How to Ask About Well-Being

Learn how to ask about well-being

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do German by GermanPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask about well-being in German.

For example, "How are you?" is

Wie geht es dir?

Aylin Ahrens is in the office breakroom.

She greets Benjamin Bauer , a colleague, and asks about his well-being.

Before you listen to the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

gut

"I'm fine."

gut

gut.

Listen to the conversation and focus on the question.

Ready?

Wie geht es dir?

Danke, mir geht es gut.

Once more with the English translation.

Wie geht es dir?

"How are you?"

Danke, mir geht es gut.

"Thank you, I'm fine."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Aylin asks,

"How are you?"

Wie geht es dir?

First is wie, "how." Wie. Wie.

Next is geht, "goes." Geht. Geht.

Note, geht is from the verb gehen, meaning "to go."

Next is es, meaning "it" in this context. Es. Es.

Next is dir, "you." Dir. Dir.

All together, it's Wie geht es dir?, something like "How it goes for you?" but it translates as "How are you?"

Wie geht es dir?

Note the rising intonation to mark that it's a question.

Wie geht es dir?

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Benjamin says,

"Thank you, I'm fine."

Danke, mir geht es gut.

"Thank you, I'm fine." Danke, mir geht es gut.

First is danke, "Thank you". Danke. Danke.

Next is mir, "me." Mir. Mir.

After this is geht, "goes." Geht. Geht.

Note, geht is from the verb gehen meaning "to go."

Next is es, meaning "it." Es. Es.

Finally, gut, "good." Gut. Gut.

All together, it’s Danke, mir geht es gut, literally "Thank you, for me goes it good," but it translates as "Thank you, I'm fine."

Danke, mir geht es gut.

Note the question Wie geht es dir? is for informal situations.

For formal situations, simply replace dir with Ihnen, the formal form of "you."

Wie geht es Ihnen? "How are you?" for formal situations. Wie geht es Ihnen?

Remember this variation. You'll see it again later.

In informal situations, it’s common to say Wie geht’s? "What’s up? / How are you?". Wie geht’s?

Here geht is contracted with es to form geht’s, and dir is omitted as it’s understood from the context.

Wie geht’s?

There are many ways to ask about one’s well being In colloquial German, another common expression is Alles gut bei dir? Literally, "Everything good with you." This can be shortened further to Alles gut?, "All good?"

Let's look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Wie geht es dir?

Danke, mir geht es gut.

Wie geht es dir?

"How are you?"

Danke, mir geht es gut.

"Thank you, I'm fine."

Wie geht es dir?

Mir geht es ziemlich gut.

Wie geht es dir?

"How are you?"

Mir geht es ziemlich gut.

"I'm great."

Wie geht es Ihnen?

Mir geht es sehr gut.

Wie geht es Ihnen?

"How are you?"

Mir geht es sehr gut.

"I'm great."

Wie geht's?

Mir geht es gut.

Wie geht's?

"How are you?"

Mir geht es gut.

"I'm fine."

Wie geht es dir?

Gut. Und dir?

Wie geht es dir?

"How are you?"

Gut. Und dir?

"Fine. And you?"

Did you notice how the native speaker added the phrase und dir?

Gut. Und dir?

"I'm Good. And you?"

First is gut, "fine." Gut.

Here, Gut is the shortened form of Mir geht es gut. "I’m fine."

Next is Und dir? "And you?" Und dir?

First is und. "And." Und. Und.

Next is dir, the informal word for "you." Dir. Dir.

Together, it’s und dir? meaning "And you?" Und dir?

You can use this phrase to reciprocate the question when someone asks you about your well being.

For example, if someone says,

Wie geht es dir?

You can respond with,

Gut. Und dir?

First, respond to the question. Then inquire about the other person’s well being with und dir? "And you?"

Note, as dir, "you," is informal, this expression is appropriate for informal situations.

Remember this pattern, Gut. Und dir?, you’ll see it again later.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

Ziemlich gut.

"Pretty good."

Ziemlich gut.

Sehr gut.

"Great."

Sehr gut.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember the word for "how?"

wie

And how Aylin Ahrens asks,

"How are you?"

Wie geht es dir?

Do you remember how to say "good?"

gut

And how to say

"I’m fine."

Mir geht es gut.

Do you remember how to say

"Thank you."

Danke.

Do you remember how Benjamin says,

"Thank you, I'm fine."

Danke, mir geht es gut.

Do you remember how to say, "And you?"

Und dir?

And the formal way to say "you?"

Ihnen

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Benjamin, Aylin ’s colleague. Ask how Aylin is doing using informal German.

Ready?

Wie geht es dir?

Danke, mir geht es ziemlich gut.

Listen again and repeat.

Wie geht es dir?

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Arnold Ahrens ’s teacher, Finja Fischer , and you’re starting class. Ask about Arnold ’s well being using formal German.

Ready?

Wie geht es Ihnen?

Arnold Ahrens Danke, mir geht es gut.

Listen again and repeat.

Wie geht es Ihnen?

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Aron, and you meet your friend at school.

Respond by saying, "Fine. And you?"

Ready?

Wie geht's?

Gut. Und dir?

Listen again and repeat.

Gut. Und dir?

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask About Well-Being unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

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Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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