Finding the restroom during a lesson break | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: During a language lesson break, two adults talk about the break and how to find the restroom..

EN → DE / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Finding the restroom during a lesson break to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Wie lange dauert die Pause?

Vee LAHNG-uh DOW-uht dee POW-zuh? How long is the break?
B

Die Pause dauert zehn Minuten.

Dee POW-zuh DOW-uht tsayn mee-NOO-ten. The break is ten minutes long.
A

Wo ist die Toilette?

Voh ist dee twa-LET-uh? Where is the restroom?
B

Geh aus dem Raum und dann nach rechts.

Gay OWS daym ROWM oont dahn nahkh REKHTS. Go out of the room and turn right.
A

Ich glaube, ich kann sie finden.

Ikh GLOW-buh, ikh kahn zee FIN-den. I think I can find it.
B

Ich warte hier, bevor der Unterricht wieder anfängt.

Ikh VAHR-tuh heer, beh-FOHR dair OON-ter-rikht VEE-duh AHN-fengt. I will wait here before class starts again.

Word by Word

Wie “Wie” means “how” here and introduces the question “Wie lange dauert die Pause?” It is used with lange to ask about duration. Use “Wie lange ...?” when asking how long something lasts.
lange “lange” means “long” here and asks about the duration of the break in “Wie lange dauert die Pause?” Together with Wie, it forms a duration question rather than describing physical length. A reusable pattern is “Wie lange ...?” for asking about time.
dauert “dauert” means “lasts” in “Wie lange dauert die Pause?” and “Die Pause dauert zehn Minuten.” It describes the amount of time an event or period continues. It commonly appears with a duration such as “zehn Minuten.”
die “die” is the definite article in “die Toilette,” meaning “the restroom,” while the sentence-initial form appears as “Die” in “Die Pause.” It introduces the specific nouns Pause and Toilette mentioned in the dialogue. Use the article directly before the noun it identifies.
Pause “Pause” means “break” in “Die Pause dauert zehn Minuten” and “Wie lange dauert die Pause?” It refers to the period when the lesson is stopped. It can be reused when asking about or describing the length of a break.
Minuten “Minuten” means “minutes” in “zehn Minuten,” the duration of the break. It names the time units used after the number zehn. Use a number directly with a time unit when giving a duration.
Wo “Wo” means “where” and introduces the location question “Wo ist die Toilette?” It asks for the place where something is located. Use “Wo ist ...?” when asking where a person or thing is.
ist “ist” means “is” in “Wo ist die Toilette?” and links the restroom with its location. Here it is used in a question about where something can be found. A reusable pattern is “Wo ist ...?” for asking about a location.
Toilette “Toilette” means “restroom” or “toilet” in “Wo ist die Toilette?” It is the place the speaker is trying to find during the break. Use it when asking for or referring to a restroom.
Geh “Geh” means “go” in the instruction “Geh aus dem Raum und dann nach rechts.” It tells one person what action to take to reach the restroom. It is useful when giving a direct direction to someone.
aus “aus” means “out of” in “aus dem Raum,” showing movement from inside the room to outside it. It works together with the place expression rather than meaning simply “outside” here. A reusable pattern is “aus dem ...” for moving out of a place.
dem “dem” is the article used with Raum in the expression “aus dem Raum,” meaning “out of the room.” Its form belongs to the prepositional phrase introduced by aus. Reuse the whole pattern “aus dem Raum” when describing leaving the room.
Raum “Raum” means “room” in “aus dem Raum.” It identifies the place the listener should leave before turning right. Use it with a location or movement expression when referring to a room.
und “und” means “and” in “Geh aus dem Raum und dann nach rechts.” It connects the instruction to leave the room with the next direction. Use it to join two related actions or directions.
dann “dann” means “then” in “und dann nach rechts.” It marks the next step after leaving the room. Use it when giving directions or instructions in a sequence.
nach “nach” contributes the directional meaning in “nach rechts,” meaning “to the right.” It connects the movement with the direction that follows. Use “nach” with a direction such as “nach rechts” when telling someone where to go.
rechts “rechts” means “to the right” in “nach rechts.” It gives the direction for the second movement after leaving the room. Use it in the expression “nach rechts” when guiding someone.
Ich “Ich” means “I” in “Ich glaube” and “Ich warte hier.” It identifies the speaker as the person thinking or waiting. Use it at the beginning of a statement about your own action or opinion.
glaube “glaube” means “think” or “believe” in “Ich glaube, ich kann sie finden.” It introduces the speaker’s view that finding the restroom should be possible. A reusable pattern is “Ich glaube, ...” before a statement expressing your opinion.
kann “kann” means “can” or “am able to” in “ich kann sie finden.” It expresses the speaker’s ability to find the restroom. It is used with an infinitive, here finden, in the construction “kann sie finden.”
sie “sie” means “it” in “ich kann sie finden” and refers back to “die Toilette.” It is the object of finden, so the speaker can find the restroom. Use a pronoun like this to refer back to a noun already understood from the conversation.
finden “finden” means “find” in “ich kann sie finden.” It appears after kann as the action the speaker is able to perform. After a modal verb such as kann, the action verb remains in its infinitive form.
warte “warte” means “wait” in “Ich warte hier,” where the speaker says they will wait at this place. It expresses the speaker’s own waiting while the other person looks for the restroom. “Ich warte hier” is a reusable way to say that you will wait in a particular place.
hier “hier” means “here” in “Ich warte hier.” It identifies the place where the speaker will wait. Use it after an action when you want to specify that the action happens at the current place.
bevor “bevor” means “before” and introduces the time clause “bevor der Unterricht wieder anfängt.” It shows that the waiting happens before the class starts again. Use “bevor” to connect an action with something that has not happened yet.
der “der” is the definite article in “der Unterricht,” meaning “the class” or “the lesson.” It introduces the specific class that will start again. Use the article directly before the noun when referring to this particular class.
Unterricht “Unterricht” means “class” or “lesson” in “der Unterricht wieder anfängt.” It refers to the lesson that is currently on a break and will start again. Use it when talking about a lesson or teaching session.
wieder “wieder” means “again” in “wieder anfängt.” It shows that the class starts another time after the break. Use it with an action that resumes or happens again.
anfängt “anfängt” means “starts” or “begins” in “der Unterricht wieder anfängt.” The citation form is anfangen; the dialogue form anfängt appears at the end of the clause introduced by bevor. Together, “wieder anfängt” describes the class starting again after the break.

