Trying on a new shirt | Learn German in English

German lesson set in a contemporary Berlin everyday setting: In a clothing shop, a customer asks about a shirt, tries it on, and checks the fit..

EN → DE / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Trying on a new shirt to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Ich brauche ein neues Hemd.

ikh BROW-khuh ayn NOY-uhs hemt. I need a new shirt.
B

Welche Farbe suchen Sie?

VEL-khuh FAR-buh ZOO-khen zee? What color are you looking for?
A

Etwas Blaues, wenn Sie es haben.

ET-vahs BLAOW-uhs, venn zee ess HAH-bən. Something blue, if you have it.
B

Hier ist eins in Ihrer Größe.

heer ist aynz in EE-rer GRUR-suh. Here is one in your size.
A

Kann ich es anprobieren?

kahn ikh ess ahn-proh-BEER-ən? Can I try it on?
B

Die Umkleidekabine ist gleich hier.

dee oom-KLY-duh-kah-BEE-nuh ist glykh heer. The changing room is just over here.
A

Es passt sehr gut.

ess pahst zair goot. It fits really well.
B

Es steht Ihnen gut.

ess shtayt EE-nuhn goot. It looks nice on you.

Word by Word

Ich Ich means “I” here and is the person who needs the shirt. It is the subject in “Ich brauche ein neues Hemd.” A reusable pattern is “Ich brauche …” when stating a personal need.
brauche brauche means “need” in this dialogue. It is the form used with Ich in “Ich brauche ein neues Hemd.” Use “brauche” with the thing you need, such as a product in a shop.
ein ein is the indefinite article meaning “a” before Hemd in “ein neues Hemd.” Its form belongs to this noun phrase with the neuter noun Hemd. The reusable pattern is “ein + adjective + noun” for one unspecified item.
neues neues means “new” and describes the shirt in “ein neues Hemd.” The ending in neues agrees with Hemd inside this noun phrase. Use an adjective before a noun when describing the item you want.
Hemd Hemd means “shirt” in “ein neues Hemd.” The citation form is also Hemd; with the definite article, it is das Hemd. In a clothing shop, use Hemd to identify this type of garment.
Welche Welche asks “which” or “what” in “Welche Farbe suchen Sie?” It introduces the question about the customer’s preferred color and agrees with Farbe in this phrase. A reusable pattern is “Welche + noun?” when asking someone to choose or identify something.
Farbe Farbe means “color” in “Welche Farbe suchen Sie?” The citation form is die Farbe. Use Farbe when asking about or describing the color of clothing or another item.
suchen suchen means “look for” in this shop question. In “Welche Farbe suchen Sie?”, it describes what the formal customer is looking for. The reusable pattern is suchen plus the thing or quality being sought.
Sie Sie means formal “you” in “Welche Farbe suchen Sie?” The capital letter marks the polite form used when speaking to a customer. Use Sie in respectful service conversations with someone you do not address informally.
Etwas Etwas means “something” here, referring to an unspecified item in “Etwas Blaues.” It allows the speaker to request an item without naming the garment again. A reusable pattern is “etwas + describing word” for an unspecified thing with a particular quality.
Blaues Blaues means “something blue” or “a blue item” in “Etwas Blaues.” It is the standalone form of the describing word after Etwas and is capitalized because it refers to an item. Use this pattern when requesting an unspecified item by its color.
wenn wenn means “if” in “wenn Sie es haben.” It introduces the condition that the shop has the requested blue item. In this subordinate clause, haben comes at the end; the reusable pattern is wenn + condition.
es es means “it” in “wenn Sie es haben,” referring to the requested blue item. It prevents the speaker from repeating the item’s name. Use es when the thing being discussed is already clear from the conversation.
haben haben means “have” in “wenn Sie es haben.” It expresses whether the shop has the requested item, and it appears at the end of the wenn-clause. A reusable pattern is haben plus the item that is available or possessed.
Hier Hier means “here” in “Hier ist eins in Ihrer Größe.” It points to the item the shop assistant is showing. The reusable pattern “Hier ist …” presents or points out something nearby.
ist ist means “is” in “Hier ist eins in Ihrer Größe.” It links the item with its location or presence here. The reusable pattern “Hier ist …” is useful when handing or showing someone an item.
eins eins means “one” here and stands for one shirt or one item already being discussed. In “Hier ist eins in Ihrer Größe,” it avoids repeating Hemd. Use a standalone number form like eins when the item is clear from context.
in in means “in” in the phrase “in Ihrer Größe,” meaning that the shirt is available in the customer’s size. Here it introduces the size category of the item. A reusable pattern is in + size information when describing clothing availability.
Ihrer Ihrer means formal “your” in “Ihrer Größe.” Its form belongs to the phrase with Größe and matches the polite Sie address. Use this formal possessive form when referring respectfully to a customer’s size or belongings.
Größe Größe means “size” in “in Ihrer Größe.” The citation form is die Größe. In a clothing shop, Größe is used to discuss which fit or measurement an item is available in.
Kann Kann means “can” in “Kann ich es anprobieren?” It begins a polite question asking for permission to try on the item. The reusable pattern “Kann ich …?” makes a request about an action.
anprobieren anprobieren means “try on” in “Kann ich es anprobieren?” It is the action of putting on the garment to check it. After Kann, it stays as the infinitive at the end of the question; use it with the item being tried on.
Die Die is the definite article meaning “the” before Umkleidekabine in “Die Umkleidekabine ist gleich hier.” It identifies a specific changing room in the shop. Use the definite article when the place is known or being pointed out.
Umkleidekabine Umkleidekabine means “changing room” in “Die Umkleidekabine ist gleich hier.” The citation form is die Umkleidekabine. Use it in a clothing shop when directing someone to the place where they can try on clothes.
gleich gleich means “just” or “right” in “gleich hier,” emphasizing that the changing room is very nearby. It adds emphasis to the location rather than naming a separate place. The reusable expression “gleich hier” points out something immediately nearby.
passt passt means “fits” in “Es passt sehr gut.” It describes how the shirt fits the person trying it on. The reusable pattern is an item or garment as the subject followed by passt and a description of the fit.
sehr sehr means “very” or “really” in “sehr gut.” It strengthens the positive description of how the shirt fits. Use sehr before a describing word to make its meaning stronger.
gut gut means “well” in “Es passt sehr gut.” Together with passt, it says that the shirt fits very well. The reusable expression sehr gut gives a strong positive evaluation.
steht In “Es steht Ihnen gut,” steht contributes the verb used to say how the shirt looks on the person. The full construction, not steht alone, means that the item looks good on someone. Use this clothing-related construction when giving a positive opinion about someone’s appearance in an item.
Ihnen Ihnen means formal “you” in “Es steht Ihnen gut.” It identifies the person on whom the shirt looks good and is used in this polite construction. Use Ihnen when speaking respectfully to a customer about how clothing looks on them.

