Chapter 1 Hallo!

Willkommen in Deutsch 1! If the first few words of this book look familiar to you, that’s
good. English and German have several words that look similar to one another. The
pronunciations may be different, but the languages have quite a bit in common. In this
chapter of the book, we will examine these related words called cognates. Some are true
cognates, such as: hotel, taxi, and jeans. Others are false cognates; the words may look
and even sound similar, but they have completely different meanings. For example,
giving a gift to an American can be a wonderful surprise. Giving gift to a German can
have deadly results. (Gift is the German word for poison.)

In this chapter, we will also consider how to say hello, good-bye, introduce ourselves to
one another, the alphabet, counting up to 100, and common personal names in German
speaking countries. At the end of this, and every subsequent chapter, you will find a
vocabulary list that brings together the culture and vocab topic for the unit. Although
sometimes we will submit assignments through My Big Campus, we will routinely submit
answers to homework assignments on paper.

 Greetings and Introductions

As the title of the chapter indicates, “Hallo!” is German for “hello.” It is one of many
forms of greeting that we will discuss in this book. Take a look at some other ways
people greet one another and say good-bye in German.

Guten Morgen! Good morning! Hallo! Hello!

Guten Tag! Good day! Auf Wiedersehen Goodbye

Guten Abend! Good evening! Tschüs! See you later!

Gute Nacht! Good night! Bis später! Until later

Practice saying these out loud with the teacher’s help. You will begin using these
expressions when you come into class each day. You will also find it useful to create
flashcards based on each of the vocabulary terms you learn. Review these flashcards on
a nightly basis to improve your speaking ability.

Some other expressions that will be useful to you include:

Ich bin Michael. I am Michael.
Ich heiße Stefan. I am called Stefan.
Mein Name ist Claudia. My name is Claudia.
How are you called?
Wie heißt du?
(What is your name?)
Wie heißen Sie? How are you called?
Was ist dein Name? What is your name?

Consider a few key points from this chart. We have already examined two different
question words: wie (how?) and was (what?). We will add more question words to our
vocabulary soon. Also consider that, like English, German has multiple ways to ask for
and receive the same information. Do not be afraid to make mistakes as you practice
these expressions.
 Mini Assignment 1
How would you say the following in German?
1. Good day
2. Good evening
3. My name is (fill in your name here).
4. I am called (fill in your name here).
5. What is your name? (informal)
 Commonly used polite expressions
Now that you know some basic phrases, let’s put these expressions together with a few
others to form some basic conversations.
Wie geht es Ihnen?
How goes it with you?
Wie geht es dir?
Wie geht’s? How goes it?
Es geht mir gut! (Mir geht’s gut!) It’s going well.
Danke (sehr, schön) Thank you (very much)
Bitte (sehr, schön) You’re welcome
Bitte Please
Ja Yes
Nein No
Wo wohnst du? Where do you live?
Ich wohne in Amerika. I live in America.

We can combine these expressions into a simple conversation like this:

Lehrer Guten Tag!
Schüler Guten Tag!
Lehrer Wie geht es dir?
Schüler Es geht mir gut, danke.
Lehrer Wie heißt du?
Schüler Ich heiße Paul.
Lehrer Ich heiße Herr Schmidt. Wo wohnst du?
Schüler Ich wohne in Amerika.

Working with a partner, take turns reciting the script. Feel free to change the names to
you and your partner’s name.
 Mini Assignment 2
Translate the conversation as shown into English.

Some other expressions that are used on a frequent basis include:

Ich verstehe das. I understand that.
Ich verstehe das nicht. I don’t understand that.
Langsamer, bitte. Slower, please.
Sprechen Sie deutsch?
Do you speak German?
Sprichst du deutsch?
Ich spreche (kein) deutsch. I speak German. (I don’t speak German.)
Wer ist das? Who is that?
Wo ist das? Where is that?
Angenehm! Pleasure to meet you.
Alles Gute! All is well!
Toll! Great!
Ausgezeichnet! Excellent!

