Q Hallo! — Hi!
- A Hallo! — Hi!
- A Hi! — Hey!
They'll say Wie geht's? — How's it going?
Starting a convo/basic survival (Germany)
Q → A → what they'll probably say
Short answerIn Germany, say Hallo! — Hi!
Q Wie geht's? — How's it going?
- A Gut, und dir? — Good, and you? (informal du)
- A Passt. — All good (casual).
They'll say Nice. / Und sonst so? — Nice. / What else?
Q Sprichst du Englisch? — Do you speak English? (informal du)
- A Ja, klar. — Yes, of course.
- A Ein bisschen. — A little bit.
They'll say Was/worum geht's? — What's it about?
"Sprechen Sie Englisch?" is the formal version — use it with staff, officials and anyone much older. Same question, different register.
Q Sorry, ich check's nicht. — Sorry, I don't get it.
- A Kein Ding. — No big deal.
- A Kein Problem. — No problem.
They'll say Ich sag's nochmal. — I'll say it again.
"Ich check's nicht" is casual — fine with peers, not in a formal setting.
Q Wie sagt man [WORT] auf Deutsch? — How do you say [WORD] in German?
- A Man sagt [WORT]. — You say [WORD].
They'll say Genau. / So ungefähr. — Exactly. / More or less.
Q Wo ist [ORT]? — Where is [PLACE]?
- A Da drüben. / Geradeaus. / Links/rechts. — Over there. / Straight ahead. / Left/right.
They'll say Ist nicht weit. — It's not far.
Q Na? — So? / How's things?
- A Na! — Hey! — mirroring it back is the correct answer.
- A Alles gut, und selbst? — All good, and you?
They'll say Auch alles gut. — All good here too.
"Na?" is a complete greeting on its own. Answering "Na!" is not a dodge — it is the reply.
Q Ich bin übrigens [NAME]. — I'm [NAME], by the way.
- A Freut mich, ich bin [NAME]. — Nice to meet you, I'm [NAME].
They'll say Und woher kommst du? — And where are you from?