Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. This is Business German for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 22 - Leaving a Message for a Colleague. John Here.
Jennifer: Guten Tag! I'm Jennifer.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask someone to leave somebody a message. The conversation takes place on the phone.
Jennifer: It's between a receptionist and Linda Müller.
John: The speakers are strangers, therefore, they will speak formal German. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Rezeptionist: Frau Schmitt ist nicht in ihrem Büro.
Linda Müller: Können Sie Ihr etwas ausrichten?
Rezeptionist: Ja gerne, was darf ich ihr mitteilen?
Linda Müller: Bitte sagen Sie ihr, dass der Sachbearbeiter das Gutachten bereits abgeschickt hat und dass sie ihn bitte kontaktieren soll.
Rezeptionist: Ich werde ihr Bescheid geben sobald sie zurück ist.
John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Rezeptionist: Frau Schmitt ist nicht in ihrem Büro.
Linda Müller: Können Sie Ihr etwas ausrichten?
Rezeptionist: Ja gerne, was darf ich ihr mitteilen?
Linda Müller: Bitte sagen Sie ihr, dass der Sachbearbeiter das Gutachten bereits abgeschickt hat und dass sie ihn bitte kontaktieren soll.
Rezeptionist: Ich werde ihr Bescheid geben sobald sie zurück ist.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Receptionist: Mrs. Smith is not in her office.
Linda Müller: Can I leave a message with you?
Receptionist: Yes, what should I let her know?
Linda Müller: Please tell her that the consultant has sent the results and that she should get in contact with him.
Receptionist: I'll let her know as soon as she is back.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: I wonder why she’s out of the office.
Jennifer: It could be many reasons. She could have a meeting, or have gone to speak with a colleague.
John: Yeah. I guess if she was off work, the receptionist would have said.
Jennifer: Maybe. But everyone does get der Urlaubsanspruch.
John: What’s that?
Jennifer: “Holiday entitlement.”
John: What are the vacation rules in Germany? How many days paid vacation do workers get?
Jennifer: 20 days off from work is mandatory with the five-day work-week.
John: So everyone gets 20 days?
Jennifer: That’s the minimum. Some businesses and companies may give more. 30 days is pretty common too.
John: Nice! How about things like Christmas bonuses? Are they common in Germany?
Jennifer: That’s a voluntary financial payment. It differs from company to company.
John: Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is...
Jennifer: Büro [natural native speed]
John: office
Jennifer: Büro[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: Büro [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Jennifer: ausrichten [natural native speed]
John: to tell
Jennifer: ausrichten[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: ausrichten [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Jennifer: mitteilen [natural native speed]
John: to inform, to communicate with
Jennifer: mitteilen[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: mitteilen [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Jennifer: Sachbearbeiter [natural native speed]
John: clerk
Jennifer: Sachbearbeiter[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: Sachbearbeiter [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Jennifer: Gutachten [natural native speed]
John: report
Jennifer: Gutachten[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: Gutachten [natural native speed]
John: And last...
Jennifer: zurück sein [natural native speed]
John: to be back
Jennifer: zurück sein[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: zurück sein [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of one of the phrases from this lesson. The phrase is...
Jennifer: nicht im Büro sein
John: meaning "being not in the office." Can you break this down for us?
Jennifer: Sure. First is nicht sein.
John: which means “not to be.” What’s the second part?
Jennifer: im Büro
John: which means “in the office.” You might hear this phrase used by a receptionist. Can you give us an example using this expression?
Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Ich bin nicht im Büro.
John: ...which means "I am not in the office."
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask someone to leave a message.
Jennifer: In some circumstances, you’ll need to ask someone to give a message on your behalf.
John: So let’s look at how to politely ask this.
Jennifer: You can say, Können Sie Ihr etwas ausrichten?
John: “Can I leave a message with you?” Let’s break this down. First is...
Jennifer: Können
John: a modal verb. Next is...
Jennifer: Sie
John: the formal version of “you.” Then...
Jennifer: etwas
John: the accusative object and finally…
Jennifer: ausrichten. This is the second verb.
John: Using that modal verb makes it polite. You can also use a conjunctive, or phrase it like a suggestion.
Jennifer: For example, Würden Sie so nett sein und ihr folgendes ausrichten?
John: “Would you be so kind and let her know the following?”
Jennifer: Könnten Sie dies ihm mitteilen?
John: “Could you let him know about it?” After asking if we can leave a message and being told that we can, what’s next?
Jennifer: Leaving the message!
John: How can we do that?
Jennifer: You can use Bitte sagen Sie ihr, and a subclause starting with dass.
John: What can you tell us about the subclause?
Jennifer: We can use a noun clause, and make sure that the verb comes at the end.
John: When leaving someone a message, indirect speech is used. Let’s hear an example.
Jennifer: Bitte hinterlassen Sie ihr die Notiz, dass der Termin ausfällt.
John: “Please leave her a note that the meeting is cancelled.”
Jennifer: You could also say Könnten Sie ihm mittteilen, dass ich morgen nicht kommen kann?
John: “Could you let him know that I can't make it tomorrow?”

Outro

John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Jennifer: Auf Wiedersehen!

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