# How are you?



## Dec14

How to say: "How are you" in German?


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## Frank78

"Wie geht´s dir?" (informal)
"Wie geht es Ihnen?"(formal)


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## Dec14

How to pronounce it? I just start learning and know nothing yet...


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## Frank78

Wie = wee 
geht  = as in "get" just a longer "e"
es = as 
dir = dear


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## brian

Frank78 said:


> Wie = *v*ee
> geht  = as in "get" just a longer "e"; I'd say more like "*gate*"
> es = as; I'd say more like "*ess*", i.e. the name of the letter "s"
> dir = dear


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## Namakemono

The formal version is pronounced "vee geht ess EE-nen".


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## Frank78

How do you pronounce "gate", Brian?

"gäiht" for me, but i was thought BE. The German geht has an /e:/

Ah you speak spanish Dec14, an IPA summary says its the same "E" as in Spanish "hombr*e*".  Just longer indicated by the colon.

Appendix: I´ve listen to it in the dictionary you´re right. The American "gate" comes close.


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## brian

English _gate_ does have a sort of "glide" in the vowel (almost like a diphthong, from /e/ to /ɪ/ --> /eɪ/), typical of English pronunciation, but it's the closest English equivalent to _geht_.


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## robthehero12

Wie geht's?/Wie geht's dir?-informal pronounsed- Vee gets/Vee gets der(the r is like the british r)
Wie geht es Ihnen?-formal- pronounsed- Vee get es EE-nen.


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## StryKeRneL

Frank78 said:


> How do you pronounce "gate", Brian?
> 
> "gäiht" for me, but i was thought BE. The German geht has an /e:/
> 
> Ah you speak spanish Dec14, an IPA summary says its the same "E" as in Spanish "hombr*e*".  Just longer indicated by the colon.
> 
> Appendix: I´ve listen to it in the dictionary you´re right. The American "gate" comes close.



I'd say that "get" comes closer.


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## robthehero12

StryKeRneL said:


> I'd say that "get" comes closer.



I think that "get" comes closer to the German pronounciation too!


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## brian

I don't at all...


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## mannibreuckmann

brian said:


> I don't at all...



Und das verstehe ich total.

"Geht" und "get" unterscheiden sich im Vokal - der erste ist lang bzw. offen und der zweite kurz bzw. geschlossen.

"Gate" hat auch einen langen, offenen Vokal und ist "geht" deshalb viel ähnlicher, auch wenn der Vokal selbst *etwas anders* klingt.


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## Frank78

mannibreuckmann said:


> Und das verstehe ich total.
> 
> "Geht" und "get" unterscheiden sich im Vokal - der erste ist *lang* bzw. offen und der zweite *kurz* bzw. geschlossen.



The lenght has nothing to do with the sound itself. You can stretch it 

get /get/ 
gate /geɪt/

geht /ge:t/

So get and gehen have the same "e" it´s just the lenght which differs.


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## mannibreuckmann

Frank78 said:


> The lenght has nothing to do with the sound itself. You can stretch it
> 
> get /get/
> gate /geɪt/
> 
> geht /ge:t/
> 
> So get and gehen have the same "e" it´s just the lenght which differs.



Hallo Frank,

abgesehen davon, dass ich oben "geschlossenes e" (wie in "geht") und "offenes e" (wie in "get") verwechselt habe (Asche auf mein Haupt!), so kann es doch keinen Zweifel geben, dass der Klang dieser beiden "e" völlig verschieden ist.

Entsprechend hat die Lautschrift hier auch verschiedene Zeichen ("e" bzw. "  ε")  vorgesehen.

Wenn ich "get" stretche, kommt nämlich nicht "geht", sondern "gäht" heraus.


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## brian

mannibreuckmann said:


> Hallo Frank,
> 
> abgesehen davon, dass ich oben "geschlossenes e" (wie in "geht") und "offenes e" (wie in "get") verwechselt habe (Asche auf mein Haupt!), so kann es doch keinen Zweifel geben, dass der Klang dieser beiden "e" völlig verschieden ist.
> 
> Entsprechend hat die Lautschrift hier auch verschiedene Zeichen ("e" bzw. "  ε")  vorgesehen.
> 
> Wenn ich "get" stretche, kommt nämlich nicht "geht", sondern "gäht" heraus.



Genau. 



Frank78 said:


> The lenght has nothing to do with the sound itself. You can stretch it
> 
> get /get/  */gεt/*
> gate /geɪt/
> 
> geht /ge:t/
> 
> So get and gehen have the same "e" it´s just the lenght which differs.


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## Frank78

brian said:


> Genau.



You´re right. I looked in other dictionaries, but our one is obviously wrong: http://www.wordreference.com/ende/get


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## Nice tella

*Moderator note: *The following postings have been split off from another thread where it was a second topic. 

Another question, *how are you?* to a lot of people (Not formal, for friends) would be

_Wie geht es ihr?_ 

I am not sure and I don't find the answer on the Internet, I found _Wie geht es Ihn_en but I reckon it's formal...


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## Frank78

Nice tella said:


> _Wie geht es *dir*?_
> 
> I am not sure and I don't find the answer on the Internet, I found _Wie geht es Ihn_en but I reckon it's formal...


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## Nice tella

Okay I am lost now, so if you say Wie geht es Ihnen to your friends, what do you say to your managers? Wie geht es Sie?


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## Carmen la nita

Yes I think so


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## Frank78

Wie geht es dir? - informal, to friends, relatives

Wie geht es Ihnen? - formal, to people of higher rank, strangers, etc

(You wrote it correctly. You said "Wie geht es Ihnen" is formal)

Again dative by the way:
Wie geht es mir/dir/ihm/ihr/uns/euch/ihnen?


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## Nice tella

I made a mistake sorry, I am looking for the formulation to say that to my friends (Plural)

I hope I am right if I say that it is:

Wie geht es euch?


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## Frank78

Nice tella said:


> I made a mistake sorry, I am looking for the formulation to say that to my friends (Plural)
> 
> I hope I am right if I say that it is:
> 
> Wie geht es euch?




You got it.


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## Nice tella

It's thanks to you!


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## Dec14

Ok, thanks for all your help...


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