German · A1 · Family moment
Our Reading Time in German
Use these gentle German phrases to share a book, practise reading and celebrate small successes together.
What you'll learn
- Suggest shared reading activities using Lass uns + infinitive.
- Name a book, pictures, a word and a page in German.
- Encourage your child to read slowly and try again.
German phrases for our reading time
Lass uns ein Buch aussuchen.
Let's choose a book.
Aussuchen means to choose or pick out.
Lass uns zusammensitzen.
Let's sit together.
Zusammensitzen means to sit together.
Lass uns die Bilder anschauen.
Let's look at the pictures.
Anschauen is an everyday verb for looking at something.
Lass uns dieses Wort lesen.
Let's read this word.
Point to the word as you say dieses Wort: this word.
Lass uns das langsam sagen.
Let's say it slowly.
Das refers to the word or sound you are practising.
Lass uns noch einmal versuchen.
Let's try again.
Noch einmal means again or one more time.
Lass uns die Seite umblättern.
Let's turn the page.
Umblättern means to turn a page.
Lass uns noch eine Seite lesen.
Let's read one more page.
Noch eine Seite means one more page.
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
das Buch
the book
Plural: die Bücher.
das Bild
the picture
Plural: die Bilder.
das Wort
the word
Plural for individual words: die Wörter.
die Seite
the page
Plural: die Seiten.
langsam
slowly
Use it to suggest a gentle reading pace.
noch einmal
again; one more time
In everyday speech, you will also hear noch mal.
Making suggestions with “let's”
When speaking to one child, use Lass uns followed by an activity. Put the main verb in its infinitive form at the end, without zu. Uns means us.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pattern | Lass uns + infinitive. | Lass uns lesen. |
| Add what you will read | Lass uns + object + infinitive. | Lass uns dieses Wort lesen. |
| Add how you will do it | Lass uns + object + langsam + infinitive. | Lass uns das langsam sagen. |
| Speaking to more than one child | Lasst uns + infinitive. | Lasst uns lesen. |
Keep the infinitive together
Some German verbs have prefixes that separate in other sentence patterns. After Lass uns, keep the whole infinitive together at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Choose | aussuchen | Lass uns ein Buch aussuchen. |
| Look at | anschauen | Lass uns die Bilder anschauen. |
| Turn the page | umblättern | Lass uns die Seite umblättern. |
More examples
Lass uns dieses Buch lesen.
Let's read this book.
Use dieses Buch when pointing to a particular book.
Lass uns das Wort noch einmal lesen.
Let's read the word again.
A gentle invitation to practise a word together.
Lass uns langsam lesen.
Let's read slowly.
Langsam comes before the final infinitive lesen.