Day 17 of 20

Day 17: Forty Viewings and a Spare Room

Visiting her grandmother Ingrid (B) in Mainz, Sophie (A) tells her how her search for a flat is going.

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, vierzig Besichtigungen, vierzig Absagen! Jedes Mal war die Wohnung schon vergeben.

    Grandma, forty viewings, forty rejections! Every time the flat was already taken.

  2. B

    Vierzig! Ich ging 1968 einfach zum Hausmeister und fragte nach einer Wohnung.

    Forty! In 1968 I simply went to the caretaker and asked about a flat.

  3. A

    Und das hat geklappt? Heute stehen bei jeder Besichtigung fünfzig Bewerber an.

    And that worked? Nowadays fifty applicants queue up at every viewing.

  4. B

    Er gab mir sofort den Schlüssel. Die Miete war 120 Mark, Kohleofen inklusive.

    He gave me the key on the spot. The rent was 120 marks, coal stove included.

  5. A

    Davon kann ich nur träumen. Mein WG-Zimmer ist ab November schon weitervermietet.

    I can only dream of that. My room in the flatshare is already let to someone else from November.

  6. B

    Dann nimm doch über den Winter mein Gästezimmer. Und frag mal meinen Hausmeister.

    Then have my spare room over the winter. And have a word with my caretaker.

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