Deutsch
I used to work for an Austrian company which is owned by a very large German parent company, so I know quite a few native German speakers. Since I'm fascinated by languages in general, I thought it would be a good idea to learn some German. I had a German phrase-a-day calendar and the Austrians would help me with my pronunciation (they told me I have a Swiss accent). Usually they would suggest better ways to express an idea than the calendar did. Sometimes they suggested phrases that should never appear on any calendar. Anyway, here is a collection of some of my favorite German phrases I have picked up.
| auf Deutsch | in English | Remarks/Anmerkungen |
|---|---|---|
| Halt mich auf dem Laufenden. | Keep me up to date. | lit: Stop me of the current. |
| Deine Katze ist wunderschön. | Your cat is adorable. | |
| Haben Sie eine Bleistift den ich ausleihen darf? | Do you have a pencil I can borrow? | |
| Ich habe viel Arbeit zu erledigen. | I have a lot of work to do. | |
| Lassen Sie das bitte nicht nochmals passieren. | Please don't let that happen again. | |
| Kommen Sie bitte mit uns. | Come with us please. | See the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where the two German guys approach Indiana in the market after Marian has supposedly died. |
| Ich muss diese Hose kürzen. | I need to have these pants shortened. | |
| Ich muss mich beeilen, ich bin spät. | I must hurry, I'm late. | |
| Was für ein Tag haben wir? | What day of the week is it? | lit: What for the day have we? |
| Was für ein schöner Tag! | What a beautiful day! | |
| Lass uns im Bett frühstücken. | Let's have breakfast in bed. | I have trouble with the ü sound. I just can't get it quite right. |
| Ich fühle mich heute nicht so gut. | I don't feel so good today. | This is one translation the calendar really screwed up. It said, "I'm feeling a little under the weather." |
| Halten Sie hier, bitte. | Stop here, please. | |
| Ich gehe mit dem Hund spazieren. | I am going to take the dog for a walk. | |
| Sie hat mir das Herz gebrochen. | She has broken my heart. | |
| Was haben Sie für eine Tagessuppe? | What's the soup of the day? | lit: What have you for the daily soup? The calendar originally had die Tagessuppe, but Dietmar says eine Tagessuppe is more conversationally correct. |
| Ich bin hungrig wie ein Wolf. | I am hungry like a wolf. | |
| Deutsche Panzer rollen wieder! | German tanks are rolling again! | Slang. Refers to very largely-built women. |
| Ich verstehe nicht. | I don't understand. | |
| Wie geht's? | How's it going? | More formally, this is "Wie geht es Ihnen?" |
| Ich spreche nur wenig Deutsch. | I speak only a little German. | |
| Ich spreche auch deutsches wenig. | I also speak some [a little] German. | |
| Der Mann ist gut! Der kommt in die Suppe! | The man is good! He's in the soup! | Slang. Similar to "You da man!" There is apparently a variation on this. Dietmar says, "Der kommt in die Küche!" "He's in the kitchen!" |
| Schießen Sie mich jetzt! | Shoot me now! | Be careful not to pronounce it Scheißen. |
| Nicht schießen! | Don't shoot! | |
| Wo ist die Toilette? | Where is the toilet? | An informal, slang, possibly vulgar alternative is "Wo ist das Scheißhaus?" |
| Ausgezeichnet! | Outstanding! | |
| Du schaust zu viel fern. | You watch too much TV. | |
| Ein gutes und ein fröliches Neues Jahr! | Happy New Year! | lit: A good and cheerful/happy New Year! I tried Frohes Neues Jahr! on Friedel, but he said it was too informal and gave me the longer version seen here. |
| Leck mich am arsch! | Kiss my butt! | |
| Wie komme ich von hier aus zu meinem Hotel? | How do I get from here to my hotel? | lit: How come I from here out of to my hotel? |
| Ich möchte dir ein Kollege / eine Kollegin vorstellen. | I would like to introduce you to my colleague. | This phrasing is more formal, introducing someone who might work in another department. Someone you work closely with would be mein Kollege / meine Kollegin (Kollege is masculine, Kollegin feminine). The plural form is einen/meinen Kollegen. |
| Heute ist ein perfekter Tag für ein Picknick. | Today is a perfect day for a picnic. | |
| Bevor ich ausgehe muss ich duschen. | Before I go out I must take a shower. | |
| Um wieviel Uhr ist dein Flug am Freitag? | What time is your flight on Friday? | |
| Entschuldigen Sie bitte, wissen Sie wieviel Uhr es ist? | Excuse me, do you know what time it is? | Literally, "wieviel Uhr" is "how much Clock/Watch." |
| Meine Oma liegt im Krankenhaus. | My granny is in the hospital. | lit: My granny lies in the hospital. |
| Ich kann meine Schlüssel nicht finden. | I can't find my key. | |
| Könnten Sie ein Photo von uns machen? | Could you take our picture? | lit: Could you a picture of us make? |
| Oben auf dem Hügel biegen Sie links ab. | At the top of the hill, turn left. | |
| Ich habe vergessen zur Post zu gehen. | I forgot to go to the post office. | |
| Hast du den Wecker für morgen früh gestellt? | Did you set the alarm clock? | |
| Ich kann nicht vergessen mein Rezept abzuholen. | I can't forget to pick up my prescription. | |
| Sie sieht in den Klamotten umwerfend aus. | She looks divine in that outfit. | |
| Das Wetter ist zu dieser Jahreszeit wunderschön. | The weather is beautiful this time of year. | |
| Entschuldigen Sie, bitte, wo befindet sich die Damentoilette? | Excuse me, please, where do I find the ladies' room? | |
| Mein Flug fliegt vom Flugsteig 12 ab. | My flight leaves from gate 12. | |
| Wie lange brauchen wir bis wir am Flughafen ankommen? | How long will it take us to get to the airport? | |
| Meine Oma macht den besten Apfelkuchen. | My granny makes the best apple pie. | |
| Oh nein, wir haben kein heisses Wasser mehr! | Oh no, we're out of hot water! | lit: Oh no, we have no hot water more! |
| Die WC's sind die Treppe runter auf der rechten Seite. | The restrooms are down the stairs to the right. | lit: The restrooms are the stairs down out to the right side. |
| Es gibt nichts besseres als ein Schaumbad. | There's nothing better than a bubble bath. | |
| Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Papa. | Happy Birthday, Dad. | |
| Die Hoffnung bleibt für immer. | Hope springs eternal | lit: Hope stays/remains for always. |
| Es wird kalt. | It's getting cold. | Okay, the calendar totally blew this one. It said, "I feel a chill in the air." The sentiment is the same, but I'm not sure how you get from three words in the original language to seven words in the translation. I guess the translator was feeling poetic. |