 Mini Assignment 3
Write an appropriate response to each expression in this conversation.
Lehrer Guten Tag!
Schüler
Lehrer Wie geht’s?
Schüler
Lehrer Wo wohnst du?
Schüler
Lehrer Sprichst du deutsch?
Schüler
 Alphabet & Pronunciation
The German and English alphabets are based on the Latin letter system. English has 26
characters in its alphabet, but German has a 27th character, and some vowels will
sometimes have an umlaut added that changes the pronunciation of the vowel. First,
let’s review the German alphabet and practice saying it.
Letter Name German Word English Meaning
Aa ah Vater father
Bb bay Boot boat
Cc tsay Computer computer
Dd day Dialekt dialect
Ee ay lesen To read
Ff eff fliegen To fly
Gg gay gehen To go
Hh hah Hand hand
Ii ee Igel groundhog
Jj yawt Junge boy (youth)
Kk kah kaufen To buy
Ll ell laufen To run
Mm emm malen To paint
Nn enn nehmen To take
Oo oh Ofen oven
Pp pay Platz Seat (place, plaza)
Qq coo bequem comfortable
Rr air fahren To travel
Ss ess segeln To sail
Tt tay Teil part
Uu oo Schule school
Vv fau Volk people
Ww vay Wagen car
 Letter Name German Word English Meaning
Xx icks Taxi taxi
Yy uepsilon Physiker Physicist
Zz tset zeigen To point
ß ess tset* Schloß castle
Ää A-umlaut Mädchen girl
Öö O-umlaut schön beautiful
Üü U-umlaut Lügen To tell a lie

*The ß is dying out in written German. Switzerland has abandoned its use in modern
printing, and often a double s is substituted in place of the ß. We will discuss these rules
in greater detail in class.
 Mini Assignment 4
Practice pronouncing these words in class. Repeat the list as needed until you have
mastered these words. Focus on the pronunciation, not the spelling.
langsam slow folgen To follow
brennen To burn gesamt whole
Computer computer heißen To be named
drücken To press isolieren To isolate
empfehlen To recommend Junge boy

 Single vowel sounds

Most German words are stressed on the first syllable. Both English and German have
long and short vowel sounds. Let’s examine some examples of both the long and short
vowel sounds in German.
Long a is pronounced as in the word “water” or ah.
Plan Glas Jahr Kam Ja
plan glass year came yes
Short a is pronounced as in the word “appeal” or uh.
Mann Ball alt kalt das
man ball old cold that

Long e (sometimes spelled ee) is pronounced as in the word “day” or ay.

der wer er Tee See
the who he tea lake, sea

Short e is pronounced as in the word “bet.”

Bett Welt wenn es jetzt
bed world when it now

Long i is pronounced as in the word “greet” or ee.

wir mir ich dich sich
we me I you himself

Short i is pronounced as in the word “finish.”

sing Ring finster Winter mischen
sing ring dark winter mix

Long o is pronounced as in the word “rose” or oh.

Brot Rose Zone schon wohnen
bread rose zone already reside

Short o is pronounced as in the word “mother” or uh.

Onkel Stock kommst voll dort
uncle stick, piece come full there
Long u is pronounced as in the word “boot” or oo.
Bruder Schule Hut Stuhl Fuss/Fuß
brother school hat chair foot

Short u is pronounced as in the word “soot.”

und unter Butter Mutter Suppe
and under butter mother soup

 Vowel combinations
These pairings are important to consider when speaking in German. You have already
seen several such as the ie vowel pairing. What follows are basic rules to follow
regarding pronunciation of words in each combination. Note that words borrowed from
other languages are often pronounced as they are in their native language.
1. Aa is pronounced as a long ah sound. For example: Paar is pronounced “pahr” and it
means “pair.”
2. Ai is pronounced as a long i sound. For example, Aicher is the name of a famous
pictographer who designed a number of posters for the 1972 Olympic games in
Munich.
3. Au is pronounced as an ow sound. For example, Frau is pronounced “frow” and
means “woman” or “Mrs.”
4. Äu is pronounced as an oy sound. For example, Fräulein is pronounced “froy-line”
and means “Miss.”
5. Ee is pronounced as a long ay sound. For example, Seele is pronounced “say-luh”
and means “soul.”
6. Ei is pronounced as a long i sound. For example, Nein is pronounced “nine” and
means “no.”
7. Eu is also pronounced as an oy sound. For example, Eule is pronounced “oy-luh” and
means “owl.”
8. Ie is pronounced as a long e sound. For example, nieseln is pronounced “nee-zeln”
and it means “drizzle.”
9. Oo is pronounced as a long oh sound. For example, Boot is pronounced “bote” and
means “boat.”
American keyboards lack the umlauted vowels, however, they can be made in one of two
ways. Either include a letter -e after the vowel that requires an umlaut, or type them on
the keyboard using the following character codes. (Note: these codes are NOT required
when using a tablet or iPad. We will discuss the iPad version in class.)
On a standard QWERTY keyboard, hold the ALT key and using the numeric keypad, type:
Upper Case Lower Case
0196 Ä 0223 ß
0214 Ö 0228 ä
0220 Ü 0246 ö
0252 ü

