Learn to ask "How are you?"
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| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute German Season 1, Lesson 4 - How are you? In this lesson, you’ll learn to ask how somebody is in German. | |
| Body | |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to ask 'How are you?' in German. | |
| Albert: [Normal] Wie geht es dir? | |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'how' | |
| Albert: [Normal] wie [Slow] wie | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to go' | |
| Albert: [Normal] geht [Slow] geht | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'it' | |
| Albert: [Normal] es [Slow] es | |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'you’ (informal) | |
| Albert: [Normal] dir [Slow] dir | |
| Eric: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning 'How are you?' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Wie geht es dir? [Normal] Wie geht es dir? | |
| Eric: Now, imagine that you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'How are you?' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Wie geht es Ihnen? | |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'how' | |
| Albert: [Normal] wie [Slow] wie | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to go' | |
| Albert: [Normal] geht [Slow] geht | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'it' | |
| Albert: [Normal] es [Slow] es | |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'you (formal)' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Ihnen [Slow] Ihnen | |
| Eric: Note again the rising intonation here. Listen again to the formal question meaning 'How are you?' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Wie geht es Ihnen? [Normal] Wie geht es Ihnen? | |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning 'I'm fine.' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Mir geht es gut. | |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'I' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Mir [Slow] Mir | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to go' | |
| Albert: [Normal] geht [Slow] geht | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'it' | |
| Albert: [Normal] es [Slow] es | |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'good' | |
| Albert: [Normal] gut [Slow] gut | |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'I'm fine.' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Mir geht es gut. [Normal] Mir geht es gut. | |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'I'm not well.' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Mir geht es nicht gut. | |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'I' | |
| Albert: [Normal] Mir [Slow] Mir | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to go' | |
| Albert: [Normal] geht [Slow] geht | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'it' | |
| Albert: [Normal] es [Slow] es | |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'not' | |
| Albert: [Normal] nicht [Slow] nicht | |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'good' | |
| Albert: [Normal] gut [Slow] gut | |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'I'm not well.' | |
| Albert: [Slow] Mir geht es nicht gut. [Normal] Mir geht es nicht gut. | |
| Cultural Insight | |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. | |
| Albert: To ask somebody about their well-being, we usually use the expression Wie geht es dir? which is "How are you?". A more polite way is Wie geht es Ihnen? Ihnen is the formal version of Dir. When you're talking to friends the shorter version Wie geht's? is mostly used. | |
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! |
27 Comments
HideListeners! How are you? Try answering this question in German.
Hi Adria,
Thank you for posting.
We are all good, thanks!❤️️
Please allow me to make a suggestion in order to aid
your learning:
... Und Ihnen? 😉
If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Mir gehts wunderbar. Danke sehr. Und Sie?
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your feedback!
Take care.😉
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hallo!
Mir gehts es gut!
Danke!
Hi Bilna,
Thank you for posting.
You don't need the "all" in the first sentence. In fact, the word
on its own doesn't exist in German, like in English.
If you want to address more than one person, as in "How are you all?",
you would say "Wie geht es euch allen?"😉
(Answer: Uns geht es gut.)
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Wie geht es dir all?
Mir geht es gut.
Hi Anna,
Thank you for your reply.
Have a great day!😉
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hallo!
Ich heiße Anna. Mir geht's gut. Danke!
Hi Thomas,
Thank you for your feedback.👍
I am fine, thank you.
You have made the first few steps in learning the German language.
Congratulations! Keep up the good work.😉
If you ever have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Guten Morgen, Ich heisse Thomas.
Mir geht es gut! Wie bist Du?