Learn how to ask "Why?"
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| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute German Season 1, Lesson 17 - Why are you late? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask why in German. | |
| Body | |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to ask 'Why are you late?' in German. | |
| Albert: [Normal] Warum bist du zu spät? | |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'why' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Warum [Slow] Warum | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'are' | |
| Albert: [Normal] bist [Slow] bist | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'you’ (informal) | |
| Albert: [Normal] du [Slow] du | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'too,’ as in ‘too much' | |
| Albert: [Normal] zu [Slow] zu | |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'late' | |
| Albert: [Normal] spät [Slow] spät | |
| Eric: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning 'Why are you late?' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Warum bist du zu spät? [Normal] Warum bist du zu spät? | |
| Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the informal way to say, 'I missed the train.' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Ich habe den Zug verpasst. | |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'I' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Ich [Slow] Ich | |
| Eric: Next comes the word meaning 'to have' | |
| Albert: [Normal] habe [Slow] habe | |
| Eric: Following that comes the word meaning 'the' | |
| Albert: [Normal] den [Slow] den | |
| Eric: Then comes the word meaning 'train' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Zug [Slow] Zug | |
| Eric: And finally, we have the word for 'missed,’ or ‘lost' | |
| Albert: [Normal] verpasst [Slow] verpasst | |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning 'I missed the train.' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Ich habe den Zug verpasst. [Normal] Ich habe den Zug verpasst. | |
| Eric: Here's a question meaning 'Why did you buy this?' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Warum hast du das gekauft? | |
| Eric: First comes the word meaning 'why' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Warum [Slow] Warum | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to have' | |
| Albert: [Normal] hast [Slow] hast | |
| Eric: Followed by the word meaning 'you' | |
| Albert: [Normal] du [Slow] du | |
| Eric: Then we have the word meaning 'that' | |
| Albert: [Normal] das [Slow] das | |
| Eric: And finally comes the word for 'bought' | |
| Albert: [Normal] gekauft [Slow] gekauft | |
| Eric: Listeners, please note the rising intonation. Listen again to the question, 'Why did you buy this?' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Warum hast du das gekauft? [Normal] Warum hast du das gekauft? | |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'To buy a gift.' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Um ein Geschenk zu kaufen. | |
| Eric: First, we have the word meaning 'in order to' | |
| Albert: [Normal] um [Slow] um | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'a,’ or ‘an' | |
| Albert: [Normal] ein [Slow] ein | |
| Eric: Then comes the word meaning 'present, gift' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Geschenk [Slow] Geschenk | |
| Eric: Followed by the word meaning 'too (much)' | |
| Albert: [Normal] zu [Slow] zu | |
| Eric: And lastly we have the word meaning 'to buy' | |
| Albert: [Normal] kaufen [Slow] kaufen | |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'To buy a gift.' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Um ein Geschenk zu kaufen. [Normal] Um ein Geschenk zu kaufen. | |
| Cultural Insight | |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. | |
| Albert: A famous expression in German is | |
| Warum nicht? which means "Why not?" just like in English. | |
| You can use this phrase to accept a proposition if you agree but are not really keen on doing so, or if the question was posed spontaneously. | |
| For example, if a friend asks you suddenly "How about we go to the cinema tonight?" | |
| You can answer Warum nicht? which means, "Why not?" | |
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! |
8 Comments
HideListeners! Why are you studying German?
Hi Elizabeth,
Those are two excellent reasons for studying any language.😄
Two little things I would change:
Ich möchte mit meinen Freunden Deutsch sprechen. Und außerdem, warum nicht?
Thank you.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Warum studiere ich Deutsch? Das ist eine gute Frage. Ich möchte mit meine Freunde Deutsch sprechen. Und auch, warum nicht? 😄
Hello Charlie,
You are a hardworking student. Keep going!
Please allow me to make a few little changes to your sentences:
Ich möchte gerne die Muttersprache meiner Großmutter verstehen. Auch meine Frau und ich wollen Ferien
in Deutschland machen.
Thank you.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Ich wolle verstehen meine Großmutter Muttersprache verstehen. Auch meine Frau und ich wollen einen Ferien in Deutschland.
Hello Soraya,
Thank you for your comments. We're glad to hear that you enjoy studying with GermanPod101.com ?.
Let me do some small corrections:
"Mein Bruder gab mir ein Geschenk namens GermanPod101. Danke für das schöne Geschenk."
"Ich möchte in naher Zukunft nach Deutschland kommen, wenn es möglich ist und meine Tochter dort studieren wird."
That sounds like a great plan ?!
Sincerely,
Anne
Team GermanPod101.com
mein Bruder gab mir ein Geschenk names ;Germanpod101.Danke fur ein schonen Geschenk.
Ich muchte in naher Zukunft nach Deutschland kommen;wenn es moglich ist und meine Tochter dort studieren wird.