Learn German with Authentic Podcasts

Hallo, ich heiße Laura. Hi everybody, I'm Laura. Welcome to GermanPod101.com's Deutsch in drei Minuten, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn German. In the last lesson we learned the phrase Entschuldigen Sie? Sprechen Sie Englisch? Excuse me, do you speak English? We mentioned the word Entschuldigen Sie, which means excuse me in formal German. In this lesson we're going to learn how to use Entschuldigen Sie and other words when apologizing in German. We should use Entschuldigen Sie in formal situations, such as when we are ordering something in bars or restaurants. For example, Entschuldigen Sie ein Kaffee bitte? Excuse me, a coffee please. We can also use it when asking a question. Entschuldigen Sie, wo ist der Ausgang? Excuse me, where is the exit please? Sometimes we also hear people say bitte, which means the same thing when you want to draw somebody's attention. We use this phrase if we want to be polite. Bitte. The informal way to say excuse me is Entschuldige, Entschuldige. Just like Entschuldigen Sie, we can use Entschuldige when asking a question or when apologizing. We can also use the word Entschuldigung if you are not sure whether to use the formal or informal way. All of these phrases can be used for either excuse me or I'm sorry. But if you really want to apologize for something, it might be better to use a different phrase. That phrase is Es tut mir leid. It means I'm sorry and can be used in both formal and informal situations. Es tut mir leid. First we have es or it. Next we have the German word for to do, conjugated for the pronoun es, tut. The word mir is German for me. Finally we have leid, literally meaning sorrow. Es tut mir leid. Now it's time for Laura's insights. Please remember that in Germany, if you accidentally bump into someone, we don't say I'm sorry, es tut mir leid. Instead we say Entschuldigen Sie, Entschuldige or Entschuldigung. Are you able to count in German? In the next lesson we will learn the numbers in German from one to ten. I'll be waiting for you in our next Deutsch in drei Minuten Lesson. Bis bald zur nächsten Lektion.