German · A2 · Everyday language
Wondering About You in German
Small questions for everyday life with a baby. Learn to wonder aloud and ask about sleep, feelings and baby essentials using German indirect questions.
What you'll learn
- Use ich frage mich to say “I wonder”.
- Introduce indirect questions with wo, wann, wie and warum.
- Put the finite verb at the end of an indirect question.
- Ask practical questions with weißt du and kannst du mir zeigen.
German phrases for wondering about you
Ich frage mich, wo dein Teddy ist.
I wonder where your teddy is.
Dein means “your” when speaking to one familiar person, such as your child. Ist goes at the end of the indirect question.
Weißt du, wo ich die Windeln hingelegt habe?
Do you know where I put the nappies?
Hingelegt habe means “put” or “have put”. The finite verb habe comes last.
Ich frage mich, wann du einschläfst.
I wonder when you will fall asleep.
German often uses the present tense for future events. Here, einschläfst naturally means “will fall asleep”.
Kannst du mir sagen, wann die Vorsorgeuntersuchung für das Baby beginnt?
Can you tell me when the baby's check-up starts?
A Vorsorgeuntersuchung is a routine preventive check-up. Beginnt comes at the end of the indirect question.
Ich frage mich, wie du dich heute fühlst.
I wonder how you feel today.
Use sich fühlen for how someone feels: du fühlst dich. In the indirect question, fühlst moves to the end.
Kannst du mir zeigen, wie man diesen Kinderwagen zusammenklappt?
Can you show me how this pram folds?
German naturally expresses this as “how to fold this pram”. Man means people in general, like English “you” in instructions.
Ich frage mich, warum du weinst.
I wonder why you are crying.
Du weinst can mean “you cry” or “you are crying”. German does not need a separate continuous form.
Weißt du, warum das Baby wach ist?
Do you know why the baby is awake?
Wach means “awake”. The finite verb ist follows wach 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
sich fragen
to wonder; to ask oneself
Use ich frage mich for “I wonder”.
der Teddy
teddy bear
A familiar, child-friendly word. “Your teddy” is dein Teddy.
die Windel
nappy; diaper
The plural is die Windeln.
einschlafen
to fall asleep
This describes starting to sleep, not being asleep.
die Vorsorgeuntersuchung
routine preventive check-up
In Germany, children's scheduled check-ups are often called U-Untersuchungen.
der Kinderwagen
pram; pushchair; stroller
A general word for a wheeled baby carriage.
zusammenklappen
to fold up
Useful for folding a pram or another collapsible object.
wach
awake
Use it with sein: Das Baby ist wach means “The baby is awake”.
Question words introduce indirect questions
An indirect question sits inside a larger sentence. Keep the question word, but put the finite verb—the verb that changes with the subject—at the end of that clause.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wo: where | wo + subject + … + finite verb | Ich frage mich, wo dein Teddy ist. |
| wann: when | wann + subject + … + finite verb | Ich frage mich, wann du einschläfst. |
| wie: how | wie + subject + … + finite verb | Ich frage mich, wie du dich heute fühlst. |
| warum: why | warum + subject + … + finite verb | Weißt du, warum das Baby wach ist? |
Verb forms at the end
With a single verb, place that verb last. In the perfect tense, the finite helping verb comes after the past participle. Separable verbs stay joined in these indirect questions.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single verb | wo dein Teddy ist | Wo ist dein Teddy? → Ich frage mich, wo dein Teddy ist. |
| Perfect tense | wo ich die Windeln hingelegt habe | Weißt du, wo ich die Windeln hingelegt habe? |
| Separable verb | du schläfst ein → wann du einschläfst | Ich frage mich, wann du einschläfst. |
Commas and question marks
Put a comma before the indirect question. Use a full stop if the whole sentence is a statement, and a question mark if the whole sentence asks a question.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wondering aloud | Ich frage mich, … . | Ich frage mich, warum du weinst. |
| Asking someone | Weißt du, … ? / Kannst du mir sagen, … ? | Kannst du mir sagen, wo der Teddy ist? |
More examples
Weißt du, wo der Kinderwagen ist?
Do you know where the pram is?
The direct question Wo ist der Kinderwagen? becomes wo der Kinderwagen ist.
Kannst du mir sagen, wann das Baby schläft?
Can you tell me when the baby sleeps?
Schläft comes last. Schlafen means “to sleep”; einschlafen means “to fall asleep”.