German · A1 · Family moment
Warm Bath Splashes in German
Use these gentle, playful German phrases during bath time. Each phrase addresses one child with the informal du imperative.
What you'll learn
- Give simple bath-time instructions in German.
- Use familiar words for water, toys and body parts.
- Recognize common imperative forms, including schau, halt and gib.
German phrases for warm bath splashes
Schau dir das Wasser an.
Look at the water.
Anschauen means “to look at.” In this instruction, an goes at the end.
Halt meine Hand.
Hold my hand.
Halt is a common spoken imperative of halten. Halte meine Hand is also correct.
Plansche mit den Händen.
Splash with your hands.
Planschen describes playful splashing in water. German often uses “the” rather than “your” with body parts.
Strample mit den Füßen.
Kick your feet.
Strampeln describes the kicking or wriggling movements babies make with their legs.
Gib mir die Ente.
Give me the duck.
Gib is the irregular imperative of geben. Mir means “me” as the recipient.
Mach die Augen zu.
Close your eyes.
Zumachen is an everyday word for “to close.” Zu goes at the end.
Heb deinen Arm.
Lift your arm.
Heb is a common spoken imperative of heben. Hebe is also correct.
Komm in meine Arme.
Come into my arms.
Komm is the imperative of kommen. Arme is the plural of Arm.
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 Wasser
water
Wasser is a neuter noun.
die Hand / die Hände
hand / hands
The plural adds an umlaut: a becomes ä.
der Fuß / die Füße
foot / feet
The plural changes u to ü and adds -e.
die Ente
duck
At bath time, this can refer to the child's toy duck.
das Auge / die Augen
eye / eyes
Use the plural Augen when referring to both eyes.
der Arm / die Arme
arm / arms
The plural adds -e.
Giving instructions to one child
Use the informal singular imperative. The verb comes first, and you normally leave out du (“you”). A warm tone makes these instructions gentle; bitte (“please”) can soften them too.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| kommen → komm | Imperative + rest of the instruction | Komm in meine Arme. — Come into my arms. |
| heben → heb / hebe | Both forms are correct | Heb deinen Arm. — Lift your arm. |
| geben → gib | Irregular imperative: e changes to i | Gib mir die Ente. — Give me the duck. |
Separable verbs
Some German verbs have a prefix that separates from the verb in an instruction. Put that prefix at the end.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| anschauen | Schau … an. | Schau dir das Wasser an. — Look at the water. |
| zumachen | Mach … zu. | Mach die Augen zu. — Close your eyes. |
Body parts after mit
Mit means “with” and takes the dative case. With plural nouns, die becomes den, and the noun usually adds -n if it does not already end in -n.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| die Hände → den Händen | mit den Händen | Plansche mit den Händen. — Splash with your hands. |
| die Füße → den Füßen | mit den Füßen | Strample mit den Füßen. — Kick your feet. |
More examples
Gib mir bitte die Ente.
Please give me the duck.
Bitte adds a polite, gentle touch.
Halt meine Hand. Schau dir das Wasser an.
Hold my hand. Look at the water.
Use short instructions one at a time so your child can follow along.