German · A1 · Everyday language
Little Daily Choices in German
Use gentle German phrases to offer small choices and explain everyday care. Practise können (can), müssen (must), wollen (want to) and dürfen (may).
What you'll learn
- Offer simple choices during play and care.
- Use modal verbs with ich (I) and du (you).
- Ask a simple question about what your child wants.
- Put the action verb at the end of the sentence.
German phrases for little daily choices
Du kannst meinen Finger halten.
You can hold my finger.
Du kannst offers your child an option. Halten means “to hold”.
Du kannst hier krabbeln.
You can crawl here.
Krabbeln is the usual verb for a baby crawling.
Ich muss deine Windel wechseln.
I must change your nappy.
Ich muss describes something you need to do. Eine Windel wechseln means “to change a nappy”.
Ich muss meine Hände waschen.
I must wash my hands.
Hände is the plural of Hand. Notice the ä.
Ich will mit dir kuscheln.
I want to cuddle you.
German naturally uses mit dir kuscheln, literally “to cuddle with you”. Ich will means “I want to”, not “I will”.
Willst du trinken?
Do you want to drink?
Start with willst to ask what your child wants. German does not add “do”.
Du darfst hier spielen.
You may play here.
Du darfst clearly gives permission.
Du darfst das Wasser anfassen.
You may touch the water.
Anfassen means “to touch”. With darfst, it stays together at the end.
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 Finger
finger
Meinen Finger means “my finger” when it is the object of halten.
hier
here
Use it to point out a place for crawling or playing.
die Windel
nappy; diaper
The plural is die Windeln.
die Hand / die Hände
hand / hands
Meine Hände means “my hands”.
mit dir kuscheln
to cuddle with you
Use dir, not du, after mit.
das Wasser
water
German nouns begin with a capital letter.
Four useful modal verbs
Modal verbs add meanings such as ability, necessity, wishes or permission. Their forms change with the subject. Du is the familiar singular “you”, used when speaking to your child.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| können: can | ich kann / du kannst | Du kannst hier krabbeln. |
| müssen: must; need to | ich muss / du musst | Ich muss meine Hände waschen. |
| wollen: want to | ich will / du willst | Ich will mit dir kuscheln. |
| dürfen: may; be allowed to | ich darf / du darfst | Du darfst hier spielen. |
Sentence and question order
In these statements, the modal verb comes after ich or du. The action verb goes at the end in its infinitive form, without zu. In a yes/no question, the modal verb comes first.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | subject + modal verb + other words + infinitive | Du kannst meinen Finger halten. |
| Yes/no question | modal verb + subject + infinitive? | Willst du trinken? |
Offering an option or giving permission
Können can describe ability or offer an option. Dürfen explicitly says that something is allowed.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| An option | Du kannst … | Du kannst hier krabbeln. |
| Permission | Du darfst … | Du darfst hier spielen. |
More examples
Du kannst meinen Finger halten.
You can hold my finger.
Offer your finger during a quiet moment together.
Ich muss deine Windel wechseln.
I must change your nappy.
Explain the next care step in a calm voice.
Willst du trinken?
Do you want to drink?
Ask when offering your child a drink.
Du darfst das Wasser anfassen.
You may touch the water.
Use during supervised water play, after checking that the water is safe to touch.