Hallo, Deutschlerner. Today I am going to show you a few basic German questions and some sample answers to those questions. When you are done with this lesson, you should be able to answer each of these questions and substitute your own personalized responses. If you want to try it out, I encourage you to answer these basic questions in complete German sentences in the comments. I look forward to learning more about you from your answers.
This lesson is a part of Herr Antrimās new e-book āBeginner German with Herr Antrimā. Within the e-book, this lesson includes a worksheet and answer key to practice the skills you are about to learn. You will also get access to online flashcards and a whole lot more. Find out more about the e-book here.
Wie heiĆen Sie? – What is your name?
Letās start with the most basic of basic German questions. āWie heiĆen Sie?ā (āWhat is your name?ā or more literally āHow are you called?ā) This is obviously the formal version of this question. You could also ask āWie heiĆt du?ā if the person you are addressing is a young person or the conversation is taking place online, where most people correspond using the āduā version of āyouā. You can also say āWie heiĆt ihr?ā if you are addressing more than one person.
In order to answer this question, you would say āIch heiĆeā and then your name. If you are answering for yourself and another person, you could say āWir heiĆenā and then both of your names, but it is more common to introduce yourself with āIch heiĆeā and then your name followed by āDas istā (This is) and the other personās name. For example:
Wie heiĆt du?
What is your name? (How are you called?)
Ich heiĆe Levi.
My name is Levi (I am called Levi.)
Wie heiĆt ihr?
What is your name? (How are you called?)
Ich heiĆe Levi und das ist Sophia.
My name is Levi and this is Sophia. (I am called Levi and this is Sophia.)
Answering “Wie heiĆen Sie?” with “sein”
You can also answer this question using a form of the verb āseinā, which I will talk about in more detail in a few weeks. The form you need with āichā is ābinā. So your answer would be āIch binā and then your name. If you are answering for more than one person, you could say āWir sindā and your names, but again, it is more common to split the answer into āIch binā and your own name followed by āDas istā and the other personās name.
Wie heiĆt du?
What is your name? (How are you called?)
Ich bin Levi.
I am Levi.
Wie heiĆt ihr?
What is your name? (How are you called?)
Ich bin Levi und das ist Sophia.
I am Levi and this is Sophia.
Alternatives to “Wie heiĆen Sie?”
While most people will use one of the versions of the question āWie heiĆt du?ā that I have already shown you, it is grammatically correct to say āWie ist dein Name?ā, which is a more literal translation of āWhat is your name?ā This uses the verb āseinā, too, but this time, it is the third person singular (er, sie, es) form of the verb, which is āistā, because āMein Nameā is the subject of the sentence and not āichā. Technically speaking, āwieā also acts as the subject of the question, because of the special nature of āseinā, which Iāll talk about in more depth in a few weeks.
Introduction to German Possessive Articles
Since this version includes a possessive article, you need to be able to change the sentence again based on your audience. āWie ist dein Name?ā is the āduā version. āWie ist Ihr Name?ā is the āSieā version and āWie sind eure Namen?ā is the āihrā version. Keep in mind that the last one is in the plural form, because it addresses āihrā. This is why the verb changes to āsindā, the possessive adds an āEā (eure), and the word āNameā becomes āNamenā. The two options for answering this question are āMein Name istā followed by your name and āMein Name ist⦠Ihr/Sein Name istā followed by each of your respective names. For example:
Wie ist dein Name?
What is your name?
Mein Name ist Levi.
My name is Levi.
Wie sind eure Namen?
What are your names?
Mein Name ist Levi und ihr Name ist Sophia.
My name is Levi and her name is Sophia.
Sein Name ist Fred.
His name is Fred.
“Wer sind Sie?” is not “Wie heiĆen Sie?”
While it is possible to ask the question āWer bist du?ā, āWer seid ihr?ā or āWer sind Sie?ā (literally āWho are you?ā), I donāt recommend this option, as it is very rude. Also, you might not get the answer you desired. It comes off as if you were saying āWho do you think you are?ā or āWhat are you doing here?ā So in short, stick to āWie heiĆen Sie?ā or āWie ist Ihr Name?ā Donāt forget, until you get to know some people, you should be using the āSieā form with most people. If you are using the āduā form with someone, you probably donāt need to ask for their name.
Wie geht es Ihnen? – How are you?
