Day 158 of 159

Day 158: Paid by the Bucket

In his grandmother's garden in Celle, Hugo (A), a boy with time on his hands in the autumn holidays, asks his grandmother Gabriele (B) about a job.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

  1. A

    Oma, was zahlst du mir eigentlich, wenn ich in den Herbstferien dein Unkraut rausmache?

    Grandma, what will you actually pay me if I pull up your weeds in the autumn holidays?

  2. B

    Einen Euro für jeden vollen Eimer. Und falls es regnet, bleibst du drin, sonst schimpft deine Mutter mit mir.

    A euro for every full bucket. And if it rains, you stay indoors, or your mum will tell me off.

  3. A

    Vier Eimer am Tag schaffe ich locker. Dann werde ich bis Sonntag zwanzig Euro verdient haben!

    I can easily do four buckets a day. So by Sunday I'll have earned twenty euros!

  4. B

    Du rechnest ja wie ein Kaufmann. Dein Vater wird dir wohl schon den Trick mit der Erde verraten haben.

    You do sums like a proper businessman. I expect your dad will have told you the trick with the soil by now.

  5. A

    Welcher Trick denn? Ich weiß gar nicht, wovon du redest.

    What trick? I've no idea what you're talking about.

  6. B

    Als er so alt war wie du, hat er unten Erde reingetan und oben nur ein bisschen Unkraut. Seitdem schaue ich in jeden Eimer.

    When he was your age, he put soil in the bottom and just a few weeds on top. Ever since, I've looked in every bucket.

  7. A

    Okay, dann verhandeln wir neu: 1,50 Euro pro Eimer, und du schaust nur in jeden zweiten?

    OK, then let's renegotiate: 1.50 euros a bucket, and you only look in every other one?

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