Grammar Points

Wie lange dauert + Subjekt?

Wie lange dauert die Pause?

Vee LAHNG-uh DOW-uht dee POW-zuh?

How long does the break last?

In a German question with a question word, the conjugated verb comes before the subject.

bevor + Nebensatz: Verb am Ende

Warte hier, bevor der Unterricht wieder anfängt.

VAHR-tuh heer, beh-FOHR dair OON-ter-rikht VEE-duh AHN-fengt.

Wait here before the class starts again.

After bevor, the conjugated verb moves to the end of the subordinate clause.

German Vocabulary

aus prep
OWS out of; from
dann adv
DAHN then
dauern verb
DOW-ern to last dauert
der Raum noun
dair ROWM the room Raum
die Minute noun
dee mee-NOO-tuh the minute Minuten
die Pause noun
dee POW-zuh the break Pause
die Toilette noun
dee twa-LET-uh the restroom Toilette
gehen verb
GAY-en to go Geh
nach rechts phrase
nahkh REKHTS to the right
Wie lange phrase
Vee LAHNG-uh how long

Wie lange dauert die Pause?

wo adv
voh where
zehn num
tsayn ten

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

How long is the break?

Show AnswerWie lange dauert die Pause?

The break is ten minutes long.

Show AnswerDie Pause dauert zehn Minuten.

Where is the restroom?

Show AnswerWo ist die Toilette?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

ten

Show Answerzehn

to last

Show Answerdauert

the break

Show AnswerPause

the minute

Show AnswerMinuten