German · A1 · Family moment
Tidy up time in German
Use friendly German phrases to turn tidying up into a game. Practise simple instructions, polite requests and praise with your child.
What you'll learn
- Invite your child to tidy up together.
- Give simple instructions to one child.
- Use bitte to make a request polite.
- Ask where something belongs and celebrate finishing.
German phrases for tidy up time
Lass uns aufräumen.
Let's tidy up.
A friendly invitation to tidy together.
Leg die Spielsachen in die Kiste.
Put the toys in the box.
Use this instruction when speaking to one child.
Hilf mir, bitte.
Help me, please.
Hilf is the command form of helfen for one person.
Wo gehört das hin?
Where does this go?
A natural way to ask where an item belongs.
Du bist ein toller Helfer.
You are a great helper.
For a girl, say: Du bist eine tolle Helferin.
Fast fertig.
Almost done.
A short, encouraging phrase as you finish.
Gut gemacht!
Well done!
Friendly praise for your child's effort.
Jetzt können wir spielen.
Now we can play.
Celebrate that tidying is finished.
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
aufräumen
to tidy up
Use Lass uns aufräumen to suggest doing it together.
die Spielsachen
the toys
A common plural word for toys.
die Kiste
the box
Useful for a toy storage box.
helfen
to help
The command to one child is Hilf!
bitte
please
Add it to an instruction to make a polite request.
der Helfer / die Helferin
the helper
Use Helfer for a boy and Helferin for a girl.
fast
almost
It does not mean the English word 'fast'.
fertig
done; finished
Useful for saying that a task is complete.
spielen
to play
Use it for playing with toys or playing a game.
Friendly commands to one child
For a direct instruction to one child, use the singular imperative. The verb usually comes first, and you leave out du. Some verbs have special forms.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| legen → leg | Leg + object + place. | Leg die Spielsachen in die Kiste. |
| helfen → hilf | Hilf + mir. | Hilf mir, bitte. |
| A shared activity | Lass uns + infinitive. | Lass uns aufräumen. |
Adding please
Bitte means 'please'. It can go at the beginning, inside or at the end of a request. A warm tone helps instructions sound friendly.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At the beginning | Bitte + command. | Bitte hilf mir. |
| Inside the request | Command verb + bitte + rest. | Leg bitte die Spielsachen in die Kiste. |
| At the end | Command + , bitte. | Hilf mir, bitte. |
More examples
Lass uns die Spielsachen zählen.
Let's count the toys.
Make tidying into a counting game.
Leg bitte den Ball in die Kiste.
Put the ball in the box, please.
A polite instruction to one child.
Wo gehört das Auto hin?
Where does the car go?
Use this while finding a home for a toy car.
Wir sind fast fertig!
We are almost done!
Encourage your child during the last few steps.
Du hast toll geholfen!
You helped really well!
Praise that works for any child.