 Consonant sounds and combinations

Some of the letter combinations in this section have an English equivalent. All of the
combinations make a sound different from any individual letter in the alphabet. Let’s
examine the rules that guide how to pronounce various consonant pairings.
1. Ch in standard German is pronounced like the ch in the Scottish word loch. One
could easily compare it to the sound a hissing cat makes.
2. Chs in the middle of a word is pronounced like the English letter x. Consider the
word wachsen which means “to grow.”
3. D at the end of a word or syllable in German is pronounced like an English t.
Examples include: Wind (wind), Grund (ground).
4. G at the end of a word is pronounced like an English k. Examples include: klug
(clever), vierzig (forty).
5. H before a vowel is pronounced like an h in the word “home.” Examples include:
Haus (house), Hut (hat).
6. When H appears after a vowel, it is silent. Example: wohnen (to reside, live).
7. J is pronounced like a y in the word “year.” Examples include: Jahr (year), Junge
(boy).
8. Both letters in the Pf combination are pronounced. The word Pfeffer means
“pepper.”
9. R is pronounced in one of two ways. It can be trilled like a Spanish r as in the word
“rose.” At the end of a word, it can also sound like a Boston-r as in the word Butter.
10. S is pronounced like a z in words like “Rose,” which means “rose.” When S appears at
the end of the word, it is pronounced like the word Glas (glass).
11. Sch is pronounced sh as in Schule, schwierig, Schwester, which mean “school,
difficult,” and “sister.”
12. Sp is pronounced shp as in the words spielen and Sport, which mean “play” and
“sport.”
13. Th does exist in German, but the h is silent. Example: Theater (theater).
14. V is pronounced like an English f. Example: von (from).
15. W is pronounced like an English v. Example: Wasser (water).
16. Z is pronounced as ts. Example: zehn (ten).
 Mini Assignment 5
This is a full class activity. Practice pronouncing these words out loud.

stehen waschen Schwester

sehen vier Sport
gehen arbeiten ich
Theater Zeigen mich
Pfeffer Klasse Seele
Pfiff Grund schön
wachsen Wind Mädchen
 Counting to 100
The following chart lists all the numbers from 0 to 100.

0 null 23 dreiundzwanzig 46 sechsundvierzig

1 eins 24 vierundzwanzig 47 siebenundvierzig
2 zwei 25 fünfundzwanzig 48 achtundvierzig
3 drei 26 sechsundzwanzig 49 neunundvierzig
4 vier 27 siebenundzwanzig 50 fünfzig
5 fünf 28 achtundzwanzig 51 einundfünfzig
6 sechs 29 neunundzwanzig 52 zweiundfünfzig
7 sieben 30 dreißig 53 dreiundfünfzig
8 acht 31 einunddreißig 54 vierundfünfzig
9 neun 32 zweiunddreißig 55 fünfundfünfzig
10 zehn 33 dreiunddreißig 56 sechsundfünfzig
11 elf 34 vierunddreißig 57 siebenundfünfzig
12 zwölf 35 fünfunddreißig 58 achtundfünfzig
13 dreizehn 36 sechsunddreißig 59 neunundfünfzig
14 vierzehn 37 siebenunddreißig 60 sechzig
15 fünfzehn 38 achtunddreißig 70 siebzig
16 sechzehn 39 neununddreißig 80 achtzig
17 siebzehn 40 vierzig 90 neunzig
18 achtzehn 41 einundvierzig 100 hundert
19 neunzehn 42 zweiundvierzig
20 zwanzig 43 dreiundvierzig
21 einundzwanzig 44 vierundvierzig
22 zweiundzwanzig 45 fünfundvierzig
 Common German Names
The following list shows the most popular German names for boys and girls (baby
names) in Germany over a period of more than 40 years—from 1957 to 2000. This
alphabetical list reflects a summary of the 10 most popular German first names for each
year during that period. Each name in the list was at one time a top ten name for one or
more years from 1957 to 2000. The list was compiled by the German Language Society
(Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache e.V. - GfdS).
Source: http://german.about.com/library/blname_topDE.htm, Taken August 19, 2014.

