Translate to German:
Excuse me / Sorry
(to pass by someone)
Entschuldigung
Entschuldigung is a noun and the most common everyday way to say “sorry” or “excuse me” in German, used both to get someone’s attention and to apologize.
It’s used naturally in both informal and polite situations — like when you bump into someone or need to pass.
Translate to German:
It’s ok / No problem
Kein Problem
Kein Problem is a casual way to say “it’s ok” or “no problem”, often used to reassure someone that something is not an issue.
Translate to German:
How are you?
Wie geht es dir?
Literally, Wie geht es dir? translates to “How goes it to you?” - the German way of saying “How are you?”.
dir means “to you” in English.
Wie geht es dir? is often shortened to Wie geht’s dir?, maintaining the same meaning.
Translate to German:
I’m well, thank you!
Mir geht es gut, danke!
Literally, Mir geht es gut translates to “To me, it goes well” - the German way of saying “I’m well”.
It is often shortened to Mir geht’s gut, maintaining the same meaning.
The simplest and most common response to use is simply Gut, danke (“Fine, thanks”).
[What is being said in the audio recording?]
- Man: Wie geht es Ihnen?
- Woman: Gut, danke. Und Ihnen?
- Man: Gut.
Translation:
- Man: “How are you?”
- Woman: “Good, thanks. And you?”
- Man: “Good.”
Ihnen is the formal form of “to you” in German, used when speaking politely to one or more people.
So, Wie geht es Ihnen? means “How are you?” in a formal way.
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Mr. Müller
Herr Müller
Mr. = Herr
Herr is used as a formal title for men, similar to “Mr.” in English, and is followed by the last name.
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Mrs. Müller
Frau Müller
Mrs. = Frau
Frau is used for both “Mrs.” and “Ms.” in German, without indicating marital status.
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Yes, please.
Ja, bitte.
please = bitte
Bitte can mean both “please” and “you’re welcome”, depending on the context.
Translate to German:
Excuse me, please.
Entschuldigen Sie mich, bitte.
Entschuldigen Sie mich, bitte, literally means “Excuse me, please”. It uses the formal pronoun Sie and the verb mich entschuldigen (“to excuse myself”). It is a polite request to be excused, e.g., when leaving or interrupting.
Unlike Entschuldigung or Verzeihung, which are nouns used for short apologies or to get someone’s attention.
Translate to German:
No, thank you.
Nein, danke.
thank you = danke
In German, danke can be used alone or with nein to politely decline an offer, similar to saying “No, thanks” in English.
Translate to German:
What? / Huh?
Was?
Was? means “what?” or “huh?” in English. It’s used when you didn’t hear or understand something or as a question word at the start of a sentence.
Translate to German:
Come again?
Wie bitte?
Wie bitte? literally means “How, please?” and is the polite way to say “Pardon?” or “Sorry, what?” in German when you didn’t hear or understand something.
Translate to German:
What does “blahblahblah” mean?
Was bedeutet “blahblahblah”?
mean = bedeuten
The verb bedeuten means “to mean” or “to signify”.
Note that the verb is conjugated to bedeutet because the subject was (“what”) is treated as third-person singular (like “it” or es in German).
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in English
auf Englisch
in = auf
The preposition auf literally means “on,” but in German it’s used to say that something is in a certain language. So auf Englisch means “in English”.
Translate to German:
How do you say “chicken” in German?
Wie sagt man “chicken” auf Deutsch?
In German, Wie sagt man … ? literally translates to “How says one … ?” or “How does one say …?”
You use it when you want to ask how to say or translate a word in another language.
Translate to German:
I don’t understand.
Ich verstehe nicht.
This literally means: “I understand not”. In German, nicht is used to negate verbs, similar to saying “not” in English.
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Correct!
Richtig!
Richtig is used to confirm correctness, similar to “correct” or “right” in English, and can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
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More, please
Mehr, bitte.
more = mehr
Translate to German:
That one
das da
das da means “that one (there)” in English, and is used to point to something farther away.
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This one
das hier
das hier means “this one (here)” in English, and is used to point to something nearby.
Translate to German:
More slowly, please
e.g. If you’d like someone to speak more slowly.
Langsamer, bitte.
slowly = langsam
Langsamer (“slower”) is the comparative form of langsam (“slow/slowly”), used here to ask someone to speak more slowly.
Note that in German, comparative adjectives usually end in -er.
Translate to German:
See you soon
Bis bald
Bis bald literally means “until soon” and is a friendly, informal expression to use when you leave, similar to “See you soon” in English.
Translate to German:
See you later
Bis später
Bis später literally means “until later” and is a friendly, informal expression to use when you leave, similar to “See you later” in English.
