German · A1 · Milestone
First milestone in German
Review friendly everyday German for greetings, breakfast, colours, family and caring for your child. Use informal du when speaking to a child.
What you'll learn
- Greet someone and say goodbye.
- Ask a child their name and identify a colour.
- Talk about breakfast and introduce a family member.
- Express love and give a simple warning.
German phrases for first milestone
Guten Morgen!
Good morning!
A friendly greeting used in the morning.
Wie heißt du?
What is your name?
The usual informal way to ask someone's name.
Das Frühstück ist fertig.
Breakfast is ready.
Use this to let your child know it is time for breakfast.
Welche Farbe ist das?
What colour is this?
A natural question when pointing to a colour.
Sei vorsichtig.
Be careful.
A direct reminder for one child to take care.
Das ist meine Mama.
This is my mum.
Mama is a familiar, child-friendly word for mum.
Ich liebe dich.
I love you.
A warm way to express love to your child.
Bis später!
See you later!
A casual goodbye when you expect to meet again later.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Morgen
morning
Capitalized because it is a noun; used in Guten Morgen!
heißen
to be called
Use ich heiße for 'my name is' and du heißt for 'your name is'.
das Frühstück
breakfast
Learn the noun together with its article das.
fertig
ready; finished
With food, ist fertig means 'is ready'.
die Farbe
colour
German nouns always begin with a capital letter.
vorsichtig
careful
Use Sei vorsichtig! when speaking to one child.
die Mama
mum
Say meine Mama for 'my mum'.
später
later
Bis später! literally means 'until later'.
Simple statements with sein
Sein means 'to be'. Use ist for 'is'. In these statements, the subject comes first and the verb comes second. Das can mean 'this' or 'that' when introducing someone.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Say something is ready | Das Frühstück + ist + fertig. | Das Frühstück ist fertig. — Breakfast is ready. |
| Introduce someone | Das + ist + meine Mama. | Das ist meine Mama. — This is my mum. |
Questions with question words
Put the question word or question phrase first, followed by the verb, then the subject. Learn Wie heißt du? as a complete phrase for asking a name.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ask a name | Wie + heißt + du? | Wie heißt du? — What is your name? |
| Ask a colour | Welche Farbe + ist + das? | Welche Farbe ist das? — What colour is this? |
Speaking directly to one child
Du is the informal subject form of 'you'. Dich is the object form used after lieben ('to love'). For the command 'Be careful', use sei without du.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| You as the subject | du | Wie heißt du? — What is your name? |
| You as the object | dich | Ich liebe dich. — I love you. |
| A direct command | Sei + adjective. | Sei vorsichtig. — Be careful. |
More examples
Guten Morgen, Mama!
Good morning, Mum!
Add a name or family word to your greeting.
Ich heiße Ben.
My name is Ben.
Use ich heiße to answer Wie heißt du?
Das ist blau.
This is blue.
A simple answer to Welche Farbe ist das?
Das ist mein Papa.
This is my dad.
Use mein with the masculine noun Papa and meine with the feminine noun Mama.
Bis später, Ben!
See you later, Ben!
Add your child's name for a personal goodbye.