Hallo, Deutschlerner. Today Iām going to teach you what to do if you donāt speak enough German to survive a conversation with a German. This lesson will go well beyond the basic phrase “Ich spreche kein Deutsch.” Letās switch things up a bit and go meet some people on the street and see how we can navigate a conversation with very little knowledge of the German language.
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.
Ich spreche kein Deutsch. – Scene 1
Fremder: Entschuldigen Sie. Können Sie mir helfen? Mein Sohn ist im Krankenhaus und ich habe nicht genug Geld für den Bus dabei. Ich bitte Sie um etwas Kleingeld. Können Sie etwas Geld erübrigen?
Stranger: Excuse me. Can you help me? My son is in the hospital and I donāt have enough money with me for the bus. I am asking you for some change. Could you spare some money?
Herr Antrim: Ich verstehe nicht. Ich spreche kein Deutsch.
Herr Antrim: I donāt understand. I donāt speak any German.
Fremder: Mein Sohn ist im Krankenhaus. Ich brauche Geld. Haben Sie Geld?
Stranger: My son is in the hospital. I need money. Do you have money?
Herr Antrim: Es tut mir leid. Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch. Ich kann Sie nicht verstehen.
Herr Antrim: Iām sorry. I only speak a little German. I canāt understand you.
Ich spreche kein Deutsch. – Scene 2
Fremder: Yes. I speak a little English.
Stranger: Ja. Ich spreche ein bisschen Englisch.
Herr Antrim: Oh. Thank goodness. Could you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
Herr Antrim: Oh. Gott sei Dank. Kƶnnen Sie mir sagen, wie ich zur SesamstraĆe komme?
Stranger: Es tut mir leid. Ich bin nur zu Besuch hier. Ich weiĆ auch nicht.
Fremder: Iām sorry. Iām just visiting. I donāt know either.
Ich spreche kein Deutsch. – Scene 3
Polizist: Meine Damen und Herren. Bleiben Sie bitte zurück. Sie kƶnnen hier nicht durch. Bitte benutzen Sie die NebenstraĆen, solange wir diese StraĆe gesperrt haben.
Policeman: Ladies and gentlemen. Please stay back. You canāt come through here. Please use the side streets as long as we have this street blocked.
Herr Antrim: Ich verstehe nicht. Kƶnnen Sie das wiederholen? Kƶnnen Sie langsamer sprechen?
Herr Antrim: I donāt understand. Can you repeat that? Can you speak slower?
Polizist: Sie dürfen hier nicht durch. Sie müssen die Sperrung umgehen.
Policeman: You canāt come through here. You have to go around the closure.
Herr Antrim: Können Sie das ins Englische übersetzen?
Herr Antrim: Can you translate that into English?
Polizist: Go around!
Policeman: Gehen Sie die Sperrung um.
How to tell someone you don’t speak German
As you can see, there are several phrases you can use to get the point across that you donāt know what someone is saying and you need a bit of help. Letās go back through the list and break it down for you. Iāll also show you some alternative versions of sentences I used just now.
Switch to English
If you simply want to switch to English, so you can ask a question or so you can make sure you understand everything, you can say āSprechen Sie Englisch?ā. This isnāt directly asking them to speak English, it is simply asking if they do speak English. If you want to ask them directly to speak English, you can say āKƶnnen Sie mit mir Englisch sprechen?āor āKƶnnen wir Englisch sprechen?ā You could also say āKƶnnen Sie das übersetzen?ā If you want to specifically ask them to translate to English, you could say āKƶnnen Sie das ins Englische übersetzen?ā
I don’t understand.
If you simply want to explain that you donāt understand what they said, you can say āIch verstehe nicht.ā If you want to go into a bit more detail about why you donāt understand, you could say āIch spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch.ā Alternatively, you can say āIch spreche nur ein wenig Deutsch.ā or āIch spreche nur ein paar Wƶrter Deutsch.ā Another version would be āMein Deutsch ist nicht sehr gut.ā If you really speak no German or you arenāt confident in your German skills, you could also say āIch spreche kein Deutsch.ā or āIch kann kein Deutsch sprechen.ā
Repeat and Speak Slowly
If you kind of understood them, but you want to make sure, you could ask them to repeat what they said by saying, āKƶnnen Sie das wiederholen?ā If the speed of the conversation is the issue, you could say āKƶnnen Sie das langsamer wiederholen?ā or āKƶnnen Sie langsamer sprechen?ā There is also the command version of this request āSprechen Sie bitte langsamer.ā You could also be more direct and just say āLangsam, bitteā.
Reminder about the “Sie” form
Donāt forget, you need to use āSieā in these phrases, as I mentioned in my last video. You donāt know these people well enough to use the familiar forms. If you need a full lesson on the differences between du, ihr and Sie, click here.
Now you know how to navigate a German conversation without really knowing all that much German. Just a few quick phrases can get you out of a sticky situation.
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