anyone here speak/read german?

[gregshin]

what does this mean?

Wie sind Sie? How is this possible?

Sie sprechen Deutsch gut you speak german good?

 

[hoihtah]

how are you.

they speak german well.

google

 

[Hammer]

I can speak it, I never said I could read the mother ^&*^^*!

Lee Harvey, what's the diameter of a chicken egg?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Ja. Warum fragst du?

Wie sind Sie = An improper way of asking, "how are you" in the formal sense. Should be, "Wie gehen Sie Ihnen?"

 

[burnedout]

Should be, "Wie gehen Sie Ihnen?"

Oder "Wie geht es Ihnen". Nicht wahr?

 

[kuk]

Schwul!


I've been taking German classes for 4 years now ... and this is the best I can do! LOL ...

 

[bizmark]

<< Should be, "Wie gehen Sie Ihnen?"

Oder "Wie geht es Ihnen". Nicht wahr? >>



Ja. Ich denke, dass "Wie geht es Ihnen" richtig ist. == (literally) "How's it going to you." Ich habe das oft geh&ouml;rt.

"Wie gehen Sie Ihnen" == "How are you going to yourself?" oder etwas unverstandlich wie so.

"Wie sind Sie" == "How are you" but nobody really says that.

and "Sie sprechen Deutsch gut" == "They speak German well" as hoihtah said, but if you change it to "Sprechen Sie Deutsch gut?" then it becomes "Do you speak German well?" (formally). "Sprechen Sie gutes Deutsch?" is more likely to be said, though == "Do you speak good German?".

 

[ToXiCRaGE]

Schwul! does that mean i love you? (or gay or something like that?).

I use to live in Germany for 3 years a while back and I knew German like I know English, but then I moved and I forgot mostly all of it now. :frown: I took it in school for 3 years too (just to keep on using it), but that is gone as well!

 

[b0mbrman]

Who are you you addressing with your German (age, title)?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Yes, formality is very important in German culture (Du vs. Sie).

Other pointers:

1) Always be punctual
2) Give the person you're speaking to his/her space
3) Introduce yourself using your last name (Ich bin Herr Lastname.)
4) Avoid asking any personal questions, such as, "are you married?" or "do you drive to work?"

True story: Siemens North America hired a new VP. This guy was late to his first meeting, scooted his chair up to the president's desk, and introduced himself with his first name. He was gone the next day.

 

[NutBucket]

<< what does this mean?

Sie sprechen Deutsch gut you speak german good? >>



Not quite. In this case an elder is being spoken to hence the pronoun "Sie" is used to indicate respect towards a boss or say to a teacher/prof from a student.

<-- Took 3 years of german in hs.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, Ich habe eine Barenhunger.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Nr., bin ich nicht sehr guter Messwert oder sprechender Deutscher. Aber ich m&ouml;chte eines Tages erlernen.

Babelfish sucks -translate that back into English. It was supposed to read "No, I am not very good at reading or speaking German. But I would like to learn some day"
You'll find the German-English translation a little confusing

nik

 

[yakko]

Volkswagen.

 

[bizmark]

<< Schwul! does that mean i love you? (or gay or something like that?).

I use to live in Germany for 3 years a while back and I knew German like I know English, but then I moved and I forgot mostly all of it now. :frown: I took it in school for 3 years too (just to keep on using it), but that is gone as well! >>



yeah, schwul means gay. Die Prinzen have a song that goes "Es tut mir leid -- mein Hund ist schwul." It's pretty funny.

Too bad you've lost your German! I bet it would come back pretty easily though.

 

[StinkyMeat]

I speak jive.

 

[yakko]

<< I speak jive. >>


First Jive Dude: Sh!t man, that beloved patriot mus' be messin' my old lady... got to be runnin' cold upside down his head. You know?
Second Jive Dude: Hey home, I can dig it. You know he ain't gonna lay no mo' big rap up on you man.
First Jive Dude: I say hey sky, s'other s'ay I wan say?
Second Jive Dude: UH...
First Jive Dude: Pray to J I get the same ol' same ol'.
Second Jive Dude: Eh. Yo knock yourself a pro slick, gray matter live performas down now take TCB'in man.
First Jive Dude: Hey, you know what they say... See a broad, to get that booty yak 'em.
First Jive Dude, Second Jive Dude: Leg 'er down 'n smack 'em yak 'em
First Jive Dude: Cold got to be! You know? Shiiiiiiit.

 

[NutBucket]

<< "Es tut mir leid -- mein Hund ist schwul." >>



I'm sorry my dog is gay?

 

[Silex]

Nein! Dein Hund ist doch leicht an der StraBe Eche nach Mittag. I could never get the articles correct . So fun to mess around with german sometimes.

BTW, since we are ont he topic of german music, jive to the tunes of Rammstein and Megahertz. They're the bombs yos.

 

[nihil]

<< Nein! Dein Hund ist doch leicht an der StraBe Eche nach Mittag. I could never get the articles correct . So fun to mess around with german sometimes.

BTW, since we are ont he topic of german music, jive to the tunes of Rammstein and Megahertz. They're the bombs yos. >>



bah, that's not real german music. try feindflug, wumpscut, suicide commando, decoded feedback, e-craft, in strict confidence, kalte farben, lustmord, etc... etc. the list goes on.

 

[NutBucket]

You guys left out the big one. Who could forget about the timelessness of FALCO!!!!

<-- Just listened to Rock Me Amadeus about 5 minutes ago.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Eines abends als ich nach hause kam, war bei mir eingebrochen worden.
Es tut mir leid. Wiefiel uhr ist es?


Sie sprechen Deutch gut = You speak german well.

Some other useful lines are:
Ein Bier bitte! <--- A beer please.
Noch ein Bier bitte! <--- One more beer please
Gauen sau! <--- Horny pig
Schnallt euch die Sicherheitsgurten an. <--- Fasten your seatbelts.

 

[bizmark]

<<

<< "Es tut mir leid -- mein Hund ist schwul." >>



I'm sorry my dog is gay?

>>



Yep

It talks about how his dog wears little pink pants and wears makeup and does things that only gay dogs do, and likes to hang out with his boyfriend and stuff. So the song's persona is essentially apologizing for his dog's being gay. It's a funny song, just listen to it, you'll crack up. It's all done in this gay-sounding a capella thing (they're mostly a capella anyway, but for this song it's *really* gay sounding).

Other good Prinzen songs: Mein Bester Freund; Millionär; Geld ist schön; Mein Fahrrad
It's great stuff for students of German because they use common words and good grammar, and enunciate clearly.

 

[burnedout]

You guys left out the big one. Who could forget about the timelessness of FALCO!!!!

<-- Just listened to Rock Me Amadeus about 5 minutes ago.

Falco! Yes, I remember Falco from the 80s while over in Deutschland. "Jenny" comes to mind. The video for the song is rather cool as well.