How to Speak German like a Native
Morgen!
"Guten Morgen" is not so much used by German people. A simple "Morgen!" is more than enough to say hello to someone in the morning.Es freut mich!
This is what you are supposed to say when meeting someone for the first time in Germany. It is the equivalent of “nice to meet you!”.
Alles klar
Alles klar is used to show the person you are talking to that you understood perfectly what she said. You hear it sometimes at the end of a conversation: alles klar, tschüß! - “all right, bye!”. German people also uses it as a question to check if everything is all right: alles klar?Genau
Using genau in a conversation will make you sound like a native in German! This short word is very common and easy to use in a sentence. This word means “that’s right”, “exactly”, “you are right”… Try listening to German people; you will hear it all the time!Gott sei Dank!
Literally "Thank God". Like in English quite a lot of German phrases are influenced by religion. You will also hear Meine Güte or Oh mein Gott.Alles Gute!
You may have learnt in class that “happy birthday” in German is: Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag… Literally “Heartful wishes on your birthday”. If you feel like you can’t actually say that, don’t worry! Oftentimes German people greet friends or family with a simple Alles Gute! which means “all the best”. Much easier, right?Zack, zack!
Zack, zack, would be the English “chop, chop!”! It gives you the idea of a quick move to go on with something else. Zack, zack, so let’s move to the next one quickly!Quatsch!
When you want to say ach Quatsch , it’s like saying “don’t be silly” or “that’s nonsense!”.Stimmt
Stimmt is to agree with someone. It is often used when the person you are talking to convinced you about something or tells you about something you did not think about. It is like “oh yes it’s true” or “you are right”.Mahlzeit!
If it’s true there is in German the formal phrase Guten Appetit; it could be useful as well to know this other version when wishing someone to enjoy his meal. You can even find a literal translation of the English sentence: Lass es euch schmecken!
Mach’s gut!
This is the equivalent of the English phrase “take care”. This is the perfect thing to say when leaving someone and say goodbye.
Tschüss!
Tschüss would be the general word to use every time you want to say goodbye, whether you know the person or not. Of course you also have the famous auf Wiedersehen but let’s say that if you are not sure about its pronunciation, just go for a Tschüss…!Bonus: German language and…food!
Discover funny phrases in German that have a special flavour…!
Es ist mir Wurst
Literally: This is me sausageMeaning: I don’t care
Ich freue mich wie ein Schnitzel
Literally: I am as glad as a Schnitzel
Meaning: I am very happy
Quark
Literally: Soft white cheese
Meaning: Like "Quatsch", it’s nonsense
Alles in Butter?
Literally: Everything in butter?
Meaning: Everything okay?
Abwarten und Tee trinken
Literally: Wait and drink tea
Meaning: Being patient
If you have any other words or phrases you would like to share with us, go to our Sprachcaffe Facebook page and post them as a comment under this article’s post! Tschüss und bis bald !
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