Chapter 1
"GERMAN ALPHABET"
The very first thing to learn when learning any language is to learn its ABC. Following the trend, we begin our tutorials with the ABC of German Language i.e. German Alphabet. German alphabet has 30 letters, of which 4 are unique to German i.e. ä, ö, ü and ß (ss). The remaining German letters are the same as 26 standard letters of English alphabet (i.e. A to Z); however the pronunciation of each is different in German.
LETTER PRONUNCIATION
OF THE LETTER EXAMPLES
ENGLISH MEANING OF THE EXAMPLES
A a [ɑ:] Apfel Apple
B b [be:] Buch Book
C c [tse:] Chef Boss D d [de:] Deutsch German E e [e:] Elefant Elephant F f [εf:] Familie Family G g [ge:] Gast Guest
H h [hɑ:] Huhn Hen
I i [i:] Insel Island
J j [jɔt] Jahr Year
K k [kɑ:] Kaffee Coffee L l [εl] Land Country M m [εm] Mutter Mother N n [εn] Nacht Night
O o [o:] Ohr Ear
P p [pe:] Pfau Peacock Q q [ku:] Qualität Quality
R r [εr] Regen Rain
S s [εs] Schiff Ship T t [te:] Tisch Table U u [u:] Unterschrift Signature V v [fɑʊ] Vater Father W w [ve:] Wasser Water X x [ɪks] Xylophon Xylophone Y y [ʼʏpsɪlɔn] Yacht Yacht Z z [tsεt] Xylophon Xylophone
ß (ß = ss) [εs tsεt] ʼ
Straße, Fuß
[This letter is always in lower case and never comes at the beginning of the sentence.]
Street, Foot Ä ä [ε:] Äquator Equator
Ö ö [ø:] Öl Oil
Ü ü [y:] Überraschung Surprise
"GERMAN GREETINGS AND
ETIQUETTE"
This lesson teaches you how to greet, express gratitude or request in German. Come, let us learn how to say 'Hello', 'Good Morning', 'Good Day', 'Good bye', 'Thank you', 'Please', 'Sorry', 'Take Care' and 'Have a good day' in German.
GREETINGS
ENGLISH GERMAN
Hello! Hallo!
Hi! Hi!
Good day! Guten Tag! Good morning! Guten Morgen! Good afternoon! Guten Nachmittag! Good evening! Guten Abend! Good night! Gute Nacht! Good bye! Auf Wiedersehen!
Bye! Tschüss!
See you soon! Bis bald! See you later! Bis später!
See you on Monday! Bis Montag! (Usually said on Friday/Saturday when leaving the school/office for weekend)
ETIQUETTE
ENGLISH GERMAN
Please! Bitte! Thank you! Danke!
Thanks a lot! Danke schön! Thank you very much!/Many thanks! Vielen Dank!
You are welcome! Nichts zu danken!
It was my pleasure. Es war mir ein Vergnügen. My pleasure! Gern geschehen!
Excuse me please! Entschuldigen Sie, bitte! Excuse me! Entschuldigung!
Yes, please! Ja, bitte! I am sorry. Es tut mir leid.
I am sorry. Entschuldigen Sie, bitte! Sorry! Entschuldigung!
No, thanks! Nein, danke! May I... ? Darf ich... I beg your pardon? Wie bitte? Pardon? Wie bitte? Enjoy the meal! Guten Appetit! Take Care! Machs gut!
Have a nice day! Schönen Tag noch! Have a good weekend! Schönes Wochenende! Have fun! Viel Spaß!
Enjoy! Viel Spaß!
"INTRODUCING YOURSELF IN
GERMAN"
- Questions & Answers
In this lesson, you will learn how to make a proper introduction in German language or how to make conversation with a stranger in German? In other words, here you will learn how to introduce yourself and furthermore, how to get to know other people with the help of German language.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Question: What is your name?
Answer: My name is Rahul Malhotra.
Frage: Wie ist Ihr Name?
Antwort: Mein Name ist Rahul Malhotra.
OR
Frage: Wie heißen Sie?
Antwort: Ich heiße Rahul Malhotra. Question: What is your last name?
Answer: My last name is Malhotra.
Frage: Wie ist Ihr Familienname?
Antwort: Mein Familienname ist Malhotra. Question: What is your first name?
