Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
First, do you remember how Mark asks,
"How are you?"
Wie geht es dir?
First is wie, "how." Wie. Wie.
Next is geht, "goes." Geht. Geht.
Note, geht is from the verb gehen, meaning "to go."
Next is es, meaning "it" in this context. Es. Es.
Next is dir, "you." Dir. Dir.
All together, it's Wie geht es dir?, something like “How it goes [for] you?” but it translates as "How are you?"
Wie geht es dir?
Note the rising intonation to mark that it's a question.
Wie geht es dir?
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Benjamin says,
"Thank you, I'm fine."
Danke, mir geht es gut.
"Thank you, I'm fine." Danke, mir geht es gut.
Remember this variation. You'll see it again later.
First is danke, "Thank you" Danke. Danke.
Next is mir, "me." Mir. Mir.
After this is geht, "goes." Geht. Geht.
Note, geht is from the verb gehen meaning "to go."
Next is es, meaning "it." Es. Es.
Finally, gut, "good." Gut. Good.
All together, it’s Danke, mir geht es gut, literally "Thank you, [for] me goes it good," but it translates as "Thank you, I'm fine."
Danke, mir geht es gut.
Note the question "Wie geht es dir?" is for informal situations.
For formal situations, simply replace dir with Ihnen, the formal form of "you."
Wie geht es Ihnen? "How are [you]?" for formal situations. Wie geht es Ihnen?
In informal situations, it’s common to say Wie geht’s? "What’s up?" or "How are you?" Wie geht’s?
Here geht is contracted with es to form geht’s, and dir is omitted as it’s understood from the context.
Wie geht’s?
There are many ways to ask about one’s well being in colloquial German, another common expression is Alles gut bei dir? Literally, “Everything good with you.” This can be shortened further to Alles gut? “All good?”

Comments

Hide