The second basic German question you need to be able to answer is āWie geht es Ihnen?ā (How are you?) This is the formal version. For the āduā version you would say āWie geht es dir?ā (often shortened to āWie gehtās?ā in conversational German) and the āihrā version would be āWie geht es euch?ā
You could simply answer with āgutā (good) or you can follow it up with ādankeā, to make it more polite. āGut, danke.ā (Good, thank you.) You can answer this question with one or two word answers like āgutā (good), āschlechtā (bad) or ānicht schlechtā (not bad).
You can also quantify how well you are doing by adding an adverb in front of āgutā. For example: āganz gutā (quite well), āsehr gutā (very well), or even ānicht gutā (not good). Obviously you can also substitute āschlechtā in any of the examples where I used āgutā.
Answering “Wie geht es Ihnen?” with a full sentence
If you are going to answer with a full sentence, you need to start your answer with āMir geht esā. For example: Mir geht es gut. (Iām doing well.) Mir geht es schlecht. (Iām doing poorly.) Mir geht es nicht schlecht. (Iām not doing bad.) Mir geht es prima. (Iām doing great.) Mir geht es super. (Iām doing super.) If you want a version of these sentences that tell how more than one person is doing, you would replace āmirā with āunsā. For example: Uns geht es gut.
As I mentioned before, the question āWie geht es dir?ā is often shortened to āWie gehtās?ā When answering, you can also shorten it to āMir gehtāsā¦ā and your response. This shortening of the sentences should not be done when using the āSieā version and you should be cautious using them in any form, as they may give the impression that you are more fluent than you really are.
“Ich bin gut/schlecht.” is not a good answer to “Wie geht es Ihnen?”
You might have noticed that none of the questions used āduā, āihrā or āSieā and none of the answers used āichā. Thatās because, technically speaking, the question is āhowās it going?ā and each of the answers translate to āItās going well, poorly, or great.ā You wouldnāt answer āIch binā for this question most of the time, as āich bin gutā and āich bin schlechtā mean āI am good, as in not evilā and āI am bad, as in not goodā. Most people will understand what you meant to say, but it isnāt technically correct.
Answering “Wie geht es Ihnen?” with “Ich bin…”
You can answer āWie geht es dir/Ihnen?ā (How are you?) with āIch binā (I am) if you use a different adjective instead of āgutā (good) or āschlechtā (bad). For example:
Ich bin müde.
I am tired.
Ich bin krank.
I am sick.
If want to answer in the āwirā (we) form, you would say āWir sindā (we are) instead of āIch binā (I am). You can also make a play on words and say āEs gehtā, which is literally āit goesā, but is more like the English expression āso soā or āalrightā.
Reciprocating “Wie geht es Ihnen?”
In order to ask the other person how they are, you would simply say āUnd Ihnen?ā (And you?) for the āSieā version or āUnd dir?ā (And you?) for the āduā version after your response. For example:
Guten Tag. Wie geht es Ihnen?
Good day. How are you?
Mir geht es gut. Und Ihnen?
I’m doing well. And you?
Mir geht es auch gut.
I’m doing well, too.
Hallo. Wie gehtās?
Hello. How are you?
Gut, danke. Und dir?
Good, thanks. And you?
Nicht schlecht.
Not bad.
Woher kommen Sie? – Where are you from?
As a visitor in Germany, you might get the basic German question āWoher kommen Sie?ā (Where are you from?). The āduā version is āWoher kommst du?ā (Where are you from?) and the āihrā version would be āWoher kommt ihr?ā (Where are you from?). The answer is āIch komme aus…ā (I come from…) or āWir kommen aus…ā (We come from…) followed by your place of origin. For example:
Woher kommst du?
Where do you come from?
Ich komme aus Amerika.
I come from America.
Woher kommen Sie?
Where do you come from?
Ich komme aus Illinois.
I come from Illinois.
Woher kommt ihr?
Where do you come from?
Wir kommen aus Edwardsville.
We come from Edwardsville.
Follow-up Questions to “Woher kommen Sie?”
Now you just have to find the German translation of your countryās name. You could also just use the name of the city, but be prepared for the follow up question āWo ist das?ā (Where is that?) if it isnāt famous enough (like New York). The answer could be as simple as āIn Amerikaā (In America) or āIn Illinoisā (same). You could also say āin der NƤhe vonā (near…) and a nearby place that might be well known enough to give them an idea of where you are. For example:
Woher kommst du?
Where do you come from?
Ich komme aus Edwardsville.
I come from Edwardsville.
Und wo ist das?
And where is that?
Edwardsville ist in der NƤhe von St. Louis.
Edwardsville is near St. Louis.
Und wo liegt das?
And where is that located?
St. Louis ist in der Mitte der USA.
St. Louis is in the middle of the USA.
