Learn how to express gratitude
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| M: Welcome to German Survival Phrases brought to you by germanpod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Germany. You will be surprised at how far a little German will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by germanpod101.com and there you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. | |
| F: German Survival phrases, lesson 1. Thank you. Wherever your destination maybe, manners are a must and in this respect, Germany is no different. So in our very first lesson, we will be taking a look at a phrase there is no excuse not to bring with you to Germany. Again, I will stress this over and over. A little bit of a language can go such a long way. In Germany, thank you is [Dankeschön] Let’s break it down by syllable [Dankeschön]. Now let’s hear it once again [Dankeschön]. The first word of this phrase [Danke] means thanks. Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time [Danke]. This is followed by [schön] which in German is beautiful. [schön]. Now in German, there are also other ways to express one’s gratitude. There are somewhat more formal and more casual ways to do this. Let’s look at the casual way. In German, the casual way of expressing gratitude that is the equivalent of thanks is [Danke]. You heard it before in [Dankeschön]. This phrase is used among friends and in other casual situations. On the other hand, for very special occasions, when someone goes above and beyond the call of being kind, when someone is extremely generous or for any other time, you will be extremely grateful, we have the following phrases to express extreme gratitude. The first one is [Vielen Dank] or many thanks. The first word [Vielen] means many in English. Broken down by syllable, that’s [Vielen, Vielen Dank.] Next is [Herzlichen Dank] or heartfelt thanks in English. Let’s break that down by syllable. [Herzlichen] that’s [Herzlichen] One last time [Herzlichen Dank] In a formal situation, it is important to address people in the formal [Sie] and [Ihnen] forms. This is especially important if you don’t know the person. In business settings or any case when more distance is required. A good example would be meeting a professor, an employer or in a business meeting. In these situations, the simple [Danke] is by no means rude. However using the formal [Ich danke Ihnen] is better. Now let’s go over that one more time. [Ich danke Ihnen] Let’s break it down. The first word [Ich] is German for I. That was [Ich] and once more [Ich] then [danke] is used as a verb here to thank. [Danke] and the last word [Ihnen] which is the formal form for the English you. By syllable, that is [Ihnen] and slowly [Ihnen] To review the formal form of thank you is [Ich danke Ihnen] and again [Ich danke Ihnen]. These phrases are important and easy to use every day. So wherever you go in Germany, always remember to say [Danke]. | |
| M: Okay to close our today’s lesson, we’d like you to practice what you’ve just learned. I provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So [Viel Glück] which means good luck in German. | |
| F: Thank you [Dankeschön], Thanks [Danke], Many thanks [Vielen Dank], Heartfelt thanks [Herzlichen Dank], Thank you, formally [Ich danke Ihnen]. | |
| M: That’s going to do it for today. |
94 Comments
HideEvery Monday we will release a new Survival Phrase now. Stay tuned! And tell us: which places in German-speaking countries would you like to visit?
Hallo Ezekiel,
We're glad to hear that you liked the lesson.
We hope you'll enjoy the rest as well!
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team GermanPod101.com
I enjoy the lesson, thank you - Ich danke ihnen.
Hi Elisador,
Sorry for a very late reply to your kind words.
We hope you will find all our lessons interesting and helpful.
Best of luck with your studies.
Thank you.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for your positive feedback!
Looking forward to seeing you often here. :)
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team GermanPod101.com
I like this lesson. I almost didn't listen to it because I already knew how to say thank you in German, but it detailed other ways and the appropriate usage. I knew the full form, the short form, and many thanks, but I didn't know the heartfelt or formal versions. Definitely worth a listen and I'll be checking the entire series of these despite having completed the Mastering level 1 pathway.
Hello Judy,
Thank you very much for your comment! 😄
Hamburg is indeed a very nice city you should definitely visit some day!
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Albert
Team GermanPod101.com
i like to visit hamburg
Hallo Nguyen,
Thank you for posting.
I'm sure you will learn a lot with GermanPod101.com.
Great to have you here 😄.
Sincerely,
Anne
Team GermanPod101.com
i don't now a lot about german...
hallo
ich bin nguyen
ich bin 10 jahre alt, aus vietnam