Answer: My first name is Rahul.
Frage: Wie ist Ihr Vorname? Antwort: Mein Vorname ist Rahul. Question: Where do you come from? Frage: Woher kommen Sie?
Answer: I come from India. Antwort: Ich komme aus Indien. Question: Where do you live?
Answer: I live in New Delhi.
Frage: Wo wohnen Sie?
Antwort: Ich wohne in Neu Delhi. Question: What languages do you speak?
Answer: I speak English, Hindi and a little bit German
Frage: Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie? Antwort: Ich spreche Englisch, Hindi und ein bisschen Deutsch.
Question: What is your mother tongue?
Answer: My mother tongue is Hindi. Frage: Welche ist Ihre Muttersprache?Antwort: Mein Muttersprache ist Hindi. Question: What are you doing here?
Answer: I am learning German.
Frage: Was machen Sie hier? Antwort: Ich lerne Deutsch. Question: Do you work or do you study?
Answer: I work. / I study.
Frage: Arbeiten Sie oder studieren Sie? Antwort: Ich arbeite. / Ich studiere.
If the answer is "I WORK":
Question: Where do you work
Answer: I work with Infosys. Frage: Wo arbeiten Sie?Antwort: Ich arbeite bei Infosys.
If the answer is "I STUDY":
Question: What do you study? Answer: I study Mathematics
Frage: Was studieren Sie?/ Antwort: Ich studiere Mathematik Question: Where do you study?
Answer: I study in Hansraj College.
Frage: Wo studieren Sie?
Antwort: Ich studiere in Hansraj College.
Chapter 4
"HOW ARE YOU?"
"How are you?" is neither a question nor a request for any health-related information. It is a polite greeting, which is added after one says 'Hello" to know the general well-being of a person.
In German, "How are you" is said differently in formal & informal situation. In a formal situation, 'How are you?' is said using the "Sie" form of 'you'. On the other hand, in an informal situation, it is said using "du" form of 'you'. We will be discussing the 'Sie' and 'du' form of 'you' in detail, later. For now, let us learn how to say "HOW ARE YOU?"
FORMAL SITUATION
A: Wie geht es Ihnen? [Eng: How are you?]
B: Gut, danke. Und Ihnen? [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?] A: Auch gut, danke. [Eng: I am fine too, thank you]
X: Wie geht es dir? [Eng: How are you?]
Y: Gut, danke. Und dir? [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?] X: Auch gut, danke. [Eng: I am fine too, thank you]
Now that we have learnt how to say "How are you", we must also know how to reply to this question. The reply to "How are you?" is something that would vary as per your mood. In other words, the reply to this question should ideally reflect the way you are feeling that very moment, when you have been asked "How are you?". So, to be in a position to reply, you should know how to describe your mood in German.
HOW ARE YOU?
Mood How to describe in German HAPPY
ausgezeichnet / prima/ sehr gut/ toll/ phantastisch/ super gut ganz gut UNHAPPY nicht besonders/ so la la schlecht sehr schlecht
Once you know how to describe your
mood in German, just put that word in
place of the highlighted word (i.e. 'gut')
in the example. This holds good only if
you are feeling good. In case you are
unhappy, then don't add 'Danke, und
…?' to your reply. In such a situation,
the sentence "Auch gut, danke." would
also be replaced with something like
"Was ist denn los?" or "Warum
denn?"
"COUNTRIES & CITIES OF
EUROPE"
As you already know, German is primarily spoken in the continent of Europe. Therefore, as you proceed to learn German, it is important for you to know the important countries and the important cities of Europe. In this section, you will learn the names of important European countries and their capitals in English as well as in German.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Countries & Cities in Europe
COUNTRY CAPITAL
Austria Vienna
Belgium Brussels
Czech Republic Prague
Denmark Copenhagen England London Finland Helsinki France Paris Germany Berlin Greece Athens
Länder & Städte in Europa
LAND HAUPTSTADT Österreich Wien Belgien Brüssel Tschechische Republik Prag Dänemark Kopenhagen England London Finnland Helsinki Frankreich Paris Deutschland Berlin
Iceland Reykjavík Ireland Dublin Italy Rome Liechtenstein Vaduz Lithuania Vilnius Luxembourg Luxembourg Netherlands Amsterdam Norway Oslo Poland Warsaw Portugal Lisbon Romania Bucharest Russia Moscow Spain Madrid Sweden Stockholm Switzerland Bern Turkey Ankara Griechenland Athen Island Reykjavík Irland Dublin Italien Rom Liechtenstein Vaduz Litauen Wilna Luxemburg Luxemburg Niederlande Amsterdam Norwegen Oslo Polen Warschau Portugal Lissabon Rumänien Bukarest Russland Moskau Spanien Madrid Schweden Stockholm die Schweiz Bern die Türkei Ankara
Chapter 6
"LOCATION & CAPITAL"
Now, that we know the names of European countries and their capitals, let us learn how to answer some questions related to them in German.
