How to Talk About Your Occupation

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can Do German by GermanPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your occupation in German.

For example, "I’m an investor." is

Ich bin Investor.

Two passengers, Aylin Ahrens and Marvin Maas , are seated next to each other on a plane to Germany.

Before you hear their conversation, let's learn some of its key components.

Student

"student"

Student

Investor

"investor"

Investor

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Marvin’s response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use informal German.

Ready?

Bist du Student?

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

Once more with the English translation.

Bist du Student?

"Are you a student?"

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Aylin asks,

"Are you a student?"

Bist du Student?

First is bist, "are" when using informal German. Bist. Bist.

Bist is from the verb sein, meaning "to be." Sein.

Next is the informal personal pronoun du. "You." Du. Du.

Next is Student, "student." Student. Student.

In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Student is masculine singular.

All together, Bist du Student? "Are you a student?"

Bist du Student?

Note: Bist du Student is the informal form of "Are you a student?"

To make the question formal, replace bist du with sind Sie, which is the formal way of asking "are you?"

Therefore in a formal setting:

Sind Sie Student? Are you a student? Sind Sie Student?

You should be aware of this, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Now, let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Marvin says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

First is the expression, nein, meaning, "no." Nein. Nein.

It answers Aylin 's yes-or-no question, "Are you a student?" Bist du Student?

After this, Marvin specifies that he’s not a student. Ich bin kein Student. "I'm not a student." Ich bin kein Student.

Let's start with the word, Student, "student." Student. Student.

In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Student is masculine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before Student is kein, a phrase meaning "not a," in this case. Kein. Kein.

Kein is masculine and singular to agree with Student.

Together, it's kein Student, literally "not a student." Kein Student.

Let’s move to the start of the sentence, ich, "I." Ich. Ich.

Next is bin. "am." Bin. Bin.

Bin is from the verb sein, meaning "to be." Sein.

All together, Ich bin kein Student. "I'm not a student." Ich bin kein Student.

Marvin then tells Aylin his actual occupation. Ich bin Investor. "I'm an investor." Ich bin Investor.

First, Ich "I." Ich.

Next is bin, "am." Bin.

Next is Investor. "Investor." Investor. Investor.

Investor is a masculine singular noun.

Together, Ich bin Investor, literally "I am investor," but it translates as "I'm an investor." Ich bin Investor.

All together, Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

The pattern is

Nein, ich bin kein OCCUPATION. Ich bin ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Nein, ich bin kein OCCUPATION. Ich bin ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {OCCUPATION} and {ACTUAL OCCUPATION} placeholders with the occupations that are appropriate to the conversation.

Note: This pattern requires nouns. Their gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Imagine you’re Emma Eckert , a student. The word for a female student is Studentin. Studentin. Studentin.

Marvin Maas asks you if you’re a teacher, Lehrerin. Lehrerin. Lehrerin.

Lehrerin is feminine singular; therefore, keine is feminine singular to agree with Lehrerin.

Together, keine Lehrerin, "not a teacher." Keine Lehrerin.

Say

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Ready?

Nein, ich bin keine Lehrerin. Ich bin Studentin.

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Nein, ich bin keine Lehrerin. Ich bin Studentin.

In German, a general rule of thumb is that occupation words ending in -in are feminine, while those that do not are masculine.

Lehrer. "Teacher, male.”

Lehrerin. "Teacher, female.”

If the masculine form contains the word Mann meaning "man," it’s usually replaced by the word Frau meaning "woman."

Bürokaufmann. "Office clerk, male."

Bürokauffrau. "Office clerk, female."

However, some occupations may have two different words for one occupation depending on gender.

Krankenpfleger. "Nurse, male."

Krankenschwester. "Nurse, female."

Again, the key pattern is

Nein, ich bin kein OCCUPATION. Ich bin ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm not OCCUPATION. I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Nein, ich bin kein OCCUPATION. Ich bin ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

Nein, ich bin keine Lehrerin. Ich bin Studentin.

"No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Nein, ich bin keine Lehrerin. Ich bin Studentin.

Nein, ich bin keine Ärztin. Ich bin Wissenschaftlerin.

"No, I'm not a doctor. I'm a scientist.

Nein, ich bin keine Ärztin. Ich bin Wissenschaftlerin.

Nein, ich bin keine Krankenschwester. Ich bin Ärztin.

"No, I'm not a nurse. I'm a doctor."

Nein, ich bin keine Krankenschwester. Ich bin Ärztin.

Ich bin keine Studentin. Ich bin Lehrerin.

