Day 154: Moving In With the Seniors
In a café in Cottbus, Joscha (A) has some news for his friend Leyla (B) about where he wants to live.
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
Stell dir vor, ich habe mich für eine Wohnung in einem Mehrgenerationenhaus beworben. Nächste Woche lerne ich die anderen Bewohner kennen.
Guess what, I've applied for a flat in a multigenerational house. Next week I'm meeting the other residents.
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B
Ist das nicht etwas verfrüht? Du tust ja so, als ob du schon siebzig wärst und jemanden bräuchtest, der dir die Einkäufe hochträgt.
Isn't that a bit premature? You're acting as if you were seventy already and needed someone to carry your shopping upstairs.
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A
Umgekehrt: Die Jüngeren gehen den Älteren zur Hand, als Gegenleistung ist die Miete niedriger. Bei meinem Gehalt kommt so etwas durchaus in Frage.
It's the other way round: the younger ones give the older ones a hand, and in return the rent is lower. On my salary, something like that is definitely an option.
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B
Klingt ganz schön spießig, ab zehn Nachtruhe und sonntags Kaffeekränzchen. Du redest, als hättest du den Rollator schon bestellt.
Sounds pretty stuffy: quiet after ten and coffee and cake on Sundays. You talk as if you'd already ordered your walking frame.
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A
Rücksicht nehmen muss man überall, auch in meiner WG, wo die Nachbarin schon bei Zimmerlautstärke von unten an die Decke klopft. Da spielt das Alter keine Rolle.
You have to be considerate everywhere, including my flatshare, where the woman downstairs bangs on the ceiling even when the music's at a normal volume. Age doesn't come into it.
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B
Der Punkt geht an dich. Aber mal ehrlich, was reizt dich daran, abgesehen von der Miete?
Point taken. But seriously, what's the appeal, apart from the rent?
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A
Im Keller gibt es eine Gemeinschaftswerkstatt mit Drechselbank, die allen Bewohnern zur Verfügung steht. Ein pensionierter Tischler bringt einem dort das Drechseln bei.
In the basement there's a shared workshop with a lathe that all the residents can use. A retired carpenter teaches you woodturning there.
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B
Eine Drechselbank? Okay, das ist verlockend, ich wollte schon immer mal Holzschalen drechseln.
A lathe? OK, that's tempting: I've always wanted to turn wooden bowls.
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A
Dann tu nicht so, als ob du dafür zu jung wärst. Die suchen nämlich noch jemanden für die Wohnung im Erdgeschoss.
Then stop acting as if you were too young for it. As it happens, they're still looking for someone for the flat on the ground floor.
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