Learn how to ask "What are you doing?"
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| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute German Season 1, Lesson 12 - What are you doing? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask what someone is doing in German. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to ask 'What are you doing?' in German. |
| Albert: [Normal] Was machst du? |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'what' |
| Albert: [Normal] was [Slow] was |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to do' |
| Albert: [Normal] machst [Slow] machst |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'you’ (informal) |
| Albert: [Normal] du [Slow] du |
| Eric: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning 'What are you doing?' |
| Albert: [Slow] Was machst du? [Normal] Was machst du? |
| Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'What are you doing?' |
| Albert: [Normal] Was machen Sie? |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'what' |
| Albert: [Normal] was [Slow] was |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to do' |
| Albert: [Normal] machen [Slow] machen |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'you’ (formal) |
| Albert: [Normal] Sie [Slow] Sie |
| Eric: Note again the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning 'What are you doing?' |
| Albert: [Slow] Was machen Sie? [Normal] Was machen Sie? |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning 'I'm doing homework' |
| Albert: [Normal] Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'I' |
| Albert: [Normal] Ich [Slow] Ich |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to do' |
| Albert: [Normal] mache [Slow] mache |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'my' |
| Albert: [Normal] meine [Slow] meine |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'homework' |
| Albert: [Normal] Hausaufgaben [Slow] Hausaufgaben |
| Eric: Listen again to the response, 'I'm doing homework' |
| Albert: [Slow] Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben [Normal] Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'I'm cooking now.' |
| Albert: [Normal] Ich koche gerade! |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'I' |
| Albert: [Normal] Ich [Slow] Ich |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to cook' |
| Albert: [Normal] koche [Slow] koche |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'straight,’ ‘just,’ ‘just now,’ or ‘right now' |
| Albert: [Normal] gerade [Slow] gerade |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'I'm cooking now.' |
| Albert: [Slow] Ich koche gerade! [Normal] Ich koche gerade! |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Albert: In some situations, the question Was machst du? can also mean more generally "What do you do?" or "What is your job?" |
| This is a really common question you can ask, or that you might be asked the first time you meet someone. |
Outro |
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| Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
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