Know Your Language

Useful German phrases

Guten Tag! (Good day!) This can be said till 4:00 p.m.

Guten Morgen! (Good morning!) This can be said till 12:00 in the afternoon.

Guten Abend! (Good evening!) This can be said till late in the night.

Gute Nacht! (Good night!) Said before you go to bed or when you are parting from someone late at night.

Remember to say Guten Morgen and not just Morgen. Morgen means morning. But what we want to do is to hope that the person has a good morning.

Similarly, in English, never say just "Morning!" Instead, we have to say Good Morning!

Wie geht es Ihnen? (How are you?)

Danke, gut. Und Ihnen? (Fine, thank you. And you?)

When someone asks you how are you are, it is imperative for you to ask them how they are. This is a formality that must be maintained. This is a question that is popped so that you can start a friendly conversation.

Auf Weidersehen! (Good bye!)

Auf Wiedersehen! (Good bye!)

On the phone, one says: Auf Wiederhören!

Other ways of saying goodbye in German are:

Tschüss,  Tschö, Tschau, Ciao(These are more informal)

Tips:

1. It is important to say these phrases in a friendly manner and with a smile on your face. 

2. Study your face in the mirror. Ask yourself whether it is a friendly face. People could get irritated with a handsome or beautiful face when there is no warmth and smile on the face. So remember, your smile is your greatest asset. Make sure it is always there! A smile always comes back to you!

Self Introduction in German

PLEASE CLICK ON THE ADVERTISEMENTS!

Stellen Sie sich vor!

How do you introduce yourself in German?

Ich bin Menaka.  (I am Menaka.)

Ich wohne in Chennai. ( I live in Chennai.)

Ich bin Studentin. ( I am a student.)

Ich studiere Englisch und Deutsch. (I am studying English and German.)

Ich bin 20 Jahre alt. (I am 20 years old.)

Ich möchte nach Deutschland fahren.  ( I would like to go to Germany.) 

Was ist Ihr Name? (What is your name?) 

In English, only  proper nouns and the personal pronoun I are capitalized.

In German, all nouns are capitalized.However, the personal pronoun I (ich) is never capitalized unless it is at the beginning of a

sentence.

The German language also has the respect form of you (like the Hindi 'aap'). This is represented as Sie with a capital S.

It also has the informal you (the Hindi 'tum') and is represented as du.

The plural form of du is ihr (as in the Hindi 'tum log'!).

English is a funny language; that explains why we park our car on the driveway and drive our car on the parkway.  ~Author Unknown

Facial expression

Simon's face is dirty.

Simon's got an angry look on his face.

Look at Simon's face expressions! (WRONG) 

Look at Simon's facial expressions. (RIGHT)

There are various expressions on the face. (Face here is a noun)

There are various facial expressions.  (Facial here is an adjective)

What are these facial expressions?

Some of us have a happy look on our face. That is a facial expression. We always give the impression of being happy. Such people are blessed because any one who comes in contact with them also feels good!

There are others who have a forlorn, and worse still, an angry look on their face. People dread coming close to them and avoid interacting with them.

Look at yourself objectively in the mirror and ask yourself, "What kind of facial expression do I wear normally?" If it is a negative one, work on it. We may all not be endowed with the face that launched a thousand ships, but we definitely can do something about our facial expressions! Wear a pleasant and happy expression on our face and you will find that people are more supportive and comfortable to work with!

Read this quote:

"Most physicians in training spend at least the early part of their career interacting with their books. The book doesn't care what facial expression you have when you are reading it, but patients care a lot."
  Richard Frankel

Isn't it packed? Tells you what you need to do when you interact with people, doesn't it? It is the use of words, and the emotion you allow your face to register that help you communicate with everyone!