The following figure shows the location of the European countries in the continent of Europe. Im Norden Dänemark/Kopenhagen Finnland/Helsinki Island/Reykjavík Norwegen/Oslo Schweden/Stockholm
Im Westen England/London Frankreich/Paris Irland/Dublin Im Zentrum Deutschland/Berlin Österreich/Wien Belgien/Brüssel Tschechische Republik/Prag Liechtenstein/Vaduz Luxemburg/Luxemburg Niederlande/Amsterdam Polen/Warschau die Schweiz/Bern Im Osten Litauen/Wilna Rumänien/Bukarest Russland/Moskau die Türkei/Ankara Im Süden Griechenland/Athen Italien/Rom Portugal/Lissabon Spanien/Madrid
You are now in a position to learn to answer questions related to the location and the capitals of countries in Europe. There are two basic questions related to a country, its capital & its location that you should be able to answer:
GERMAN ENGLISH
Frage: Wo liegt Deutschland?
Antwort: Deutschland liegt im Zentrum von Europa.
Question: Where is Germany located? Answer: Germany is located in the centre
of Europe. Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von
Deutschland?
Antwort: Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland.
Question: What is the capital of Germany? Answer: Berlin is the capital of Germany.
Here are some more examples to make
things clear:
Frage: Wo liegt Griechenland?
Antwort: Griechenland liegt im Süden
von Europa.
Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von
Griechenland?
Antwort: Athen ist die Hauptstadt von
Griechenland.
Frage: Wo liegt die Türkei?
Antwort: Die Türkei liegt im Osten
von Europa.
Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von der
Türkei.
Antwort: Ankara ist die Hauptstadt
von der Türkei. Chapter 7
"COUNTRY, LANGUAGE & ITS
PEOPLE"
In this Lesson, we will learn about the Languages and People of different countries and how are they called in German. As you are now aware of many of the country names in German, so in this chapter we are not providing you with the English corresponding terms. In case, you still face difficulty, please refer to Chapter 5.
Country (Länder) Languages (Sprachen) People (Menschen) Deutschland Deutsch Deutscher Deutsche Österreich Deutsch Österreicher Österreicherin die Schweiz Deutsch/ Italienisch/ Französisch Schweizer Schweizerin Japan Japanisch Japaner Japanerin England Englisch Engländer Engländerin die Türkei Türkisch Türke Türkin Frankreich Französisch Franzose Französin Schweden Schwedisch Schwede Schwedin Indien (Eng: India)
Hindi, Bengali, Telugu,
Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi und viel mehr.
Inder Inderin
"COUNTING"
Numbers is something which you need every now and then in everyday conversation. You know the counting in English. Now, let us learn "How to Count in German".
ZAHLEN 0 - null 1 - eins 2 - zwei 3 - drei 4 - vier 5 - fünf 6 - sechs 7 - sieben 8 - acht 9 - neun 10 - zehn 11 - elf 12 - zwölf 13 - dreizehn 14 - vierzehn
15 - fünfzehn 16 - sechzehn 17 - siebzehn 18 - achtzehn 19 - neunzehn 20 - zwanzig 21 - einundzwanzig 22 - zweiundzwanzig 23 - dreiundzwanzig 24 - vierundzwanzig 25 - fünfundzwanzig 26 - sechsundzwanzig 27 - siebenundzwanzig 28 - achtundzwanzig 29 - neunundzwanzig 30 - dreißig 40 - vierzig 50 - fünfzig 60 - sechzig 70 - siebzig 80 - achtzig 90 - neunzig 100 - (ein)hundert 200 - zweihundert 1000 - (ein)tausend 100000 - (ein)hunderttausend
As we now know the counting in German, we are in a position to answer some questions related to Numbers:
ENGLISH GERMAN
Question: How old are you? Answer: I am twenty (20) years old.
