Basic routines and family | Learn German in English

About This Lesson

Use Basic routines and family to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Ich gehe ins Bett.

ikh GAY-uh ins BET I am going to bed.

Ich wache früh auf.

ikh VAH-khuh fryoo owf I wake up early.

Ich gehe zur Arbeit.

ikh GAY-uh tsoo-uh AHR-bite I go to work.

Ich gehe zur Schule.

ikh GAY-uh tsoo-uh SHOO-luh I go to school.

Ich bin bei meiner Familie.

ikh bin bye MY-nuh fa-MEE-lee-uh I am with my family.

Das ist mein Freund.

dahs ist mine FROYNT This is my friend.

Word by Word

Ich “Ich” means “I” and is the subject of the sentence, as in “Ich gehe ins Bett.” It is used at the beginning of these simple statements to show who is acting or being described. New example: “Ich bin müde.”

gehe “gehe” means “go” or “am going” in “Ich gehe ins Bett” and is the form of “gehen” used with “Ich”. It is commonly followed by a destination, such as “ins Bett”, “zur Arbeit”, or “zur Schule”. You can use it when saying where you are going.

ins “ins” contributes the meaning “to the” or “into the” in the exact phrase “ins Bett”. It is the contracted form of “in das” and is used here before “Bett” to express movement toward the bed. New example: “Ich gehe ins Haus.”

Bett “Bett” means “bed” in “Ich gehe ins Bett.” Together with “ins”, it names the destination of the movement. You can use “Bett” when talking about going to bed or being in bed.

wache “wache” means “wake” in “Ich wache früh auf” and is the form of “aufwachen” used with “Ich”. The verb is separated here: “wache” appears after “Ich”, while “auf” appears at the end. You can use it when describing your usual time of waking up.

früh “früh” means “early” in “Ich wache früh auf.” It tells when the waking up happens and is placed before the separated “auf”. New example: “Ich stehe früh auf.”

auf “auf” is the separated part of “aufwachen” in “Ich wache früh auf”; together, the expression means “wake up”. It appears at the end of this simple sentence while “wache” stays near the subject. You can use this pattern to talk about waking up at a particular time.

zur “zur” means “to the” in “zur Arbeit” and “zur Schule”. It is the contracted form of “zu der” and is used here before the destination nouns “Arbeit” and “Schule”. You can reuse the pattern “zur + destination” when saying where you are going.

Arbeit “Arbeit” means “work” in “Ich gehe zur Arbeit.” With “zur”, it names the destination of going to work. You can use this expression when describing your commute or daily routine.

Schule “Schule” means “school” in “Ich gehe zur Schule.” With “zur”, it names the destination of going to school. You can use this expression when talking about attending or going to school.

bin “bin” means “am” in “Ich bin bei meiner Familie” and is the form of “sein” used with “Ich”. Here it introduces the situation of being with the family rather than movement toward a place. You can use “Ich bin …” to say where you are or how you are.

bei “bei” means “with” or “at” in “Ich bin bei meiner Familie.” It connects “bin” with the person or group whose place or company is involved. You can reuse “bei + person or group” when saying that you are with someone or at someone’s place.

meiner “meiner” means “my” in the exact phrase “bei meiner Familie.” This is the form used before “Familie” in this phrase, so the possessive word matches the surrounding construction. You can reuse it in the pattern “bei meiner …” when referring to something belonging to you.

Familie “Familie” means “family” in “Ich bin bei meiner Familie.” Together with “bei meiner”, it identifies the people whose company you are in. You can use “Familie” when talking about spending time with your relatives.

Das “Das” means “this” in “Das ist mein Freund.” It points to the person or thing being introduced or identified. You can use “Das ist …” to present or identify someone or something.

ist “ist” means “is” in “Das ist mein Freund” and is a form of “sein”. It links “Das” with the person being identified after it. You can reuse “Das ist …” when introducing a person or identifying an object.

mein “mein” means “my” in “Das ist mein Freund.” It shows that “Freund” is connected to the speaker. You can reuse the pattern “mein + noun” when identifying something or someone as yours.

Freund “Freund” means “friend” in “Das ist mein Freund.” With “mein”, it identifies the person being introduced. You can use “Freund” when telling someone who a male friend is.

Grammar Points

aufwachen → wache ... auf

Ich wache früh auf.

ikh VAH-khuh fryoo owf

I wake up early.

With separable verbs, the prefix moves to the end of the main clause: wache ... auf.

ins + noun

Ich gehe ins Bett.

ikh GAY-uh ins BET

I go to bed.

ins is the contraction of in + das, used here before Bett.

German Vocabulary

Arbeit noun

AHR-bite work

aufwachen verb

OWF-vah-khuhn to wake up wache ... auf

bei prep

bye with; at

Bett noun

BET bed

früh adv

fryoo early

gehen verb

GAY-uhn to go gehe

Ich pron

ikh I

ins Bett phrase

ins BET to bed

Schule noun

SHOO-luh school

sein verb

zine to be bin

zur Arbeit phrase

tsoo-uh AHR-bite to work

zur Schule phrase

tsoo-uh SHOO-luh to school

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I am going to bed.

Show Answer

Ich gehe ins Bett.

I wake up early.

Show Answer

Ich wache früh auf.

I go to work.

Show Answer

Ich gehe zur Arbeit.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

to go

Show Answer

gehe

bed

Show Answer

Bett

early

Show Answer

früh

work

Show Answer

Arbeit