Q Hallo!Hi!
- A Hallo!Hi!
- A Hi!Hey!
They'll say Wie geht's?How's it going?
Starting a convo/
How to start a conversation in Germany
Q → A → what they'll probably say
Compiled by Gabriel Gilles · Updated
Short answerIn Germany, say Hallo!Hi!
Hello, and getting unstuck
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 Was geht?youngWhat's up?
- A Nicht viel. Was geht bei dir?Not much. What's up with you?
- A Einiges!Quite a lot!
They'll say Auch nicht viel.Not much either.
Was geht? (or Was geht ab?) is what under-thirties say instead of Wie geht's?. It is a greeting rather than a real question, and nicht viel is the whole answer.
Q Na?So? / How's things?
- A Na!Hey! (mirroring it back is the right 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 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.
The first five questions
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?
Q Woher kommst du?Where are you from?
- A Ich komme aus den USA.I'm from the US.
- A Ich komme aus Kanada.I'm from Canada.
They'll say Schön, willkommen!Nice. Welcome!
Q Sprichst du Deutsch?Do you speak German?
- A Ich spreche kein Deutsch.I don't speak German.
- A Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch.I speak a little German.
They'll say Kein Problem, ich rede langsamer.No problem, I'll talk more slowly.
Ich spreche kein Deutsch ends the attempt; ein bisschen keeps it going. Germans will switch to English either way, and switching back is on you.
Q Bist du im Urlaub hier?Are you here on vacation?
- A Ja, ich bin im Urlaub.Yes, I'm on vacation.
- A Nein, ich bin beruflich hier.No, I'm here for work.
They'll say Ach, spannend.Oh, interesting.
Q Wie lange bleibst du?How long are you staying?
- A Ich bleibe ein paar Tage.I'm staying a few days.
- A Ich bleibe eine Woche.I'm staying a week.
They'll say Dann hast du ja Zeit.Plenty of time, then.
Q Was machst du beruflich?What do you do for work?
- A Ich bin Lehrer.I'm a teacher.
- A Ich bin noch Student.I'm still a student.
They'll say Nicht schlecht.Not bad.
German drops the article on a job: ich bin Lehrer, never ich bin ein Lehrer. Was bist du von Beruf? is the same question in a stiffer register.
Q Wie alt bist du?How old are you?
- A Ich bin 30 Jahre alt.I'm 30 years old.
- A Rate mal.Have a guess.
They'll say Hätte ich nicht gedacht.I wouldn't have guessed.
Jahre alt can go once you are comfortable: ich bin dreißig is what most people say.
Q Und du? Was machst du so?And you? What do you do?
- A Ich arbeite hier um die Ecke.I work just around the corner.
Was machst du so? is broader than the job question: it takes work, studies or whatever somebody is up to this week, whichever they want to give you.
Q Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof.I don't understand a thing.
Literally "I only understand train station": the German "it's all Greek to me." Informal and everyday. Das kommt mir Spanisch vor says the same thing.