Wie lange bleiben Sie in Deutschland? – How long are you staying in German?
The next basic German question they might ask you is āWie lange bleiben Sie in Deutschland?ā (How long are you staying in German?) The other options would be āWie lange bleibst du in Deutschland?ā (How long are you staying in German?) or āWie lange bleibt ihr in Deutschland?ā (How long are you staying in German?) The answer doesnāt have to be overly specific. You could say āein paarā (a few) and the appropriate amount of time. For example:
ein paar Tage
a few days
ein paar Wochen
a few weeks
ein paar Monate
a few months
Answering “Wie lange bleiben Sie in Deutschland?” with Numbers
If you know your numbers in German, you could say the actual number of days or weeks you are staying.
drei Tage
three days
zwei Wochen
two weeks
einen Monat
one month
Answering “Wie lange bleiben Sie in Deutschland?” with a Full Sentence
If you want to answer this question with a full sentence, say āIch bleibe…ā (I am staying…) or āWir bleiben…ā (We are staying…) followed by the amount of time you are staying.
Ich bleibe sechs Tage.
I am staying six days.
Wir bleiben vier Wochen.
We are staying four weeks.
Ich bleibe fünf Monate.
I am staying five months.
Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? – How can I help you?
The last basic German question or series of questions on my list for today isnāt really a continuation of the conversation example I have shown you so far, but it is an important enough question that I think you need to be able to answer it as one of your first questions you learn. There are a few variations of this question as well, but you will almost exclusively hear them in the āSieā form, so I will only show you those options.
The question is āWie kann ich Ihnen helfen?ā (How can I help you?) This is the question you will be asked when you go into a German store and you are looking around. You can answer with a ton of different options, but the simple ones are the following.
Ich schaue mich nur um.
Iām just looking around.
Ich mƶchte mich nur umschauen.
I would like to just look around.
Ich brauche Schuhe.
I need shoes.
Ich mƶchte einen Dƶner.
I would like a dƶner kebab.
Alternative #1: Was suchen Sie? – What are you looking for?
If you look like you are looking for something, but canāt find it, they might ask you āWas suchen Sie?ā (What are you looking for?)
Ich suche
Iām looking forā¦
Ich suche ein Buch.
Iām looking for a book.
Ich suche DVDs.
Iām looking for DVDs.
Alternative #2: Was mƶchten Sie? – What would you like?
A more general question you might here is āWas mƶchten Sie?ā (What would you like?) It might be ended with another verb like ābestellenā (to order), ākaufenā (to buy), or āhabenā (to have), but the general question is the same and the answer is the same no matter what.
Ich mƶchte den Rinderbraten.
I would like the roast beef.
Ich mƶchte das.
I would like that. (point to what you want)
Ich mƶchte diese.
I would like these. (again with the pointing)
Review of Basic German Questions
Now you have the basis for your first German conversation. As I mentioned before, you should try to answer these basic German questions in the comments. In case you didnāt take notes, the questions were:
Wie heiĆt du?
What is your name?
Wie geht es dir?
How are you?
Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
Wie lange bleibst du in Deutschland?
How long are you staying in Germany?
Wie kann ich dir helfen?
How can I help you?
Was suchst du?
What are you looking for?
Was mƶchtest du?
What would you like?
I look forward to reading your answers and learning more about you.
Beginner German with Herr Antrim
Herr Antrimās new e-book āBeginner German with Herr Antrimā is your guide to having your first conversation in German. Within the e-book, each lesson includes a worksheet and answer key to practice the skills in that lesson. You will also get access to online flashcards and a whole lot more. Find out more about the e-book here.
Lessons within “Beginner German with Herr Antrim”
- Download the E-Book
- #1 – Pronunciation
- #2 –Ā Greetings
- #3 –Ā Farewells
- #4 –Ā Du vs Ihr vs Sie
- #5 –Ā How to Say You Don’t Speak German
- #6 –Ā das Alphabet
- #7 –Ā 24 Most Common Verbs with Example Sentences
- #8 –Ā Subject PronounsĀ &Ā Conjugation
- #9 –Ā Basic Questions & Answers
- #10 –Ā Formation of Questions
- #11 –Ā Describe Yourself in German
- #12 –Ā Present Tense of “sein”
- #13 –Ā Present Tense of “haben”
- #14 –Ā Family Vocabulary
- #15 –Ā The Ultimate Guide to German Numbers
- #16 –Ā Word Order with Time
- #17 –Ā Read & Write Dates in German
- #18 –Ā Word Order Basics
- #19 –Ā Shopping
- #20 –Ā A Beginner German Conversation