It also requires you to know what actions to perform when you encounter a German. A lively introduction to the language in ten short parts. The first minute or so sets the stage for the rest of your talk. You want to quickly gain the attention, interest, and respect of your audience. The first impression you make lasts. 1. You should start with an upbeat, positive mood. BBC Languages - Learn German in your own time and have fun with Talk German. German grammar is more complex than, but sufficiently similar to, English that "reading" German is possible with minimal vocabulary in the sense that the student should generally recognize the parts of a sentence. Greeting someone in German is more than just knowing the right words. Guten Tag – “Good day” Guten Tag is the German “hello” that's best-known to English speakers. Unit on introducing yourself and others. So please keep the following in mind when writing a letter. The Opening For a formal email. Do you kiss the other or shake hands? You may think that you won’t need to write a letter in German in the mid-2010s, but think again. Try rubbing your nose with a German (and share your experience with us for a good laugh - after you have gotten over the other one's shocked reaction). Guten means “good” (it's the masculine accusative form of gut). Germany actually still relies on snail mail for many matters of official business. Easy! He just has to show up, talk to each woman for two minutes, and decide if any of them seem like a good match. Always say good-bye when leaving a group of German speakers. Auf Wiedersehen - Good-bye (quite formal) Tschüß - Bye (rather informal) Bis bald - See you soon It's slightly formal, but only slightly. Not adhering to these formalities, you risk sounding rude and impertinent. Now just add the right word for the time of day: As mentioned, Germans tend to pay close attention to formalities and you don't want to stick out in a negative way. Learn German with this short introductory course. A good introduction to the delivery of your presentation is extremely important. In German, there are far more stipulations when writing a formal letter. With a good dictionary or an online translator, an English speaker can usually translate a German sentence close to correctly. Watch and listen to the clips and have a look at the key language and transcripts if needed. Audio, video and quizzes. The most important aspect of letter-writing in German is to determine whether it will be a formal or casual letter.