |
| Judith: Yeah, yeah, that’s true. What you’re looking for is [Fotografie] but nobody says that anymore. |
| Chuck: Yeah. |
| Judith: [Foto] is neutral and the plural is [Fotos] |
| Chuck: Photos. And [Fotograf] is actually a photographer. |
| Judith: Next [Friseur] |
| Chuck: Hairdresser, or barber. |
| Judith: [Friseur] |
| Chuck: Hairdresser. |
| Judith: It’s masculine, if you mean a feminine hair dresser, you would say [Friseuse] |
| Chuck: A female hairdresser. |
| Judith: [Friseuse] |
| Chuck: A female hairdresser. |
| Judith: Both of these words are originally taken from French, but now completely Germanized. Next [Hatte] |
| Chuck: Had. |
| Judith: [Hatte] |
| Chuck: Had. |
| Judith: Next [Schlecht] |
| Chuck: Bad. |
| Judith: [Schlecht] |
| Chuck: Bad. |
| Judith: Next [Bleiben] |
| Chuck: To stay. |
| Judith: [Bleiben] |
| Chuck: To stay. |
| Judith: Next [Monat] |
| Chuck: Month. |
| Judith: [Monat] |
| Chuck: Month. |
| Judith: This is masculine [Der Monat] and the plural is [Monate] |
| Chuck: Month. |
| Judith: Next [Tourist] |
| Chuck: Tourist. |
| Judith: Note the change in the accent, in German the accent is on the second syllable. |
| Chuck: Tourist. |
| Judith: It’s masculine, [Der Tourist] and the plural is [Touristen] |
| Chuck: Tourists. |
| Judith: Next [Besuchen] |
| Chuck: To visit. |
| Judith: [Besuchen] |
| Chuck: To visit. |
| Judith: Next [Zurück] |
| Chuck: Back. |
| Judith: [Zurück] |
| Chuck: Back. |
| Judith: Next [Reise] |
| Chuck: Journey or trip. |
| Judith: [Reise] |
| Chuck: Journey or trip. |
| Judith: It’s feminine [Die Reise] and the plural is [Reisen] |
| Chuck: Trips or journeys. |
| Judith: Now, let’s talk about this, [Wohin ging deine letzte Reise] Chuck? |
| Chuck: [Es war nach London] |
| Judith: [Du bist nach London gereist, interessant, und wieso?] |
| Chuck: [Wegen einer Konferenz] |
| Judith: [Was für eine Konferenz?] |
| Chuck: [Das war über Startup Firmen] |
| Judith: [Ah, interessant.] |
| Chuck: [Und wohin ging deine letzte Reise, Judith?] |
| Judith: [Lass mich mal überlegen. Ich weiß es garnicht, es ist schon etwas her] |
| Chuck: [Du reist doch oder?] |
| Judith: [Ja, aber wo ich in Berlin wohne nicht mehr so viel.] Not so much anymore since I moved to Berlin. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Judith: Let’s just look at some vocabulary usage. |
| Chuck: All right. I may try the stamp Judith by picking out words she has make sentences out of. So, let’s start with an easy one [Sprechen] |
| Judith: [Ich spreche Deutsch] |
| Chuck: I speak German. |
| Judith: [Sprichst du Chinesisch] |
| Chuck: [Nein] |
| Judith: Translate. |
| Chuck: Do you speak Chinese? |
| Judith: [Nein] |
| Chuck: Please speak English. All right, enough with the easy ones, let’s pick one with an umlaut, that must be harder. [Können] |
| Judith: [Können. Ich kann Französisch] |
| Chuck: Well, did you use FrenchPod101? |
| Judith: No, but I might use it in the future, I learned French at school and now I need to practice it the bit. |
| Chuck: Okay, what she said was, I can French, Literally. |
| Judith: In German you don’t need to put the “speak” there. I can speak French. [Kannst du schwimmen?] |
| Chuck: Can you swim? |
| Judith: Or [Er kann das nicht machen] |
| Chuck: He can’t do that. |
| Judith: That was easy too. You have any difficult ones for me. |
| Chuck: All right, let’s get a reflexive one with and umlaut, I’d see, who is a long word. Okay. [Sich verständigen] try that one [INAUDIBLE] that one. |
| Judith: You forget that all German verbs are so easy for me. |
| Chuck: Yeah, but I don’t think you got enough sleep last night. So, let’s-- that would be a test to see how awake you are. |
| Judith: [Ich kann mich gut verständigen, aber ich mache noch viele Fehler.] |
| Chuck: Ah, you’ve got a really long sentence too. |
