Learn how to decline an invitation in a formal way
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. This is Business German for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 25 - Politely Declining an Invitation. John Here. |
| Jennifer: Guten Tag! I'm Jennifer. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to decline an invitation in a formal way. The conversation takes place in the office. |
| Jennifer: It's between Linda Müller and Stefan Herzog. |
| John: The speakers are colleagues, therefore, they will speak informal German. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Linda Müller: Bis dann, schönes Wochenende! |
| Stefan Herzog: Linda, haben Sie heute Abend Zeit? Wir werden eine kleine Feier für Herrn Schmitt haben. |
| Linda Müller: Bitte entschuldigen Sie vielmals, ich bin heute Abend bereits verabredet. |
| Stefan Herzog: Ich verstehe, keine Ursache. |
| Linda Müller: Trotzdem vielen Dank. Einen schönen Abend noch! |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Linda Müller: Bis dann, schönes Wochenende! |
| Stefan Herzog: Linda, haben Sie heute Abend Zeit? Wir werden eine kleine Feier für Herrn Schmitt haben. |
| Linda Müller: Bitte entschuldigen Sie vielmals, ich bin heute Abend bereits verabredet. |
| Stefan Herzog: Ich verstehe, keine Ursache. |
| Linda Müller: Trotzdem vielen Dank. Einen schönen Abend noch! |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Linda Müller: Goodbye, have a good weekend! |
| Stefan Herzog: Linda, do you have time tonight? We're having a little party for Mr. Smith. |
| Linda Müller: I'm really sorry, but I have a commitment tonight! |
| Stefan Herzog: I see, nevermind. |
| Linda Müller: Thank you anyway! Have a good evening! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Another invitation! Linda works in a party office! |
| Jennifer: I don’t know if it’s really a party office, but there seem to be a few get-togethers, definitely! |
| John: Although this time she couldn’t make it. |
| Jennifer: It was short notice though. |
| John: That’s true. Stefan didn’t seem to mind that she declined the invitation. |
| Jennifer: Activities after working hours aren’t compulsory, so it’s no problem to turn them down. You can even be quite direct about it. |
| John: That’s different from a lot of other countries where even if it isn’t compulsory, you still feel an obligation to go. |
| Jennifer: Right. Germany is a bit different there. |
| John: Why is that? |
| Jennifer: The German mentality is individualistic, not group-oriented. |
| John: So it’s okay to put your own needs in front of group harmony? |
| Jennifer: When it isn’t a mandatory part of your job, yes. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Jennifer: Wochenende [natural native speed] |
| John: weekend |
| Jennifer: Wochenende[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Wochenende [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Feier [natural native speed] |
| John: party |
| Jennifer: Feier[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Feier [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Verabredung [natural native speed] |
| John: appointment |
| Jennifer: Verabredung [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Verabredung [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: verstehen [natural native speed] |
| John: to understand |
| Jennifer: verstehen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: verstehen [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Keine Ursache. [natural native speed] |
| John: Nevermind. |
| Jennifer: Keine Ursache.[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Keine Ursache. [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Jennifer: trotzdem [natural native speed] |
| John: despite that, anyway |
| Jennifer: trotzdem[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: trotzdem [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Jennifer: Keine Ursache. |
| John: meaning "Nevermind." What can you tell us about this phrase? |
| Jennifer: This is used in the same way as Kein Problem. |
| John: We saw this phrase in an earlier lesson; it means “no problem.” |
| Jennifer: Yes. Kein Problem is more commonly used. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Das ist keine Ursache. |
| John: ...which means "This is no problem." |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Jennifer: Einen schönen Abend noch! |
| John: meaning "Wish you a great evening!" When might we say this phrase? |
| Jennifer: You can say this when you leave the office during the evening. |
| John: Oh, so it’s a nice way to say goodbye to your boss and colleagues? |
| Jennifer: Yes. It’s polite and friendly, but you can also say it in casual situations too. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Ich wünsche dir noch einen schönen Abend! |
| John: ... which means "I wish you a great evening!" |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to decline an invitation formally and politely. |
| Jennifer: Yeah, if the invitation comes at short notice like the one in the conversation, you might not be able to go. |
| John: It’s inevitable that at some point there will be an invitation that you’ll have to turn down due to prior commitments. |
| Jennifer: In the conversation, Linda said Bitte entschuldigen Sie vielmals, ich bin heute Abend bereits verabredet. |
| John: “I'm really sorry, but I have a commitment tonight!” Or, more literally, “Please excuse me, I have an appointment tonight already.” |
| Jennifer: First, you should say how sorry you are. |
| John: Then give a reason. |
| Jennifer: In this context, Bereits means “already.” |
| John: Let’s hear an example. |
| Jennifer: Ich bin bereits vergeben. |
| John: “I am already engaged.” After declining, we should say thanks and wish them a good time. |
| Jennifer: Yes, that’s only polite! |
| John: What did Linda say? |
| Jennifer: Trotzdem vielen Dank. Einen schönen Abend noch! |
| John: “Thank you anyway! Have a good evening!” We heard the last part of that in the key vocabulary section. |
| Jennifer: Yes, it’s a nice phrase used when leaving the office for home. |
| John: What if it isn’t evening? |
| Jennifer: You could say Haben Sie einen schönen Tag. |
| John: “Have a great day.” |
| Jennifer: Another useful word is Trotzdem, meaning “anyway.” It’s similar to the English “nevertheless.” |
| John: How does that work in a sentence? |
| Jennifer: Ich habe trotzdem Lust auf das Event zu gehen. |
| John: “Nevertheless, I feel like going to that event” |
| Jennifer: Das ist trotzdem eine gute Idee. |
| John: “That is a good idea anyway.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson and this series. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Jennifer: Auf Wiedersehen! |
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