Learn how to ask, "Do you speak English?"
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute German Season 1, Lesson 7 - Do you speak English? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer this question in German. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to ask 'Do you speak English?' in German. |
| Albert: [Normal] Sprichst Du Englisch? |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'to speak' |
| Albert: [Normal] Sprichst [Slow] Sprichst |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'you (informal)' |
| Albert: [Normal] Du [Slow] Du |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'English' |
| Albert: [Normal] Englisch [Slow] Englisch |
| Eric: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning 'Do you speak English?' |
| Albert: [Slow] Sprichst Du Englisch? [Normal] Sprichst Du Englisch? |
| Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'Do you speak English?' |
| Albert: [Normal] Sprechen Sie Englisch? |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'to speak' |
| Albert: [Normal] Sprechen [Slow] Sprechen |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'you’ (formal) |
| Albert: [Normal] Sie [Slow] Sie |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'English' |
| Albert: [Normal] Englisch [Slow] Englisch |
| Eric: Note again the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning 'Do you speak English?' |
| Albert: [Slow] Sprechen Sie Englisch? [Normal] Sprechen Sie Englisch? |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning 'Yes, a little.' |
| Albert: [Normal] Ja, ein bisschen. |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'yes' |
| Albert: [Normal] Ja [Slow] Ja |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'a' |
| Albert: [Normal] ein [Slow] ein |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'little' |
| Albert: [Normal] bisschen [Slow] bisschen |
| Eric: Listen again to the response, 'Yes, a little.' |
| Albert: [Slow] Ja, ein bisschen. [Normal] Ja, ein bisschen. |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'No, I don't speak English.' |
| Albert: [Normal] Nein, ich spreche nicht Englisch |
| Eric: First is a word meaning 'No' |
| Albert: [Normal] Nein [Slow] Nein |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'I' |
| Albert: [Normal] ich [Slow] ich |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'to speak' |
| Albert: [Normal] spreche [Slow] spreche |
| Eric: Next is the word meaning 'not' |
| Albert: [Normal] nicht [Slow] nicht |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning 'English language' |
| Albert: [Normal] Englisch [Slow] Englisch |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'No, I don't speak English.' |
| Albert: [Slow] Nein, ich spreche nicht Englisch [Normal] Nein, ich spreche nicht Englisch |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Albert: For those of you who are not only English speakers, you can obviously use this question with any language you need. German people study other European languages at school, so maybe you will get lucky! Just substitute Englisch with... |
| Italienisch for Italian. |
| Russisch for Russian. |
| Spanisch for Spanish. |
| Französisch for French. |
Outro |
|---|
| 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! |
Comments
Hide