Reference · module 18
Work and formal German
Everything this module explains, on one page.
What you do
Say what your job is and ask about somebody else's.
- Ich bin Lehrer. No article, and that is the rule for every job: Ich bin Ärztin, er ist Ingenieur. Adding ein is the mark of a translation.
- The feminine form usually adds -in: Lehrer, Lehrerin. Arzt, Ärztin, with an umlaut. Using the masculine form for a woman is noticed.
- als means as when you say where you work: Ich arbeite als Lehrer bei einer Schule. It has nothing to do with als meaning than.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich bin ein Lehrer.
Ich bin Lehrer.
English cannot drop the article — I am a teacher — so ein comes with it. German leaves it out in front of a job, and ein Lehrer marks you as translating.
The formal Sie
Address a stranger correctly and know when to switch.
- Sie is the polite you, singular and plural, and it always takes a capital S. The verb is the same as for sie meaning they: Sie kommen.
- Use Sie with anybody you do not know, in every shop, office and email. du is for family, friends, children and, increasingly, colleagues under forty.
- The switch is offered, not taken: Wollen wir uns duzen? The older or more senior person offers it. Guessing wrong is the one mistake that stings.
The mistake you are about to make
Wie geht es du?
Wie geht es Ihnen?
English has one you for everybody, so nothing tells you when to switch. Anyone who has not invited you to say du gets Sie: shops, offices, letters, strangers.
Making an appointment
Book a time on the phone without improvising.
- Ich möchte einen Termin machen. That one sentence opens a doctor's surgery, a bank and a town hall alike.
- On the phone: Guten Tag, hier spricht Anna Weber. Germans give their surname first on a call, and answering with just Hallo is unusual.
- möchte is the polite would like, and könnte is could. Both are softer than will and kann and both belong in every formal request.
The mistake you are about to make
Hallo, ich bin Anna.
Guten Tag, hier spricht Anna Weber.
Answering a German phone with a bare hallo and a first name registers as odd. Germans give the surname straight away: hier spricht Anna Weber.
A short formal email
Open and close a formal email correctly.
- Sehr geehrte Frau Weber, or Sehr geehrter Herr Weber. The r on geehrter is for a man, and getting it wrong is the first thing a reader sees.
- The first line after the greeting starts with a small letter, because the comma after the name is not a full stop. This surprises almost everybody.
- Close with Mit freundlichen Grüßen and your name. Nothing warmer is expected in a first email, and nothing colder is polite.
The mistake you are about to make
Sehr geehrte Herr Weber
Sehr geehrter Herr Weber
Nothing changes in English between Dear Mr and Dear Ms, so geehrte gets copied across. A man takes the extra r, and it is the first thing a German reader notices.