Learn how to ask for clarification
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| Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in German. |
| For example, "Can you repeat that?" is |
| Kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Anouk Ahrens meets her neighbor, Jonas Jager , for the first time in the lobby of their building. |
| Jonas introduces himself but Anouk doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification. |
| Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components, |
| wiederholen |
| "repeat" |
| wiederholen |
| wiederholen |
| Let's take a closer look to the conversation. |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Ich heiße Jonas. |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. |
| "Nice to meet you. My name is Jonas." |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Ich heiße Jonas. |
| "My name is Jonas." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Jonas Jäger introduces himself? |
| "Nice to meet you. My name is Jonas." |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. |
| First is Freut mich, literally "It pleases me," but translates as "Nice to meet you." Freut mich. Freut mich. |
| Freut mich is actually a shortened form of Es freut mich, dich kennenzulernen, meaning "It pleases me to become acquainted with you." Es freut mich, dich kennenzulernen. |
| Jonas uses the shortened version, Freut mich, in his introduction. This version can be used in many contexts and is appropriate for both informal and formal situations. |
| Next is Ich heiße Jonas. "My name is Jonas.." Ich heiße Jonas. |
| First is Ich, "I." Ich. Ich. |
| Next is heiße, " called." Heiße. Heiße. |
| Heiße is from the verb, heißen, "to be called." Heiße. |
| Last is the name, Jonas. Jonas. Jonas. |
| Note: Jonas only uses his given name. Anouk and Jonas are young adults in an informal situation, so he only uses his given name. |
| Together, it’s Ich heiße Jonas. Literally "I called Jonas," but it translates as "My name is Jonas.." Ich heiße Jonas. |
| All together, it’s Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. "Nice to meet you. My name is Jonas.." |
| Ich heiße Jonas. |
| Anouk can’t catch his name. |
| Do you remember how she asks, |
| "Excuse me. Can you repeat that?" |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| First is Entschuldigung. "Excuse me." Entschuldigung. Entschuldigung. |
| Next is kannst du, "can you." Kannst du. Kannst du. |
| Kannst is from the verb können, "to be able." Können. |
| Du is the informal word for "you." Du. Du. |
| Together, kannst du, "can you." |
| Next is das, "that," in this context. Das. Das. |
| Last is wiederholen, "repeat." Wiederholen. Wiederholen. |
| Together, kannst du das wiederholen, literally, "can you that repeat," but it translates as, "can you repeat that?" Kannst du das wiederholen? |
| All together, Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Finally, do you remember how Jonas says, |
| "My name is Jonas.." |
| Hint, you’ve heard it before. |
| Ich heiße Jonas. "My name is Jonas.." |
| Ich heiße Jonas. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation: |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| To ask for clarification in a formal situation: |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| For formal situations replace kannst du with können Sie. |
| Können Sie, "can you." Können Sie. Können Sie. |
| Note können Sie literally means "can they," as in "Can they repeat that," but it's also a formal way to address a single person, as is the case here, where Anoukis addressing Jonas. Können Sie. |
| Können, "to be able." Können. Können. |
| Sie, "you," when using formal German. Sie. Sie. |
| Together können Sie, "can you." können Sie. |
| The following is another useful way to ask someone to provide information: |
| Kannst du das aufschreiben? "Can you write it down?" |
| Kannst du das aufschreiben? |
| For formal situations replace kannst du with können Sie. |
| Können Sie das aufschreiben? "Can you write it down?" |
| Let’s look at the expressions once more. First you will hear informal expressions, followed by their formal counterparts. |
| Listen and repeat. |
| Entschuldigung. |
| "Excuse me." |
| Entschuldigung. |
| Kannst du das wiederholen? |
| "Can you repeat that?" |
| Kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Können Sie das wiederholen? |
| "Can you repeat that?" |
| Können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat that? " |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Noch einmal, bitte. |
| "One more time, please." |
| Noch einmal, bitte. |
| Kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| "Can you speak more slowly?" |
| Kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| Did you notice the new phrases? |
| Noch einmal, bitte. |
| Noch einmal, bitte. "One more time, please." Noch einmal, bitte. |
| First is noch, "additionally" in this context. Noch. Noch. |
| Next is einmal, literally "one time," but translates as "once." Einmal. Einmal. |
| Last is bitte, "please," in this context. Bitte. Bitte. |
| Noch einmal bitte, literally "additionally once please," but translates as "one more time, please." Noch einmal bitte. |
| The second phrase is Kannst du langsamer Sprechen? Literally "Can you more slowly speak," but it translates as "Can you speak more slowly?" Kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| First is kannst du, "can you." Kannst du. |
| Kannst is from the verb können, "to be able." Können. |
| Du, "you," informal. Du. |
| Together, kannst du, "can you." |
| After this is langsamer, "more slowly." Langsamer. Langsamer. |
| Last is sprechen. "speak." Sprechen. Sprechen. |
| All together, Kannst du langsamer sprechen? "Can you speak more slowly?" Kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| Let’s review the new words. |
| sprechen |
| "speak" |
| sprechen |
| sprechen |
| Langsamer |
| "More slowly" |
| Langsamer |
| Langsamer |
| Aufschreiben |
| "Write down" |
| Aufschreiben |
| Aufschreiben |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Excuse me." |
| Entschuldigung |
| Entschuldigung |
| And how to say "repeat?" |
| wiederholen |
| wiederholen |
| Do you remember the informal way to say "can you?" |
| kannst du |
| kannst du |
| Do you remember how Anouk asks, |
| "Excuse me, can you repeat ?" |
| Remember she uses informal German. |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Do you remember how to say |
| "Nice to meet you." |
| Freut mich. |
| Freut mich. |
| And do you remember how Jonas says, |
| "Nice to meet you. My name is Jonas.." |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. |
| Do you remember the formal German for "can you"? |
| können Sie |
| können Sie |
| Do you remember the formal way to ask, |
| "Can you repeat that?" |
| Können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Do you remember how to say "more slowly?" |
| langsamer |
| langsamer |
| And how to say "speak?" |
| sprechen |
| sprechen |
| And how to say |
| "Can you speak more slowly?" |
| Kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| Kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Aron Ahrens. Jonas introduces himself, but you can’t catch his name. |
| Ask him to repeat it using informal German. |
| Ready? |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Jonas. |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du das wiederholen? |
| Let's try another. |
| Imagine you're Jonas. Aylin Ahrens introduces herself, but you can’t catch her name. |
| Use formal German. |
| Ready? |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Aylin. |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Entschuldigung, können Sie das wiederholen? |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Jonas. Ask Anouk Ahrens to speak more slowly. |
| Ready? |
| Freut mich. Ich heiße Anouk. |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| Entschuldigung, kannst du langsamer sprechen? |
| If you can’t catch something someone says, you can say, wie bitte? "Pardon?" Wie bitte? |
| Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in German. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking German. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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