German Names for Boys and Girls

Deutsche Jungen- und Mädchennamen
GERMANY 1957-2000
In alphabetical order

BOYS GIRLS
Jungen Mädchen

Alexander Andrea
Andreas Angelika
Benjamin Anja
Bernd Anke
Christian Anna, Anne
Daniel Annett
David Antje
Dennis Barbara
Dieter Birgit
Dirk Brigitte
Dominik Christin
Eric, Erik Christina, Christine
Felix Claudia
Florian Daniela
Frank Diana
Jan Doreen
Jens Franziska
Jonas Gabriele
Jörg Heike
Jürgen Ines
Kevin Jana
 Klaus Janina
Kristian (Christian) Jennifer
Leon Jessica, Jessika
Lukas Julia
Marcel Juliane
Marco, Marko Karin
Mario Karolin
Markus Katharina
Martin Kathrin, Katrin
Mathias, Matthias Katja
Max Kerstin
Maximilian Klaudia (Claudia)
Michael Kristin (Christin)
Mike, Maik Laura
Niklas Lea
Patrick Lena
Paul Lisa
Peter Mandy
Philipp, Phillipp Manuela
Ralf, Ralph Maria
René Marie
Robert Marina
Sebastian Martina
Stefan, Stephan Melanie
Steffen Monika
Sven, Swen Nadine
Thomas Nicole
Thorsten, Torsten Petra
Tim Sabine
Tobias Sabrina
Tom Sandra
Ulrich Sara, Sarah
Uwe Silke
Wolfgang Simone
Sophia, Sophie
Stefanie, Stephanie
Susanne
Tanja
Ulrike
Ursula
 Uta, Ute
Vanessa
Yvonne

When addressing an adult male, use the word Herr, which in English is “mister.” When
addressing an adult female, use the word Frau, which means “missus. (Mrs.)” The
outdated term Fräulein is still sometimes used and means “Miss.” If an adult happens to
be a doctor, the formal way to address that person is “Herr Doktor” or “Frau Doktorin.”
 Mini Assignment 6
Say the following expressions in German:
1. Good morning, Dr. Schmidt!
2. Thank you, Sabine.
3. You’re very welcome, Reinhardt.
4. How are you, Mr. Mueller?
5. Goodbye, Mrs. Meier.
6. I am Mr. Braun.
7. My name is Mrs. Schneider.
8. Where do you live, Mr. Klingshirn?

 Cognates: True and False

A cognate is a word in one language that is similar in spelling and pronunciation to a
word in another language. Some words are true cognates, which means that the words
have the same meaning in both languages. Some examples of true cognates include:
der Hotel der Clown die Dame der Pilot der Student
Hotel Clown Lady (dame) Pilot Student

A "false cognate" is a word in one language that is identical or similar to a word in

another language, but does not mean the same thing. For instance, both German and
English have the word fast, but the German word means "almost."

The glossary shown on About.com shows the many German-English "false friends" and
other words that can be confusing. But don't forget that there are also many genuine
cognates shared by German and English. (Note: Technically and linguistically, cognate
words have the same root or "ancestor," but for our purposes we mean any "false
friend" that can confuse people learning a second language because of its close
resemblance to a word in their own language.)
Source: http://german.about.com/library/blfalsef.htm
 Assignment 1
Working in groups of three, create an introductory conversation in which two students
introduce themselves to a new student at school.
 Chapter 1 Vocabulary
bitte Please, you’re welcome ich I
danke Thank you Ja yes
Frau Mrs. Jahr (das) year
Guten Abend! Good evening! Junge (der) boy
Guten Morgen! Good morning! langsam slow
Gute Nacht! Good night! Mädchen (das) girl
Guten Tag! Good day! nein no
Hallo! Hello! sehr very
heiße To be named viel much
Herr Mr. Wer ist das? Who is that?
Wo ist das? Where is that?