Frage: Wie alt sind Sie?
Antwort: Ich bin zwanzig (20) Jahre alt. Question: Are you eleven (11)
years old? Answer: No
Frage: Sind Sie elf (11) Jahre alt? Antwort: Nein
Question: What is your telephone number?
Answer: My telephone number is 2731895.
Frage: Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer?
Antwort: Meine Telefonnummer ist 2731895 (sieben
und zwanzig, ein und dreißig, neun und achtzig, fünf).
Question: What is your mobile number?
Answer: My mobile number is 9851678954.
Frage: Wie ist Ihre Handynummer?
Antwort: Meine Handynummer ist 9851678954 (acht
und neunzig, ein und fünfzig, sieben und sechzig, neun und achtzig, vier und fünfzig).
Chapter 9
There are 7 days in a week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These 7 days are divided into 'weekdays' and 'weekend'. The 5 days from Monday to Friday are called Weekdays. Whereas, Saturday and Sunday together form a weekend. In this chapter, we will learn the German synonyms for the weekdays and some other words related to a week.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Week (die) Woche
Weekday (der) Wochentag Weekdays (die) Wochentage Working day (der) Arbeitstag Working days (die) Arbeitstage on weekdays an Wochentagen
Monday Montag
Tuesday Dienstag Wednesday Mittwoch Thursday Donnerstag Donnerstag
Friday Freitag
Saturday Samstag
Sunday Sonntag
Weekend (das) Wochenende on the weekend am Wochenende
over the weekend over the weekend über das Wochenende
ENGLISH Day before yesterday Yesterday <-Today -> Tomorrow Day after tomorrow GERMAN vorgestern gestern <- heute -> morgen übermorgen
Chapter 10
"MONTHS OF THE YEAR"
A calendar year has 12 months beginning with January and ending with December. In this chapter, we will learn the names of these 12 months in German.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Year (das) Jahr Years (die) Jahre Month (der) Monat
Months (die) Monate
January (der) Januar February (der) Februar March (der) März April (der) April
May (der) Mai
June (der) Juni July (der) Juli August (der) August September (der) September October (der) Oktober November (der) November December (der) Dezember
Chapter 11
SEASONS OF THE YEAR
It is often said, "Seasons come and seasons go". But what are these seasons called in German, do you know? This is what you will learn in this chapter about 'Seasons of the year'
ENGLISH GERMAN
Season (die) Jahreszeit Seasons (die) Jahreszeiten
Spring (der) Frühling Summer (der) Sommer Autumn (der) Herbst Winter (der) Winter Monsoon (der) Monsun
Weather (das) Wetter
What is the temperature? Wie ist die Temperatur? Degree Celsius Grad Celsius
maximum maximal minimum minimal
Weather Forecast (der) Wettervorhersage Weather Forecasts (die) Wettervorhersagen Weather Report (der) Wetterbericht Weather Reports (die) Wetterberichte
Shower Schauer thunderstorm Gewitter Rain Regen Snow Schnee
FRAGE: How is the weather? FRAGE: Wie ist das Wetter? ANTWORT: The weather is…/It is
…. ANTWORT: Das Wetter ist…/ Es ist…. …lovely/ beautiful …schön
…pleasant …angenehm …foggy …neblig …misty …leicht neblig …clear/bright …heiter …sunny …sonnig …cloudy …bewölkt …windy …windig …cloudy …wolkig
…rainy …regnerisch …sticky …schwül …humid …feucht …cool …kühl …cold …kalt …wet …nass …ice-cold …eiskalt …unpleasant …unangenehm …very warm …sehr warm
Chapter 12
"PERSONAL PRONOUNS"
Pronouns are called "Pronomen" in German. So, Personal Pronouns become "Personal Pronomen". In this chapter, we will learn the various Personal Pronouns in German. Each Pronoun here is explained with help of an image describing that particular pronoun, so that you do not need the help of the English corresponding terms to learn these pronouns.
SINGULAR PLURAL
du (Informal YOU = TU in Hindi) ihr
Sie (Formal YOU = AAP in Hindi) Sie
