Talking about yourself in German is very easy: it only takes you a few minutes to know how to have a simple conversation with your friends.
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Questions
Step 1. Wie heißt du?
: "What's your name?".
- To answer, all you have to do is say Ich heiße _, that is "My name is …". Ich means "I", heiße "I call".
- For example, you could say Ich heiße Maria, "My name is Maria.".
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An easier way to put it is as follows: Ich bin _, which means “I am…”.
Talk About Yourself in German Step 1Bullet3
Step 2. Wo wohnst du?
: "Where do you live?".
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Here's how to answer:
- Ich wohne in _, which means “I live in / in…”.
- Example: Ich wohne in Italien, “I live in Italy.”.
Talk About Yourself in German Step 3 Step 3. Wie alt="Image" bist du?
: "How old are you?".
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If you're going to give this information, here's how to respond:
Ich bin _ Jahre alt="Image", ie “I am _ years old.”. Jahre means "year", alt="Image" "old"
Talk About Yourself in German Step 4 Step 4. To tell your age, first you need to learn numbers
Read this article.
Example: Ich bin zwölf Jahre alt="Image", “I am 12 years old.”
Talk About Yourself in German Step 5 Step 5. Wie geth es dir?
: "How are you?".
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If they ask you this question, here's how to answer:
- Mir geht es…; to this sentence, you will need to add one of the following words:
- First ("very well").
- Sehr gut ("very well").
- Gut ("good").
- Nicht so gut ("not so good").
- Schlecht ("very badly").
- Faul ("lazy").
- Launisch ("in a bad mood").
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One of these words will allow you to finish the sentence.
Example: Ich bin sehr launisch, “I'm in a very bad mood.”
Talk About Yourself in German Step 6 Step 6. Danke dir, "Thank you".
Education is key in a conversation
Advice
- The German W is pronounced like our V. For example Wo wohnst du? is pronounced "vo vonst du?".
- The German J is pronounced like our I. For example, Ja is pronounced "ia" (it means "yes").
- Und du? means "And you?". Example: Ich wohne in Tokyo, und du?, "I live in Tokyo, and you?".
- Use Und du? when a person asks you a question and then you want to ask them for the same information.
- The ß is pronounced as a double "ss". You will read it often. Example: Ich heiße Maria, "My name is Maria.". We write ß if the previous vowel is long and ss if the previous vowel is short.
- If you know English, it will be easier to study German, especially since many words are similar.
- Also remember that the ch sound is not like ours; in some words it is pronounced as the sc for "monkey", in others as a kind of aspirated c.
