Speak German With These Simple Conversations
Regardless of your age or how many experiences you have with languages, it is easy to speak and lean simple German. Often times, students of German become overwhelmed at the idea of speaking a new language. Just remember to start with the basics and build upon those. This will ensure your progress.
Trying to learn a million-and-one vocabulary words and hoping to piece them together in any decent way will only create frustration and confusion. Stick to the basics, and let’s get started!
Introductions are key when conversing with other individuals in German. My name is Michael would be translated as, “Ich heisse Michael.” Pronounced, eech high-suh. Let’s dive into a conversation between Michael and Julia at a party. Read the following slowly out-loud and look for phrases you can use later.
M: “Hallo, Ich heisse Michael. Wie hiesst du?”
J: “Hallo Michael. Ich heisse Julia. Die Musik hier ist gut, ja?
M: “Ja, die Musik ist super! Willst du tanzen?”
J: “Ja, tanzen wir! Dieses Lied ist die beste!”
Notice how each sentence is only about 4 words long. Even though this is a basic example, this is actually how conversational German is spoken. Remember; don’t make things more complicated than they need to be. Now here is the English translation of the above conversation.
M: “Hello, my name’s Michael. What’s your name?”
J: “Hello Michael. My name is Julia. The music here is good, yeah?”
M: “Yeah, the music is super! Will you dance?”
J: “Yeah, let’s dance! This song is the best!”
If you’re laughing about the music being “super” go right ahead… Clearly that’s not what most English speakers would say, but the meaning is clear. Here are a few useful phrases we can take from the above conversation, starting with the verb heissen.
Heissen means, to be called. So in essence, Michael says in the first line, “I’m called Michael. What are you called?” It may sound strange at first, but exact literal translations will never make perfect sense. For now, just know that these instances will pop up periodically. It is best to roll with each lesson as it comes. Long story short, when you want to ask someone what their name is, just say, “Wie hiesst du?” Pronounced, vee heist doo.
Enough background explanations. Let’s look at some nuts and bolts vocabulary from our conversation.
Die Musik = the music
Das Lied = the song
Tanzen = to dance
Die beste = the best
Hier = here
Willst du + verb = Do you want to…
Hallo = hello
Let’s look now at a few more useful verbs when having a conversation. Michael and Julia had a good time at the party. Julia calls Michael to meet up later. Read each sentence out-loud and pause between the spaces.
J: “Hallo Michael? Hier ist Julia”
M: “Julia! Wie geht’s dir?”
J: “Gut, mir ist gut. Was machst du Heute Abend?”
M: “Nicht viel, was machst du?”
J: “Ich will etwas essen. Hast du hunger?”
M: “Ja ich habe hunger. Willst du auch etwas trinken? Ich will ausgehen”
J: “Ja, essen wir bei SuperPizza. Dort, plannen wir alles.
M: “Sehr Gut! Sehen wir uns bald!”
Again we see the basic four to five word sentences in play. Below is the translation of the conversation. Look for more vocabulary words and useful phrases.
J: “Hello Michael? It’s Julia.”
M: “Julia! How are you?”
J: “Good, I’m good. What are you doing this evening?”
M: “Not much, what are you doing?”
J: “I want to eat something. Are you hungry?”
M: “Yes, I’m hungry. Do you want to also get something to drink? I want to go out.”
J: “Yeah, let’s eat at SuperPizza. There, we’ll plan everything.”
M: “Very good! We’ll see each other soon.”
Here is the corresponding vocabulary list:
Wie geht’s dir? = How are you?
Was machst du? = What are you doing?
Heute = Today
Heute Abend = this evening
Essen = to eat
Trinken = to drink
Ausgehen = to go out
Hast du Hunger? = Are you hungry?
Plannen = to plan
Sehen = to see
Bald = soon
The only way to speak German well is with practice. As you go about your day, remember the following conversations and see if you can slip in a phrase or two. Granted most people won’t understand you, but the practice is priceless.
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