Getting Ready for Cold Weather | Learn German in English

About This Lesson

Use Getting Ready for Cold Weather to practice German conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an.

DROW-sen fyoolt ess zikh KAHLT AHN. It feels cold outside.

Trag deinen Schal.

TRAHG DYE-nen SHAHL. Wear your scarf.

Brauche ich auch Handschuhe?

BROW-khuh ikh owkh HAHNT-shoo-uh? Do I need gloves too?

Sie halten deine Hände warm.

ZEE HALL-ten DYE-nuh HEN-duh VARM. They'll keep your hands warm.

Wo sind meine Handschuhe?

VOH zint MY-nuh HAHNT-shoo-uh? Where are my gloves?

Sie liegen neben deinem Mantel.

ZEE LEE-gen NAY-ben DYE-nem MAHN-tel. They're next to your coat.

Ich ziehe sie an, bevor ich rausgehe.

ikh TSEE-uh zee AHN, bə-VOHR ikh ROWS-gay-uh. I'll put them on before I go.

Dann bist du bereit für die Kälte.

DAHN bist doo beh-RITE fyoor dee KEL-tuh. Then you'll be ready for the cold.

Word by Word

Draußen Draußen means “outside” here and sets the location of the feeling. Use it to say where something is happening, as in Draußen ist es kalt for a new example. It is useful when talking about conditions outside before going out.

fühlt fühlt contributes “feels” in Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an, describing how the weather seems to someone. Here it is part of the construction fühlt sich ... an, whose full meaning is “feels.” Use fühlt sich ... an to describe how something seems or feels.

es es is the grammatical subject in Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an; together with sich, it refers to the general situation or weather. This small subject is used in the same kind of impersonal description as Es ist kalt for a new example. Use it when describing general conditions rather than a specific person.

sich sich refers back within Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an and helps form the expression “feels” for the situation. It cannot be understood as a separate “itself” meaning here; fühlt ... sich ... an works as one construction. Use the pattern Es fühlt sich ... an when describing how something feels.

kalt kalt means “cold” in Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an and describes the outside temperature or sensation. It follows fühlt sich in this description: fühlt sich kalt an. Use kalt when talking about cold weather or something that feels cold.

an an completes the separable expression fühlt sich ... an in Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an. The meaning comes from the whole expression, not from an alone. Keep an at the end in this main-clause pattern when describing how something feels.

Trag Trag means “wear” in the instruction Trag deinen Schal. It is the direct-address form used to tell one person to put on or wear something. Use the pattern Trag deinen ... when advising someone to wear a clothing item in cold weather.

deinen deinen means “your” in Trag deinen Schal and identifies the scarf as belonging to the person being addressed. Its form fits the masculine object Schal in this instruction. Use deinen before a masculine object when addressing one person informally, as in Trag deinen Mantel for a new example.

Schal Schal means “scarf” in Trag deinen Schal. It is the clothing item that the listener is told to wear. Use it after a verb such as Trag when telling someone to put on their scarf.

Brauche Brauche means “need” in Brauche ich auch Handschuhe? and asks whether the speaker needs another item. The question places Brauche before the subject ich. Use Brauche ich ...? to ask whether you need something in a particular situation.

ich ich means “I” in Brauche ich auch Handschuhe? and identifies the person asking about their own need. It follows the question verb Brauche here. Use ich when speaking about yourself, especially in questions such as Brauche ich ...?

auch auch means “also” or “too” in Brauche ich auch Handschuhe?, adding gloves to the scarf already mentioned. It comes before the item being asked about in this question. Use auch when adding one more person, thing, or action to the context.

Handschuhe Handschuhe means “gloves” in Brauche ich auch Handschuhe? and Wo sind meine Handschuhe? The same plural word names the hand coverings being considered and then located. Use Handschuhe when asking about or discussing gloves for cold weather.

Sie Sie means “they” at the start of Sie halten deine Hände warm, referring to the gloves. The lowercase form sie in Sie liegen neben deinem Mantel has the same “they” reference; the capitalization there is only sentence position in the supplied word unit’s surface forms. Use sie or sentence-initial Sie to refer back to plural items such as gloves.

halten halten means “keep” in Sie halten deine Hände warm, explaining what the gloves do for the hands. It forms the pattern etwas hält etwas warm, with the gloves as the thing doing the action and the hands as its object. Use this pattern when explaining that clothing or another item keeps a body part warm.

deine deine means “your” in deine Hände and identifies the hands as belonging to the person addressed. It appears before the plural noun Hände. Use deine before a plural noun when speaking informally to one person, as in deine Schuhe for a new example.

Hände Hände means “hands” in Sie halten deine Hände warm. It names the body part that the gloves protect from the cold. Use Hände when talking about keeping, washing, or hurting someone’s hands.

warm warm means “warm” in Sie halten deine Hände warm and describes the result for the hands. It completes the pattern halten ... warm rather than naming a separate object. Use warm after a verb such as halten when describing a maintained temperature.

