German · A1 · Milestone
Three-quarter Milestone in German
Celebrate your progress with familiar German phrases about cuddles, mealtimes and gentle care. This cosy review practises questions, instructions, possessives and telling the time.
What you'll learn
- Use familiar phrases to comfort and care for your child.
- Review words for everyday objects and body parts.
- Recognise how words for 'your' change in simple sentences.
- Understand German half-hour expressions.
German phrases for three-quarter milestone
Tut dir der Bauch weh?
Does your tummy hurt?
A natural, caring question. German uses 'the tummy' and dir ('to you') here rather than 'your tummy'.
Zwanzig Küsschen für dich!
Twenty kisses for you!
Küsschen means 'little kisses' and sounds affectionate. Für dich means 'for you'.
Du trinkst deine Milch.
You drink your milk.
This is a statement, not an instruction. It can also mean 'You are drinking your milk'.
Wo ist dein Löffel?
Where is your spoon?
Wo means 'where'. Use dein with the masculine noun Löffel when it is the subject.
Gib mir deine Tasse.
Give me your cup.
Gib is the instruction form of geben ('to give') for one familiar person. Mir means 'to me'.
Es ist halb sieben.
It's half past six.
German counts towards the next hour: halb sieben means halfway to seven, so 6:30.
Wasch dich sanft.
Wash yourself gently.
Wasch is a familiar singular instruction. Dich means 'yourself' here.
Ich sehe deinen Teddy, aber keinen Ball.
I see your teddy, but no ball.
Teddy and Ball are masculine direct objects here, so use deinen and keinen.
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 Bauch
tummy; belly
An everyday word suitable for talking with children.
wehtun
to hurt
In a simple sentence or question, it splits into forms such as tut … weh.
das Küsschen
little kiss
The plural is also Küsschen. The ending -chen makes the word sound small and affectionate.
die Milch
milk
Deine Milch means 'your milk'.
der Löffel
spoon
Learn the noun with der to remember that it is masculine.
die Tasse
cup
Usually a cup with a handle.
sanft
gently; gentle
Use it to describe a soft, careful action.
der Teddy
teddy bear
A familiar short form of Teddybär.
der Ball
ball
Keinen Ball means 'no ball' when the ball is a direct object.
Statements and questions
In a simple statement, the verb comes second. A yes/no question starts with the verb. With wo ('where'), the verb follows the question word.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | du + verb + object | Du trinkst deine Milch. |
| Yes/no question | verb + other words | Tut dir der Bauch weh? |
| Where question | wo + verb + subject | Wo ist dein Löffel? |
Saying 'your' and 'no'
The endings of dein ('your') and kein ('no' or 'not a') depend on the noun's gender and role. A direct object is the person or thing directly affected by the action.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine subject | dein + masculine noun | Wo ist dein Löffel? |
| Feminine direct object | deine + feminine noun | Du trinkst deine Milch. |
| Masculine direct object | deinen / keinen + masculine noun | Ich sehe deinen Teddy, aber keinen Ball. |
Instructions for one child
When giving an instruction to one child, put the instruction form of the verb first and leave out du. Some forms need to be learned separately, such as gib from geben.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Give | geben → gib | Gib mir deine Tasse. |
| Wash yourself | sich waschen → wasch dich | Wasch dich sanft. |
Small pronouns: dir, mir and dich
These pronouns have different jobs. Learn them in short chunks: dir with wehtun, mir for the person receiving something, and dich after für or when you wash yourself.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| To you | dir | Tut dir der Bauch weh? |
| To me | mir | Gib mir deine Tasse. |
| For you | für dich | Zwanzig Küsschen für dich! |
| Yourself | dich | Wasch dich sanft. |
Halfway to the next hour
For half-hour times, say halb followed by the next hour, not the hour that has just passed.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 | halb sieben | Es ist halb sieben. |
| 7:30 | halb acht | Es ist halb acht. |
More examples
Wo ist deine Tasse?
Where is your cup?
Use deine with the feminine noun Tasse.
Gib mir deinen Löffel.
Give me your spoon.
Löffel is now a masculine direct object, so dein changes to deinen.
Ich sehe deinen Ball.
I see your ball.
Practise deinen with another masculine direct object.