| Judith: Yes to bug you, because you need to translate it. |
| Chuck: All right. I can me good understand. Oh, wait, wait. I can make myself understood well, but I still make many errors. |
| Judith: Or mistakes. |
| Chuck: Wait, was this is supposed to imply me with that sentence? |
| Judith: I’m sure you can improve too, just do the exercises to the learning center. |
| Chuck: All right, so one more. [Zurück] |
| Judith: [Zurück] don’t forget the [Ü] there [Ü] |
| Chuck: [Zurück] |
| Judith: Yeah. [Wann kommt er zurück?] |
| Chuck: When is he coming back? |
| Judith: [Er gibt ihn seinen Pass zurück.] |
| Chuck: He gives him his passport back. And also notice that this is what you will see in a web browser when you come over here, you will see the back button with [Zurück] under it. |
| Judith: Yes, but speaking of getting your passport back, I believe we’re back at our dialogue. Let’s listen to it one more time and that will be it for today. |
| Chuck: So let’s see if he gets his passport back this time. |
| Judith: I so feel like withholding it. [Guten Tag, sprechen Sie Deutsch?] |
| Chuck: [Ich bin Amerikaner, aber ich kann mich auf Deutsch verständigen.] |
| Judith: [Wow, das sieht man nicht oft. Nun gut. Ihren Pass, bitte.] |
| Chuck: [Hier] |
| Judith: [Danke. … Sind Sie das wirklich auf dem Foto??] |
| Chuck: [Ja. Mein Frisör hatte einen schlechten Tag.] |
| Judith: [Wie lange werden Sie in Deutschland bleiben?] |
| Chuck: [Einen Monat.] |
| Judith: [Sind Sie beruflich hier?] |
| Chuck: [Nein, ich bin Tourist. Ich besuche Freunde in Berlin.] |
| Judith: [Gut. Hier haben Sie Ihren Pass zurück. Gute Reise!] |
| Chuck: [Danke.] |
| Chuck: Oh but wait, you didn’t mention a part of our fingerprints or a fit picture been taken. |
| Judith: That’s not happening in Germany, only in the states. |
| Chuck: Really? |
| Judith: We don’t treat our tourists as criminals, we’re happy for them to spend their money here. |
| Chuck: That also happens in Japan, but yeah. |
| Judith: I don’t think there’s any European country that does it, and hopefully they won’t start. |
| Chuck: Yeah, because it really makes you feel like a criminal when you go in, doesn’t it? |
| Judith: Yeah. Those people are not too friendly either. |
| Chuck: Yeah. |
| Judith: Anyway, enough with this depressing topic. But you understand everything in the dialogue? |
| Chuck: Yup, I understand that German customs are a lot more friendly than the American ones. So don’t be scared when you come over here as long as you’re doing everything legally, you won’t be treated like a criminal over here. |
| Judith: Oh, and they also don’t have the right to search your laptop or electronics. So you can safely bring your iPhone. |
| Chuck: Yeah, I was actually surprised when I moved here. I had this huge box of books and a bunch of luggage, and so obviously just came in, the customs officer said, “What’s in the box?” I said, “Books.” Then, “Are they for sale or they’re yours?” I said, “They’re for personal use.” And “Okay.” And then just let me go, nothing else. I was like, okay. They care about humans privacy rights, German is one of the best countries in the world actually for that. |
| Judith: Yeah, data privacy is a very big issue. |
| Chuck: So anyway, you won’t get your podcast taken away from you over here, so when you’re in Germany or even in the states be sure to use line by line dialogue tool in the learning centre to review those phrases and practice them as often as need to. |
| Judith: I’d suggest it anyway, because practice never hurts when you’re learning a language. You can also use the GermanPod101 forms to practice. |
Outro |
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| Chuck: Yeah, leave a note for us. Thanks for listening. See you next week. |
| Judith: [Bis nächste Woche] |
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