Latest / Learn German with Fexingo / German Question Words: Wer & Was
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn German with Fexingo! I'm Lucas, and as always, I've got Luna here with me. Luna: Hey everyone! I'm so ready to learn some German today. Lucas: And we've got a fun one. We're going to talk about question words — specifically 'wer' and 'was'. Luna: Oh, like 'who' and 'what'? I could use those all the time. Lucas: Exactly. And before we jump in, if Fexingo has been helping you make progress with German, a couple of dollars a month really keeps these episodes going. You can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It genuinely makes a difference. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps us keep making these for you. Lucas: Alright, let's get into it. First up, 'wer'. It means 'who'. Luna: Wer. Who. Got it. Lucas: So if you see someone and you want to ask who that is, you say: Wer ist das? Luna: Wer ist das? Who is that? Lucas: Perfect. Let's try it slowly: Wer... ist... das. Luna: Wer ist das. Lucas: Now, if you want to ask someone who they are, you say: Wer bist du? Luna: Wer bist du? That's 'who are you'? Lucas: Exactly. And a natural response might be: Ich bin Luna. But we'll practice that more later. Luna: Okay, so 'wer' is for people. What about 'was'? Lucas: Good question. 'Was' means 'what'. So if you point at something and ask what it is, you say: Was ist das? Luna: Was ist das? What is that? Lucas: Yes. And for asking what someone is doing, you say: Was machst du? Luna: Was machst du? What are you doing? Lucas: Perfect. Let's do a quick scene. Imagine we're at a party. You see someone across the room and you ask me: Wer ist das? Luna: Wer ist das? Lucas: And I say: Das ist mein Freund. Then you ask: Was macht er? Luna: Was macht er? What is he doing? Lucas: Exactly. Now let's review. We have 'wer' for who, and 'was' for what. Luna: So I could ask: Wer bist du? And: Was machst du? Lucas: You got it. And remember, both start with a 'w' and end with a question mark. Luna: That's helpful. I always mix up which is which, but now it's clearer. Lucas: Great. Let's do one more: Wer ist dein Freund? That means 'Who is your friend?' Luna: Wer ist dein Freund? So 'dein' means 'your'. Lucas: Right. And you could answer: Mein Freund ist Tom. Luna: Mein Freund ist Tom. Nice. Lucas: Let's put it all together in a tiny conversation. I'll be you, and you be me. Ready? Luna: Ready. Lucas: Wer bist du? Luna: Ich bin Luna. Und wer bist du? Lucas: Ich bin Lucas. Was machst du? Luna: Ich lerne Deutsch. Was machst du? Lucas: Ich mache einen Podcast. Wer ist dein Freund? Luna: Mein Freund ist Tom. Und wer ist dein Freund? Lucas: Mein Freund ist Ben. Perfect. You did that so well. Luna: It's getting easier with practice. I love how simple these questions are. Lucas: And that's the beauty of question words. Once you know them, you can ask about almost anything. Luna: So today we have 'wer' and 'was'. Could we also say 'wo' and 'warum'? I think we learned those before. Lucas: We did! We covered 'wo' and 'warum' in Episode 203. So now you have a whole set of question words. Luna: That's awesome. I feel like I can start asking more questions in German. Lucas: And that's a great feeling. Let's do a quick recap of today's phrases. Luna: Okay, let me try: Wer ist das? Was ist das? Wer bist du? Was machst du? Wer ist dein Freund? Lucas: Perfect. You nailed all of them. Remember, repetition is key, so try using these in your daily life. Luna: I will. Thanks for another fun episode, Lucas. Lucas: Thank you, Luna. And thank you, listeners, for joining us. If you enjoyed this, consider supporting us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps. See you next time!