Wo Wo means “where” in Wo sind meine Handschuhe? and introduces a question about location. It comes at the beginning of this question before the verb sind. Use Wo sind ...? to ask where plural things are.

sind sind means “are” in Wo sind meine Handschuhe? and asks about the location of the gloves. Here it links the question word Wo with the plural subject meine Handschuhe. Use sind with plural things when asking or stating where they are.

meine meine means “my” in meine Handschuhe and shows that the gloves belong to the speaker. It comes before the plural noun Handschuhe. Use meine before a plural noun when identifying something as your own, as in meine Schuhe for a new example.

liegen liegen means “are lying” or “are located” in Sie liegen neben deinem Mantel, giving the gloves’ position. It is used for the resting location of the gloves rather than for an action of moving them. Use liegen when saying where an object is placed or resting.

neben neben means “next to” or “beside” in Sie liegen neben deinem Mantel and specifies the gloves’ location relative to the coat. It is followed here by the location phrase deinem Mantel. Use neben to describe one object being beside another.

deinem deinem means “your” in deinem Mantel and identifies the coat as belonging to the person addressed. Its form appears after neben with the masculine noun Mantel in this location phrase. Use deinem before a masculine noun in a comparable phrase such as neben deinem Stuhl for a new example.

Mantel Mantel means “coat” in deinem Mantel and identifies the item beside which the gloves are located. It is a piece of clothing relevant to getting ready for cold weather. Use Mantel when talking about wearing or finding a coat.

ziehe ziehe contributes the action of putting on in Ich ziehe sie an, before ich rausgehe. The full separable construction ziehe ... an means “put on,” with sie referring to the gloves. Use the pattern Ich ziehe ... an when saying that you are putting on a clothing item.

bevor bevor means “before” in Ich ziehe sie an, bevor ich rausgehe and connects the action of putting on the gloves with the later action of going outside. In the clause after bevor, the verb appears at the end: bevor ich rausgehe. Use bevor to order two actions in time.

rausgehe rausgehe means “go outside” in bevor ich rausgehe. It expresses the later action that has not happened yet when the gloves are put on. Use it after bevor when saying that one action happens before going outside.

Dann Dann means “then” in Dann bist du bereit für die Kälte and marks the result that follows the earlier actions. It appears at the beginning of the sentence and links the preparation with being ready. Use Dann when describing what happens next or what follows from a situation.

bist bist means “are” in bist du bereit and describes the state of the person addressed. It is used with du in this sentence. Use bist du ...? or du bist ... when talking directly to one person informally about their state.

du du means “you” in Dann bist du bereit für die Kälte and refers to the person being addressed informally. It follows bist in this sentence because Dann occupies the first position. Use du when speaking directly to one person in an informal situation.

bereit bereit means “ready” in bist du bereit für die Kälte and describes being prepared for the cold. The reusable pattern is bereit für + a noun, as in bereit für die Kälte here. Use bereit when someone has finished preparing for an activity or condition.

für für means “for” in bereit für die Kälte and introduces what the person is ready to face. Here it connects bereit with the noun phrase die Kälte. Use bereit für + noun to say what someone is prepared for.

die die means “the” in die Kälte and introduces the specific cold or cold weather discussed in the scene. It comes directly before the noun Kälte. Use die before this noun when referring to the cold as the relevant condition.

Kälte Kälte means “cold” or “cold weather” in bereit für die Kälte and names the condition for which the person is prepared. In this dialogue it refers to the cold outside, not to a separate object. Use die Kälte when talking about cold weather as a condition.

Grammar Points

fühlt es sich kalt an

Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an.

DROW-sen fyoolt ess zikh KAHLT AHN.

It feels cold outside.

German uses sich with this expression, and the separable prefix an moves to the end.

bevor + Verb am Ende

Ziehe sie an, bevor ich rausgehe.

TSEE-uh zee AHN, bə-VOHR ikh ROWS-gay-uh.

Put it on before I go outside.

After bevor, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause.

German Vocabulary

auch adv

OWKH also; too

Brauche ich auch Handschuhe?

brauchen verb

BROW-khen to need Brauche

Brauche ich auch Handschuhe?

dein det

dyne your deinen

Trag deinen Schal.

draußen adv

DROW-sen outside

Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an.

halten verb

HALL-ten to keep

Sie halten deine Hände warm.

Hand noun

HAHNT hand Hände

Sie halten deine Hände warm.

Handschuh noun

HAHNT-shoo glove Handschuhe

Brauche ich auch Handschuhe?

kalt adj

KAHLT cold

Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an.

Schal noun

SHAHL scarf

Trag deinen Schal.

sich kalt anfühlen verb

zikh KAHLT AHN-fyoolen to feel cold fühlt es sich kalt an

Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an.

tragen verb

TRAH-gen to wear Trag

Trag deinen Schal.

warm adj

VARM warm

Sie halten deine Hände warm.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

It feels cold outside.

Show Answer

Draußen fühlt es sich kalt an.

Wear your scarf.

Show Answer

Trag deinen Schal.

Do I need gloves too?

Show Answer

Brauche ich auch Handschuhe?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

cold

Show Answer

kalt

to wear

Show Answer

Trag

glove

Show Answer

Handschuhe

to need

Show Answer

Brauche