Latest / Learn German with Fexingo / German Directions: Straight Ahead
Transcript
- Lucas: Hello again, and welcome back to Learn German with Fexingo. I'm Lucas, and as always, Luna is here with me. Luna: Hi, hi! I'm so ready to learn some more German. Last time we did left and right, which was super useful. Lucas: Right, we did 'nach links' and 'nach rechts'. And today we're going to build on that. We're going to talk about going straight ahead and giving directions a little more. Luna: Oh, I like that. I always get lost, so this is perfect. Lucas: Then let's start with the most important one: 'geradeaus'. That means 'straight ahead'. Let's say it together: geradeaus. Luna: geradeaus. Gera-deaus. That's a mouthful. Lucas: You've got it. Just a little slower: geradeaus. And again, normal speed: geradeaus. Luna: geradeaus. Okay, straight ahead. That's easy to remember because it sounds kind of like 'straight out'. Lucas: Oh, that's a nice trick. So when someone asks for directions, you can say 'Gehen Sie geradeaus' — go straight ahead. Luna: Gehen Sie geradeaus. So if I'm at the train station and I need to get to the hotel, I just go straight ahead. Lucas: Exactly. Now let's add a little more detail. What about 'an der Ecke'? That means 'at the corner'. Luna: an der Ecke. So the corner, like 'die Ecke'? We had that in our baking episode, right? 'Ecke' is corner. Lucas: You're right. So 'an der Ecke' — at the corner. For example: 'Die Apotheke ist an der Ecke.' The pharmacy is at the corner. Luna: Die Apotheke ist an der Ecke. That's useful. I always need the pharmacy. Lucas: Now, what about turning? We had 'nach links' and 'nach rechts'. Today we'll say 'links abbiegen' and 'rechts abbiegen' — to turn left, to turn right. Luna: links abbiegen, rechts abbiegen. So instead of 'nach links gehen', we can say 'links abbiegen'. Lucas: Exactly. 'Abbiegen' is 'to turn'. So 'Biegen Sie links ab' — turn left. And 'Biegen Sie rechts ab' — turn right. Luna: Biegen Sie links ab. That's a bit formal, right? What about with friends? Lucas: You can say 'Bieg links ab' for a friend. But today we'll stick with the formal 'Sie' form, which is always polite. Luna: Okay, good. So I'm walking, someone asks me where the subway is. I need to say 'Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station?' Lucas: Oh, that's a great phrase. 'Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station?' — Where is the subway station? Let's break it down: 'die U-Bahn-Station' is the subway station. Luna: die U-Bahn-Station. I've heard 'die U-Bahn' before. So the station is the same word in English, just with a German article. Lucas: Right. So you can ask: 'Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station?' And someone might answer: 'Gehen Sie geradeaus und dann links abbiegen.' Go straight ahead and then turn left. Luna: That's a whole sentence. Let me try: Gehen Sie geradeaus und dann links abbiegen. Lucas: Perfect. You just gave directions in German. I'm proud of you. Luna: I'm pretty proud of myself too. So let's practice a mini conversation. I'll ask you where the station is, and you give me directions. Lucas: Sounds good. Go ahead. Luna: Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station? Lucas: Gehen Sie geradeaus bis zur Ecke, dann rechts abbiegen. Die Station ist an der Ecke. Luna: Whoa, that was fast. Let me catch up. 'Gehen Sie geradeaus' — go straight, 'bis zur Ecke' — until the corner, 'dann rechts abbiegen' — then turn right. And the station is at the corner. Okay, I think I got it. Lucas: You got it. And that's actually a really natural way to give directions in German. Luna: Okay, I want to try giving directions back to you. So you ask me where the station is, and I'll answer. Lucas: Alright. Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station? Luna: Gehen Sie geradeaus, dann links abbiegen. Die Station ist an der Ecke. Lucas: That was perfect. You just gave me flawless directions. Luna: I feel like I could find my way around Berlin now. Lucas: Well, that's the goal. And speaking of goals, if today's episode helped you feel a little more confident with German, we have a tiny ask. If it was worth a coffee to you, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps us going, ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it really helps us keep making these episodes. And we appreciate every bit of support. Lucas: But let's get back to directions. We have one more phrase that's super handy: 'an der Kreuzung' — at the intersection. But we'll save that for another time. Luna: Oh, tease. I'll just keep practicing what we learned: geradeaus, an der Ecke, links abbiegen, rechts abbiegen, and Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station? Lucas: Perfect. Let's do a quick recap. Repeat after me: geradeaus. Luna: geradeaus. Lucas: an der Ecke. Luna: an der Ecke. Lucas: links abbiegen. Luna: links abbiegen. Lucas: rechts abbiegen. Luna: rechts abbiegen. Lucas: And Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station? Luna: Wo ist die U-Bahn-Station? Lucas: And one more time, all together: Gehen Sie geradeaus und dann links abbiegen. Luna: Gehen Sie geradeaus und dann links abbiegen. Lucas: There you go. You're ready to navigate any German city. Practice these and you'll be amazed how far you get. Luna: And don't forget to check out Fexingo for more great language content. See you next time! Lucas: Bis bald!