Learn to ask "How do you say this in German?"
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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 34, How do you say this in German? |
| M: Communication skills are important and when you learn a foreign language such as German, learning can even be fun. Trying to speak the local language becomes one more challenge in your trip. So when in Germany, take advantage of all the moments you can speak and practice with German people. Today we will introduce you to a phrase that will provide you with the tools to learn from the people around you. Obviously this doesn’t mean that you have to leave your dictionary at home but don’t forget that you can use German language itself to learn in a more fun and interactive way. For today, we are going to need a word as we are going to cover how do you say something in German. For today’s lesson let’s use [Seife] soap for that something. How do you say soap in German is [Wie sagt man soap auf Deutsch] Let’s break it down by syllable [Wie sagt man soap auf Deutsch] Now let’s hear it once again [Wie] The first word [Wie] means how. Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time [Wie] and [Wie sagt] The inflected form, third person singular of the verb [sagen] to say follows. Let’s break it down and hear it once again. [sagt] and [sagt] next is the impersonal indefinite pronoun [man] meaning you or one as in one would say. We follow that with a word you say in your own language. So in this case, soap and then finally you have [auf Deutsch] in German. Let’s break it down by syllable and hear it one more time [auf Deutsch] So together we have [Wie sagt man soap auf Deutsch] this literally means how says one soap in German. You can also use this expression without using any English. To accomplish this, you can use the expression, how do you say this in German. In German, this is [dies] Let’s break it down by syllable [dies]. Now let’s hear it once again [dies] So in German, how do you say this in German is [Wie sagt man dies auf Deutsch] Let’s break it down by syllable [Wie sagt man dies auf Deutsch] Now let’s hear it once again [Wie sagt man dies auf Deutsch] The structure is exactly the same as the previous sentence. Only in place of soap, we have the demonstrative pronoun [dies] this. Therefore altogether we have [Wie man sagt man dies auf Deutsch] which you can say while pointing at something. It literally means how says one this in German. To ask, how do you say that in German, simply substitute the word [dies] with [das] meaning that and you will have [Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch] How do you say that in German. Let’s break it down and hear it one more time [Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch] but wait, it’s your German friend’s birthday and you want to wish a happy birthday but you don’t know how to say it. Try and ask [Wie man übersetzt man Happy Birthday auf Deutsch] how do you translate happy birthday into German. Let’s break it down by syllables. [Wie man übersetzt man Happy Birthday auf Deutsch] Now let’s hear it again [Wie man übersetzt man Happy Birthday auf Deutsch] The first word is [Wie] and it means how. Let’s break it down by syllable [Wie] Then you have [übersetzt] which is the inflected form, third person singular of the verb [übersetzen] to translate. Let’s break it down and hear it one more time. [übersetzt] and [übersetzt] Next is the impersonal indefinite pronoun [man] meaning you or one as in one would say. The word or expression you wish to have translated follows this. In our case, happy birthday and then finally you have [auf Deutsch] into German. So altogether we have [Wie übersetzt man Happy Birthday auf Deutsch] both phrases. How do you say this in German and how do you translate this into German are fairly easy to use. So it’s best if you practice them a lot in Germany. The most comfortable situation to try of these questions is in a restaurant or at a dinner table with German people. Ask them about the German terms for the ingredients in your dinner. If they’ve cooked a traditional German dish, you might learn a thing or two about classic German food and its heritage. |
| 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. |
| How do you say soap in German? [Wie sagt man soap auf Deutsch] How do you say this in German? [Wie sagt man dies auf Deutsch] How do you say that in German? [Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch] How do you translate happy birthday into German? [Wie übersetzt man Happy Birthday auf Deutsch] |
| That’s going to do it for today. |
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