# German Everyday Expressions: Practise Choosing What to Say

*2026-11-01*

You miss the last sentence at a service desk. **Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?** asks the employee to repeat it. If you heard the words but need an explanation, repeating them may leave you stuck. Practising German everyday expressions means learning to choose a response that fits the problem.

This practice is for learners who can already read simple German sentences and want to produce short everyday responses. The explanations are in English, with one worked Italian prompt for Italian-speaking learners. The optional companion deck uses **Italian prompts and explanations, with German answers**. All ten exercises and their answers are included below, so you can practise directly on this page.

## Give the situation a job before choosing a phrase

Before answering, identify what you want the other person to do or understand. Then check whom you're speaking to and which detail matters. “I need help” leaves the choice open; “ask an unfamiliar office employee for help, using Sie” gives you a clear speaking task.

| Situation | A useful German response | Meaning and boundary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| An unfamiliar person spoke, but you missed it | **Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?** | Could you repeat that, please? Asks them to say it again. |
| The explanation is still unclear | **Das habe ich nicht verstanden.** | I didn't understand that. Identifies the problem, but doesn't specify how to fix it. |
| Someone speaks too quickly | **Könnten Sie bitte langsamer sprechen?** | Could you speak more slowly, please? Changes the pace. |
| Someone speaks too loudly in a study room | **Könnten Sie bitte etwas leiser sprechen?** | Could you speak a little more quietly, please? Changes the volume. |
| The sound is weak on a formal phone call | **Ich kann Sie schlecht hören.** | I can't hear you well. Makes the audio problem explicit. |

The distinction between *langsamer* and *leiser* is particularly useful: asking a fast speaker to speak more quietly may leave you with the same problem at a lower volume. Duden's entries for [langsam](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/langsam) and [leise](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/leise) support the pace/volume distinction.

[Verstehen](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/verstehen) can mean both understanding the meaning and hearing speech clearly. In the situations above, *Ich kann Sie schlecht hören* names poor sound more explicitly. *Das habe ich nicht verstanden* leaves several possible next steps: repetition, slower speech, or an explanation. Follow it with the request that would help you.

For an unknown expression, **Kannst du mir den Ausdruck erklären?** asks a person you address as *du* to explain it. For an unknown word you can point to, **Was bedeutet dieses Wort?** asks its meaning. These are more specific tasks than simply asking to hear the same sentence again.

## Choose du or Sie, then soften the request

*Du* and *Sie* mark how you address someone. A request to a friend can use *du* and still be courteous. Compare the same request in both forms before changing anything else:

| Task | With someone you address as du | With someone you address as Sie |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ask for help | **Kannst du mir bitte helfen?** | **Können Sie mir bitte helfen?** |
| Ask for repetition | **Kannst du das bitte wiederholen?** | **Können Sie das bitte wiederholen?** |

To make either request more tentative, change *kannst* to **könntest**, or *können* to **könnten**: *Könntest du mir bitte helfen?* / *Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?* These are Konjunktiv II forms. They add softening to the request; they aren't compulsory in every polite exchange. Duden's [guide to polite requests](https://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/sprachratgeber/Hofliche-Aufforderungen) explains how questions, *bitte*, modal verbs, and Konjunktiv II contribute to politeness.

For practice, specify the relationship on the front of the card. In conversation, follow the form already established with that person. With an unfamiliar adult in a formal service exchange, *Sie* is a cautious starting choice. Workplace usage varies by organization and sector, as the [Goethe-Institut's communication guide](https://www.goethe.de/prj/mwd/en/deu/tzs/weiterbildung/wic.html) explains.

When adapting a phrase, check more than the subject. *Freut mich, Sie kennenzulernen* becomes *Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen* with *du*. In *Vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit*, the possessive is formal *Ihre*; a familiar version is *Danke für deine Zeit*. Tone still affects how a request or reply sounds.

![A friend offers a blue pen to another woman, who has a blank scrap of paper ready to write on](https://czaixyl0esghkd4s.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/marketing/cc7a8cf25794cebcaf8b07c5bc2d410637229d5b611f717568b3476db223170c.webp)

## One Italian prompt can allow two good German answers

Try this original situation:

> Durante un incontro, devi annotare un numero. La tua amica ha una penna: chiedile di prestartela per un momento. Usa il tu.

