Day 21: Too Direct for Basel
In a café in Basel, Julia (A), a German who has just started work at a pharmaceutical company, asks her Swiss friend Lina (B) why her new colleagues find her emails rude.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Lina, meine neuen Kollegen finden meine Mails unhöflich, und ich verstehe beim besten Willen nicht, warum.
Lina, my new colleagues think my emails are rude, and for the life of me I can't see why.
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B
„Bitte schick mir die Zahlen bis morgen um zehn“? Das klingt in Basel wie eine Kriegserklärung.
'Please send me the figures by ten tomorrow'? In Basel that sounds like a declaration of war.
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A
Da steht doch „bitte“! In Hamburg gälte das schon als ausgesprochen herzlich.
It says 'please'! In Hamburg that would count as downright warm.
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B
Ein „bitte“ macht aus einem Befehl noch keine Bitte. Es hülfe, wenn du fragen würdest, ob es allenfalls möglich wäre.
A 'please' doesn't turn an order into a request. It would help if you asked whether it might possibly be feasible.
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A
Bis ich so eine Mail fertig hätte, wäre ich längst mit dem Velo, wie ihr sagt, hingefahren.
By the time I'd finished an email like that, I'd long since have cycled over on my Velo, as you call a bike here.
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B
Keine Sorge, geliefert wird hier genauso pünktlich, nur bestellt wird höflicher. Gib her, sofern du nichts gegen ein bisschen Zensur hast.
Don't worry, things get delivered just as punctually here, people just order more politely. Give it here, provided you don't mind a little censorship.
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A
Na schön, zeig mir, wie man in Basel um Zahlen bittet, ohne einen diplomatischen Zwischenfall auszulösen.
Fine, show me how you ask for figures in Basel without causing a diplomatic incident.
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B
„Hoi zäme, wäre es allenfalls möglich, mir die Zahlen bis morgen zukommen zu lassen? Merci vielmal und liebe Grüsse.“
'Hi all, might it possibly be feasible to let me have the figures by tomorrow? Many thanks and best wishes.'
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A
Keine Uhrzeit mehr, dafür Französisch, und mein ß hast du auch geklaut! Woher soll da jemand wissen, dass es eilt?
No time any more, French instead, and you've pinched my ß as well! How is anyone supposed to know it's urgent?
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B
Die Zahlen hast du um halb zehn, wetten? Und gibst du am Freitag noch einen Apéro zum Einstand, bist du so gut wie eingebürgert.
You'll have the figures by half past nine, I bet. And if you stand everyone an apéro on Friday to mark your start, you're as good as naturalised.
Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 22: A Peace Treaty for Christmas
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