"I'm not a student. I'm a teacher."

Ich bin keine Studentin. Ich bin Lehrerin.

Nein, ich bin Barista.

"No, I'm a barista."

Nein, ich bin Barista.

Did you notice how the last speaker omits part of the response?

Nein, ich bin Barista. "No, I’m a barista." Nein, ich bin Barista.

When directly responding to someone's question, it’s often possible to omit part of the response.

Here by simply answering Nein, "no," there’s no need to say ich bin keine Studentin, "I’m not a student."

This pattern is

Nein, ich bin ACTUAL OCCUPATION.

"No, I'm ACTUAL OCCUPATION."

Remember this pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Let's review the new vocabulary.

In German, occupation terms can vary based on gender. In these cases, we provide the masculine word for the occupation followed by the feminine one.

"Student."

Student. Student.

Studentin. Studentin.

"Teacher."

Lehrer. Lehrer.

Lehrerin. Lehrerin

"Engineer."

Ingenieur. Ingenieur.

Ingenieurin. Ingenieurin.

"Nurse."

Krankenpfleger. Krankenpfleger.

Krankenschwester. Krankenschwester.

"Doctor."

Arzt. Arzt.

Ärztin. Ärztin.

Barista. "Barista." Barista. Barista.

Let's review.

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

Ready?

Do you remember the word for a male "investor?"

Investor.

And how to say "I" as in "I am?"

Ich.

Do you remember how Marvin says,

"I'm an investor."

Ich bin Investor.

Do you remember the word for a male "student?"

Student.

Do you remember how Marvin says,

"I'm not a student."

Ich bin kein Student.

And how to say "no?"

Nein.

Do you remember how Marvin Maas says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

Nein, ich bin kein Student. Ich bin Investor.

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens asks,

"Are you a student?"

Bist du Student?

Do you remember the word for a female "student?"

Studentin.

And how to say "not a female student?"

Keine Studentin.

And the word for a male "teacher?"

Lehrer.

Do you remember the word for a male "engineer?"

Ingenieur.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Aylin Ahrens , and you’re a scientist, or Wissenschaftlerin in German.

Respond to Marvin's question.

Ready?

Bist du Ärztin?

Nein, ich bin keine Ärztin. Ich bin Wissenschaftlerin.

Listen again and repeat.

Nein, ich bin keine Ärztin. Ich bin Wissenschaftlerin.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Katrin Preusler , and you’re a teacher, or Lehrerin in German.

Ready?

Bist du Studentin?

Nein, ich bin keine Studentin. Ich bin Lehrerin.

Listen again and repeat.

Nein, ich bin keine Studentin. Ich bin Lehrerin.

Let's try one more.

Now, imagine you're Emma Eckert , and you’re a student, or Studentin in German.

Use the shortened variation pattern.

Ready?

Bist du Lehrerin?

Nein, ich bin Studentin.

Listen again and repeat.

Nein, ich bin Studentin.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your occupation in German. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says,

"My name is Aylin."

Ich heiße Aylin.

Do you remember how to say "from?"

aus.

Do you remember how Aylin says,

"I'm from Florida."

Ich komme aus Florida.

Do you remember how to say "where from?"

Woher.

And the formal word for "you?"

Du.

And do you remember how Marvin Maas asks,

"Where are you from?"

Woher kommst du?

Do you remember how to say "American?"

Amerikanerin.

And do you remember how Aylin Ahrens says

"I'm American?"

Ich bin Amerikanerin.

Do you remember how Marvin Maas asks,

"Are you American?"

Bist du Amerikanerin?

Imagine you're Jack Jones , a student from London, and you're British.

Do you remember how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in German?

Jack Jones

Respond to Marvin Maas 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Ich bin Marvin. Und du?

Ich heiße Jack.

Listen again and repeat.

Ich heiße Jack.

Do you remember how to say "London" in German?

London

Now respond that you’re from London.

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus London.

Listen again and repeat.

Ich komme aus London.

And do you remember how to say "British" in German?

Engländer

Now respond that you’re British.

Bist du Engländer?

Ja, ich bin Engländer.

Listen again and repeat.

Ja, ich bin Engländer.

Now, do you remember how to say "student" in German?

Student.

Respond that you're a student.

Bist du Lehrer?

Nein, ich bin kein Lehrer. Ich bin Student.

Listen again and repeat.

Nein, ich bin kein Lehrer. Ich bin Student.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Introduce Yourself unit of this course.

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

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Show us what you can do.

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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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