You need to write down a number and want to borrow your friend's pen briefly, addressing her as *du*. Two answers can meet that task:

- **Kann ich mir kurz deinen Stift leihen?** — Can I borrow your pen for a moment?
- **Kannst du mir kurz deinen Stift leihen?** — Can you lend me your pen for a moment?

The first makes *ich* the borrower and uses *mir* for “for myself.” The second makes *du* the lender and *mir* the recipient. [Duden's leihen entry](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/leihen) covers both lending something to someone and borrowing something for oneself. The situation stays the same even though the grammatical viewpoint changes.

Check three things when grading your answer: did you ask to use your friend's pen, keep the relationship as *du*, and form a natural German request? Both answers pass. A different grammatical viewpoint alone isn't a mistake. If your own alternative seems plausible but you're unsure about its wording, check it before adding it as an accepted answer.

Some expressions overlap without fitting the same prompt equally well. **Du hast recht** acknowledges that your friend is right. **Ich bin einverstanden** can accept a proposal or arrangement. In the practice below, accepting a meeting place calls for the second response; acknowledging a corrected fact would give you a reason to use the first. These are useful choices for the stated situations, rather than an absolute division of every kind of agreement. Compare Duden's entries for [recht](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/recht) and [einverstanden](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/einverstanden).

## Learn the reply with the line that comes before it

A short response needs a clear cue. Include the line or event you're responding to:

| What just happened? | Your response | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A friend thanks you for a favor | **Gern geschehen.** | Acknowledges the thanks: you're welcome. |
| A friend apologizes for a small inconvenience | **Das macht nichts.** | Reassures them that it doesn't matter. |
| Someone wishes you a nice weekend | **Danke, gleichfalls!** | Returns the same wish: thanks, you too. |

These aren't interchangeable translations of a vague “no problem.” Duden records the thanks response under [gern](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/gern), the reassuring expression under [machen](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/machen), and the reciprocal response under [gleichfalls](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/gleichfalls). Use the reassurance for a genuinely minor problem, rather than automatically dismissing something serious.

Give idioms and farewells the same treatment. **Ich drücke dir die Daumen!** wishes a friend success, for example before an interview; [Duden marks the idiom as colloquial](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Daumen). Learn its intended effect, rather than translating the body parts into a new phrase. **Auf Wiederhören!** is a conventional way to end a phone call, as the [Wiederhören entry](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Wiederhoeren) confirms. A generic “say goodbye” prompt hides that useful detail.

## Ten situations to answer without a phrase list

Cover the answer key and the phrase tables. Say or write one German response to each situation. Use *du* or *Sie* where specified. Accept another natural formulation if it fulfils the task and preserves the relationship; items 9 and 10 ask you to recall a particular expression.

1. At an information desk, you miss the employee's last sentence. Ask for repetition using **Sie**.
2. A friend invites you for a walk, and you'd like to go. Accept warmly.
3. In a quiet study room, an unfamiliar adult is speaking loudly. Ask them to lower their voice using **Sie**.
4. You and a friend have an appointment, but you need to move it to a later time. Ask whether you can reschedule it together.
5. A friend beside the door sees you approaching with bags. Ask them to **hold the door open**, using **du**.
6. Someone wishes you a nice weekend. Thank them and return the wish.
7. On a call with an office employee, the sound is faint. Explain the hearing problem using **Sie**.
8. Your group suggests meeting outside the cinema, and you accept the plan. Say that you agree.
9. A friend is about to have an interview. Wish them success using the German **thumbs idiom**, with **du**.
10. You have finished a formal phone call. Use the conventional phone farewell.

