Alltagsdeutsch 8 Ausdrücke die du im Lehrbuch nicht findest

And with that a warm welcome to a new podcast episode What exactly does "don't worry about it whatever or actually too bad" mean Exactly those expressions we often use in everyday life which I think are at a non-native speaker might possibly have some trouble understanding it Exactly these words exactly these small phrases exactly these little sentence structures—today we'll examine them together If you're unsure how proficient your German is I have a free level test here It takes five maybe six or seven minutes And then you can finally see just how good your German really is You'll find the link below in the show notes So now we begin with the first idiom or this first little phrase we use so often It's "don't worry about it " Don't worry Don't worry What exactly does that mean "Don't worry" means something like "don't fret " For instance you say "Oh sorry I had to cancel our meeting the other day " And then the other person replies "Oh don't worry about it " I had a lot on my plate anyway Plenty on my mind That’s also a nice expression I was swamped with work You can leave a comment and tell me if you know what "I had a lot on my plate" means But we're focusing on the head Don't worry so don't stress yourself out A slightly different situation—don't worry if you tell someone that it's no problem they shouldn't feel guilty Something went wrong You were for instance a guest at a friend's place enjoying a delicious glass of red wine and spill the glass of red wine onto the elegant-looking carpet And you say oh I'm really sorry I mean my goodness sorry I spilled the red wine And then your friend hopefully says don't worry about it The carpet was already old We were planning to buy a new one anyway No problem Another situation where you can't use a head is when someone comes to you and says "I have this presentation tomorrow " and I hope I don't make any mistakes during the presentation that everything works with the technology and that I can say and do all of it smoothly What I'd like to present here And then hopefully the other person will also say to you don't worry You've prepared superbly You've spent the past three weeks doing nothing but practicing this presentation That will definitely work Don't worry about it So one tries to calm the other person down slightly and help them emotionally unwind a bit Then you could also say don't worry about it And next you're not serious are you Not serious expresses surprise Maybe even when you're shocked It can be positive but it can also be negative You're not serious are you In this situation you could apply it for instance as you're currently discussing your vacation plans with your wife or your girlfriend And you say oh by the way I bought two plane tickets to the Maldives Monday is when it all begins You're kidding how awesome is that We're flying to the Maldives on Monday Count me in You're not serious right Also in that case you're pushing positively I mean it could also be a negative surprise if your partner says Do we even have the money for it Why did you just book the flight tickets without discussing it first But that's often just positive because then everything's basically taken care of and you just need to pack your bags and head off Or perhaps another example where you want to show sympathy or empathy—maybe because someone's going through a rough patch Your colleague for instance comes into the office and tells you completely soaked absolutely drenched walks in and says My alarm didn't go off this morning so I overslept My coffee maker didn't work because someone had been messing with it Then I drove off in the car The car broke down so I'll have to walk to catch the bus I was completely soaked by the rain had to take the bus and now I'm here in the office And then your colleague says "You're kidding right " What kind of nightmare morning is this You're not serious So you're actually serious That's the direction we're headed You're showing a bit of compassion a touch of empathy for your colleague's morning misfortune Or another scenario if you respond in a slightly negative annoyed way You live in a shared apartment and someone puts an empty milk carton in the fridge And then next time at the flatmate gathering you ask who put an empty milk carton in the fridge And then your roommate says oh sorry I did that I meant to throw away the empty milk carton afterward but somehow I ended up putting it in the refrigerator And since you've had a terrible day and were already a bit annoyed to begin with Are you going to get annoyed in that situation and say "You can't be serious " or what It can't possibly be that hard—just grab the milk and toss it in the trash That might take about 10 maybe 12 seconds That’s how you could respond if you're feeling a bit annoyed And it's not just one-dimensional as you can see Next up I have the wonderful word Jein We've already covered this topic at some point in a previous podcast episode but I'd say we do it again because it's so nice and also fits this theme Jein is logical—yes and no And if someone asks you something and you're not entirely sure or don't want to be certain you can say "Jein " And here is a situation in which one might use "Jein": Someone asks you if you're happy if you're content having moved to Berlin and taken this job here Also after that there's a yes-or-no question when the question starts with a verb And then you say yes and no—one hand I like the job the pay is good and the work is fun too But on the other hand I miss my friends So well yes and no It's kind of a mix of yes and no There is also a negative aspect and a positive aspect And next I'll share