{"id":6354,"date":"2015-05-22T20:36:57","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T20:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=6354"},"modified":"2017-11-20T15:12:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T15:12:36","slug":"natural-german-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/natural-german-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Natural German Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"12102008944<\/a>

Please Wait – – Please Speak. Photo by denicide on flickr.com under CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

Every conversation has natural interjections, reactions and filler words. This is what makes language feel natural. Here is a list of German words and phrases that you can slot into conversations to make your German flow more naturally. Please note that some of these aren\u2019t meant to be full, grammatically correct sentences, but fragments. Just like we might say \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter\u201d in response to something in English, in German we\u2019d say \u201cMacht nichts\u201d without the \u201cEs\u201d at the beginning that makes it into a complete sentence (\u201cEs macht nichts\u201d \u2013 It doesn\u2019t matter).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Also – So<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u201cAlso, \u00fcber was haben wir geredet?\u201d So, what were we talking about?
\n\u201cAlso, gehen wir?\u201d So, shall we go?
\n\u201cAlso, was willst du trinken?\u201d So, what do you want to drink?<\/p>\n

***
\nIst schon gut<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s alright\/Don\u2019t worry\/Forget it<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u201cIch habe dein Buch nicht mitgebracht!\u201d I didn\u2019t bring your book with me!
\n\u201eIst schon gut! Du kannst es n\u00e4chstes mal mitbringen!\u201c It\u2019s alright! You can bring it next time!<\/p>\n

Geht schon \u2013 It\u2019s OK \/ It\u2019s fine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wird schon \u2013 It will be OK \/ It will be fine \/ You will get there.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Macht nichts \u2013 Doesn\u2019t matter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Egal \u2013 Either way is fine \/ I’m not bothered<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u201cMagst du Marmorkuchen oder Pflaumenkuchen?\u201d Do you want marble cake or plum cake?<\/em>
\n“Egal” I don\u2019t mind.<\/em>
\nLonger version: “Das ist mir egal.”
\nAlso used in anger to tell someone you don’t care: “Es ist mir egal, was du willst!” I don’t care what you want!<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Was ist denn mit dir los? \u2013 What\u2019s up with you, exactly? <\/em><\/strong>(If someone seems a little \u2018off\u2019).<\/p>\n

Was denn? \u2013 What is it? \/ What do you want?<\/em><\/strong> (If someone calls your name, for instance: \u201cLudwig!\u201d \u2013 \u201cWas denn?\u201d)<\/p>\n

(Und) Was noch? \u2013 (And) What else?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Und) Was jetzt? \u2013 (And) What now?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Genau! \u2013 Exactly!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Echt?! \u2013 Really?!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Im Ernst? \u2013 Honestly?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ja, wirklich! \u2013 Yes, really!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Das ist ja schlimm. \u2013 That\u2019s bad.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So ist es. \u2013 That\u2019s the way it is.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ja, und? \u2013 Yes, and?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Na?<\/strong> \u2013 This little word means hello, hey<\/em><\/strong>, well?<\/strong>,<\/em> and how are you?<\/em><\/strong> all in one. It\u2019s a sound of acknowledgement more than anything. It’s best explained when used in a sentence:
\n\u201cNa, alles klar?\u201d Everything alright?
\n\u201cNa, was machst du?\u201d What are you doing?<\/p>\n

\u00c4hm\u2026 – Umm\u2026\/Er\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Naja<\/strong> \u2013 An interjection with no real translation, signifying agreement or disagreement, usually pronounced with an extended second \u2018a\u2019: \u201cNajaaa\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cErich ist bl\u00f6d.\u201d (Eric is stupid)
\n\u201cNaja, so bl\u00f6d ist er nicht!\u201d (Come on, he\u2018s not that stupid!)<\/p>\n

\u201cIch habe keine Lust, heute tanzen zu gehen.\u201d (I don\u2019t want to go dancing today)
\n\u201cNaja, du brauchst nicht jede Woche gehen.\u201d (Well, you don\u2019t need to go every week)<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Nein! H\u00f6r zu..<\/strong> \u2013 <\/strong>No! Listen..<\/strong> <\/em>
\nUsed if someone doesn\u2019t understand what you\u2019re saying, and you\u2019re slightly irritated at having to repeat yourself again.<\/p>\n

St\u00f6rt das? \u2013 Is that bothering you?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Das macht mir nichts aus \u2013 I don’t mind that \/ That doesn’t bother me
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Warte mal<\/strong> \u2013 Hang on \/ Wait a minute<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Machen wir\u2019s so: – Let\u2019s do it like this:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Das ist zum Verzweifeln!<\/strong> \u2013 That makes you despair!<\/em><\/strong>
\n(This one sounds more natural in German than it does in English…)<\/p>\n

Das hat keinen Sinn! \u2013 That doesn\u2019t make sense! \/ That\u2019s pointless!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ja so was (von)! \u2013 What a cheek!<\/em><\/strong>
\nThis little phrase is used to express outrage. It can be said with or without the ‘von’.
\n\u201cMartin hat gesagt, ich bin faul\u201c Martin said I was lazy
\n\u201eJa so was! Du bist \u00fcberhaupt nicht faul!\u201d What a cheek! You\u2019re not lazy at all!<\/p>\n

\u00dcber was haben wir geredet? – What were we talking about?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Das sag ich dir sp\u00e4ter. \u2013 I\u2019ll tell you that later.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wei\u00dft du, \u2026 – You know, \u2026<\/em><\/strong>
\n\u201cWei\u00dft du, ich mag ihn eigentlich nicht\u201d You know, I don\u2019t actually like him<\/p>\n

Das kann ich glauben! \u2013 I can believe that!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Das kann ich nicht glauben! \u2013 I can\u2019t believe that!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Wahnsinn! \u2013 Crazy!<\/em><\/strong> (In the sense of amazing, astonishing, etc.)
\n\u201cHast du gesehen, wie schlank Hannah jetzt ist?\u201c Have you seen how slim Hannah is now?
\n\u201eJa! Wahnsinn!\u201d Yes! Crazy!<\/p>\n

Ich muss jetzt abhauen \u2013 I\u2019m off now\/I need to get off now.<\/em><\/strong>
\nThis is a cruder way of saying \u201cIch muss jetzt gehen\u201d (I need to go now). It\u2019s the German equivalent of \u201cI need to bugger off now\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mach\u2019s gut! \u2013 Bye! Take care!<\/em><\/strong>
\nAn alternative to the simple Tsch\u00fc\u00df. Literally, \u2018Make\/do it good!\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mach’s gut!
\nConstanze x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Every conversation has natural interjections, reactions and filler words. This is what makes language feel natural. Here is a list of German words and phrases that you can slot into conversations to make your German flow more naturally. Please note that some of these aren\u2019t meant to be full, grammatically correct sentences, but fragments. Just…<\/p>\n

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