### Answers and acceptable alternatives

1. **Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?** An alternative is *Können Sie das bitte noch einmal sagen?* Both request repetition and keep *Sie*. An explanation request would change the task.
2. **Ja, gern!** *Ja, gerne!* and *Sehr gern!* also work. The response accepts an invitation willingly; it isn't a reply to thanks in this situation.
3. **Könnten Sie bitte etwas leiser sprechen?** Another option is *Können Sie bitte ein bisschen leiser sein?* Check **leiser**, the volume word. *Langsamer* would ask for a slower pace.
4. **Können wir den Termin auf später verschieben?** This explicitly asks to move it to a later time. *Könnten wir den Termin auf später verschieben?* is more tentative. The shorter model *Können wir den Termin verschieben?* asks to reschedule, leaving the new time unstated. *Einen Termin vereinbaren* would mean arranging an appointment. Duden gives the postponement use under [verschieben](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/verschieben).
5. **Kannst du mir bitte die Tür aufhalten?** *Hältst du mir bitte die Tür auf?* also works. Keep *aufhalten* for holding it open; in the second version its prefix moves to the end. The relevant sense appears in [Duden's aufhalten entry](https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/aufhalten).
6. **Danke, gleichfalls!** *Danke, dir auch!* fits someone you address as *du*; *Danke, Ihnen auch!* fits *Sie*. The wish can apply to both people, so returning it makes sense.
7. **Ich kann Sie schlecht hören.** *Ich höre Sie nicht gut* is another model. Both make weak sound explicit. You haven't necessarily failed to understand the meaning.
8. **Ich bin einverstanden.** *Damit bin ich einverstanden* also fits. Both directly accept the proposed arrangement. *Du hast recht* would focus on another person's being right, which isn't the task here.
9. **Ich drücke dir die Daumen!** Check *dir* for the friend and the complete expression *die Daumen drücken*. *Ich drücke Ihnen die Daumen* changes the address to *Sie*, so it misses this prompt's relationship.
10. **Auf Wiederhören!** This meets the phone-specific instruction. *Auf Wiedersehen* is normally an in-person farewell; other conversational goodbyes may be possible on a call, but they don't practise the requested formula.

## Turn a hesitation into a focused review prompt

Keep the situations you hesitated over. On the front, include the event, what you want to communicate, and the relationship. On the back, put one model answer first, then a useful alternative and the distinction you missed. The pen example benefits from a borrowing/lending note; the study-room example needs a volume/pace note. Keep the explanation short enough to review after one attempt.

Try to answer before revealing the model. After a miss, read the correction and return to the situation after other items, then in a later session. Continue revisiting successful answers with space between sessions, adjusting the gaps to difficulty and how long you need to retain the material. There is no universal day-by-day schedule for these expressions.

Repeated retrieval supported delayed vocabulary recall in [Karpicke and Roediger's experiment](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408). [Cepeda and colleagues' spacing study](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02209.x) found that useful review gaps depended on the later retention interval. These studies support the general recall-and-spacing approach; they don't establish the effectiveness of this particular exercise set or guarantee fluent conversation.

After recalling a phrase, change one detail and try again: the person you address, the object, or the practical problem. Keep this separate from grading the original card. For sentence-building problems, the [German word-order practice](/blog/german-verb-second-word-order/) helps you check statements and separable verbs. For prompt design, the [language-learning flashcard guide](/blog/how-to-use-flashcards-for-language-learning/) has more examples.

## Optional practice for Italian-speaking learners

The German everyday expressions deck for Italian speakers contains **80 Italian situation prompts, with German model responses and Italian explanations**. It covers courtesy, clarification, requests, reactions, agreement, organization, services, and contact exchanges. A2–B1 is an approximate editorial audience guide, rather than a complete CEFR course or an exam alignment claim.

Its specific purpose is producing a German response from an Italian situation, including register and acceptable alternatives. Nibomo's existing German-language Goethe-Zertifikat B1 vocabulary deck already includes everyday expressions. This collection adds Italian-cued production practice with Italian explanations; it doesn't claim a new inventory of phrases absent from B1 materials. It doesn't include audio, pronunciation assessment, full dialogues, or automatic reverse-translation cards.

For listening and broader language practice alongside text recall, the [Goethe-Institut Italia practice page](https://www.goethe.de/ins/it/it/spr/ueb.html) offers official resources. Use actual exchanges and listening practice to work on timing, intonation, and understanding unexpected replies.

*How this practice was made: AI was used substantially for research, drafting, editorial work, original example and exercise construction, and the illustrative pen-handover image. The cited dictionaries and Goethe-Institut material support language usage and context; their exercises and definitions were not reproduced. This practice hasn't been tested with learners or reviewed by a human German teacher or native speaker. It is independent material, without endorsement from Duden or the Goethe-Institut.*

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