something from my side From my side Hmm what exactly does that mean So as far as I'm concerned if you don't really care if it's all the same to you If you don't mind in any way then we can use it from my side For instance the child might ask when perhaps a bit older Can I stay up a little later tonight I'd like to watch the rest of the movie And then as a parent you might as well tell me But don't complain if you can't get out of bed tomorrow morning and feel completely exhausted I don't know if that's exactly exemplary parenting but in a situation like that you could say something like that I don't care Up to you Or a second scenario You might be wondering what you're having for dinner tonight And the other person asks can we eat pizza again tonight I know we already had pizza yesterday and we just had pizza earlier too But pizza is so delicious and I've just discovered this amazing new one And then you say well from my point of view we can always enjoy pizza again if we want Then maybe tomorrow we'll have a salad or something healthy Also no problem from my side—doesn't matter to me That's not particularly important to me We can definitely do that And next unfortunately I have That's a pity really What exactly does that mean When we express regret like that A little bit yes but in a way it's something we can't really change Such a subtle detail all the more unfortunate Oh really that's a pity That's truly regrettable That's what a shame would sound like in English Something like that Then we'd say actually too bad You could say it's a shame too But honestly "shame" still sounds a bit more natural I'd say Unfortunately the concert has been canceled You were just told huh Oh too bad really I was looking forward to the concert so much Wanted to see the performers I don't know just be there You could put it like that for example Or perhaps another similar situation You've made plans to go on a date And unfortunately the other person has to cancel on you I'm sorry but I'm currently under the weather and can't make it Then you say oh that's a pity really—I was looking forward to our meeting so much I booked the restaurant five weeks ago and I've already looked at the menu five times And I also wanted to spend time with you talk and so on What a pity really But of course I completely understand that you're unwell And that's why you can't come or don't want to come But maybe it'll work out next time And next I'll just see or check What exactly does that mean Well it' s kind of like not knowing what will happen in the future And you might also have a diplomatic response ready Because one doesn't want to commit For instance in a weather-related situation Shall we barbecue on Monday One person might ask And then you say well let's see So far that's how it looks according to the weather report on the weather app Whether it will rain on Monday or on the day we plan to grill Let's see maybe it won't rain after all The weather forecast changes all the time after all And then you can just say let's see what happens in the future How it will look in the future And then we'll decide whether we want to grill Or maybe try a little parent tactic here The child wants a new toy Some expensive toy could be nice So they ask can we go to the shopping center tomorrow And buy toy X Then you'll say well let's see how your school grades are You'll get your grades back from the last exams on Monday or something like that And then you'll say well we'll see Let's see how good your grades are If your grades are good then we can happily talk about buying the toy And that's basically a little parental trick Let's take a look That's another way you could use it And last but not least Unbelievable Or that's insane Absolutely unbelievable Amazing Crazy It can also be used negatively It can also be used in a negative way But it's often used positively That's crazy For instance you go to a friend's place and he shows you his new apartment And shows you how he personally installed the flooring Maybe he laid the tiles himself Perhaps he renovated the bathroom on his own And installed the kitchen himself And so on Then you could respond Incredible It looks like a professional did this Incredible Also incredible that you can do this so well Then you could say Crazy Another situation might be at a concert And you arrive at a concert And you see a huge line Not the kind of snake that zzt makes Especially the line where so many people are standing in a row And you see this line and say oh my god That's insane What kind of long line is that We'll have to wait at least four hours By the time we eventually get to the concert if we ever do So that's absolutely insane And finally one more negative variation You might see yourself on the news alongside another person News about a severe storm A severe storm in some region with flooding and the like And you'd say Crazy Hopefully nothing happens to anyone Madness Hopefully nothing happens to anyone So you could just say Madness You're showing astonishment in a way but in this case it's negative I hope you enjoyed this episode There are still many other phrases and expressions we use and I think some of them are a bit complicated As non-native speakers understanding it is one thing The other is being able to apply it And hopefully the podcast will help you understand the words at least a little And if you'd like to practice using the words then I can recommend my membership You'll find it in the show notes Just click there But of course there's also the free German level test There you can figure out roughly what level of German proficiency you're at within 5 6 or maybe 7 minutes Thank you so much Goodbye and see you next time