How To Say Yes And No In German Posted by Constanze on Apr 22, 2016 in Language
There are a million ways to say yes and no in German. Whether you’re accepting a party invite or sending a door-to-door salesman on his way, here are some German phrases that’ll set you up and give your ‘yesses and nos’ a lot more power!
Ways to say nein – no
Das interessiert mich nicht – That doesn’t interest me
Das will ich nicht – I don’t want that
Das kann ich nicht – I can’t do that
Das mag ich nicht – I don’t like that
Ich kann nicht – I can‘t
Ich habe keine Zeit – I don’t have time
Das geht (momentan) nicht – It’s not possible (at the moment)
Vielleicht nächstes Mal – Maybe next time
Ich bin (momentan) beschäftigt – I’m busy (at the moment)
Ich habe zu viel zu tun – I’ve got too much to do
Ich habe zu tun – I’ve got things to do
(An unusual-sounding phrase that literally translates to ‘I have to do’, omitting what it is there is to do. Though it might sound odd, it is correct German!)
Lieber nicht – I’d rather not
Dieses Mal kann ich nicht – I can’t this time
Ich habe schon Pläne – I already have plans
Soften the blow of a nein:
Depends who you’re talking to and how badly you want to get rid of them, right? Add the following onto the front of any of the above phrases if you want to soften the blow of your no:
Es tut mir Leid, aber… – I’m sorry, but…
Danke, aber… – Thanks, but…
Ways to say ja – yes
Das wäre… gut/toll/usw. – That would be … (good/great/etc.)
Gerne – Gladly
Natürlich – Of course
Natürlich mache ich das – Of course I’ll do that
Natürlich gehe ich – Of course I’ll go
Auf jeden Fall – Definitely
Ich freue mich (schon) – I’m looking forward to it (already)
Das klingt gut – That sounds good
Das wird sicher Spaß machen – I’m sure that’ll be fun
MAYBE!
Now what about those times when you’re not sure if it’s a yes or a no? Or perhaps don’t want to say no outright, but you know you’re not really interested? We’ve all used that glorious word ‘maybe’ when really we mean ‘no’! Here are a few ways of saying maybe in German.
Ways to say vielleicht – maybe
Ich weiß noch nicht – I don’t know yet
Ich überlege es – I’ll think about it
Ich muss zuerst darüber nachdenken – I need to think about it first
Ich muss zuerst checken– I need to check first
Ich sag es dir morgen/später/am Dienstag/nächste Woche – I’ll tell you tomorrow/later/on Tuesday/next week
Hoffentlich – Hopefully
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About the Author: Constanze
Servus! I'm Constanze and I live in the UK. I'm half English and half German, and have been writing about German language and culture on this blog since 2014. I am also a fitness instructor & personal trainer.
Comments:
Carlos R. Barron:
diser information is braubar,Ich ubung meine Deutsch Ich gelern in transparent .com mit wort des tages.
Danke
Carlos R. Barron , im Milwaukee, WI.