Grammar Points

etwas + Adjektivendung -es

etwas Blaues

ET-vahs BLAOW-uhs

something blue

After etwas, a neuter adjective often takes the ending -es: etwas Blaues.

jemandem stehen/passen

steht Ihnen sehr gut

shtayt EE-nən zair goot

suits you very well

With stehen and passen, the person is in the dative: Ihnen means “to you.”

German Vocabulary

anprobieren verb
ahn-proh-BEER-ən to try on

Kann ich es anprobieren?

blau adj
BLAOW blue Blaues

Etwas Blaues

brauchen verb
BROW-khən to need brauche

Ich brauche ein neues Hemd.

etwas pron
ET-vahs something

Etwas Blaues

Farbe noun
FAR-buh color

Welche Farbe suchen Sie?

Größe noun
GRUR-suh size

in Ihrer Größe

haben verb
HAH-bən to have

wenn Sie es haben

Hemd noun
hemt shirt

ein neues Hemd

neu adj
NOY new neues

ein neues Hemd

suchen verb
ZOO-khən to look for; to search

Welche Farbe suchen Sie?

welche det
VEL-khuh which; what

Welche Farbe suchen Sie?

wenn conj
venn if; when

wenn Sie es haben

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I need a new shirt.

Show AnswerIch brauche ein neues Hemd.

What color are you looking for?

Show AnswerWelche Farbe suchen Sie?

Something blue, if you have it.

Show AnswerEtwas Blaues, wenn Sie es haben.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

blue

Show AnswerBlaues

if; when

Show Answerwenn

to need

Show Answerbrauche

to look for; to search

Show Answersuchen