Day 7: Splitting the Hedge Bill
In a row of terraced houses in Nürnberg, Claudia Köhler (A) and her neighbour Birgit Seitz (B) argue over who should pay the gardener to cut the tall hedge between their gardens.
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
Die Hecke steht auf Ihrem Grundstück, also zahlen Sie auch die 480 Euro für den Gärtner.
The hedge is on your land, so you're paying the gardener's 480 euros too.
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B
Da irren Sie sich: Mein Schwager ist Anwalt und sagt, die Hecke gehöre zu Ihrem Grundstück.
That's where you're wrong: my brother-in-law is a lawyer, and he says the hedge belongs to your property.
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A
Ihr Schwager war doch noch nie hier! Aus der Ferne lässt sich so etwas nicht beurteilen.
Your brother-in-law has never even been here! You can't judge something like that from a distance.
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B
Er meint, das sei auch nicht nötig: Die Grenze sei beim Vermessungsamt jederzeit einzusehen.
He says there's no need: the boundary can be looked up at the land survey office any time.
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A
Das Vermessungsamt können wir uns sparen: Diesen alten Lageplan habe ich gestern auf dem Dachboden gefunden.
We can forget the survey office: I found this old site plan in the attic yesterday.
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B
Tatsächlich, genau auf der Grenze! Dann ist die Rechnung wohl zu gleichen Teilen zu tragen.
Well I never, right on the boundary! Then I suppose the bill is to be split equally.
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A
Macht 240 Euro für jede. Das hätte Ihnen Ihr Schwager auch gleich sagen können.
That's 240 euros each. Your brother-in-law could have told you that straight away.
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