German · A1 · Everyday language
Your Friendship Circle in German
Use warm, simple German to talk about your child, their friends and being a team. Practise personal pronouns and sein (to be).
What you'll learn
- Talk about family, friends and teammates.
- Use ich, du, er, sie and wir with the correct forms of sein.
- Ask whether your child is ready.
- Say whose turn it is.
German phrases for your friendship circle
Ich bin dein Papa.
I am your dad.
Papa is a warm, everyday word for dad.
Du bist ein guter Freund.
You are a good friend.
Use this when speaking to a boy. To a girl, say: Du bist eine gute Freundin.
Er ist dein Teamkollege.
He is your teammate.
Er means he. Dein means your when speaking to one child.
Sie ist deine Nachbarin.
She is your neighbour.
Nachbarin means a female neighbour. Use deine with this feminine noun.
Du bist dran.
It is your turn.
This is the natural everyday phrase during a game. German uses du (you) here, not es (it).
Wir sind ein Team.
We are a team.
Wir means we and goes with sind.
Sie sind deine Freunde.
They are your friends.
Freunde can refer to male friends or a mixed group. For an all-female group, use Freundinnen.
Bist du bereit?
Are you ready?
Use this when speaking to one child. The verb comes first in this yes/no question.
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 Papa
dad
An affectionate, everyday family word.
der Freund / die Freundin
friend
Freund is masculine; Freundin is feminine.
der Teamkollege / die Teamkollegin
teammate
Someone on the same team.
der Nachbar / die Nachbarin
neighbour
Nachbar is masculine; Nachbarin is feminine.
das Team
team
German nouns always begin with a capital letter.
dran sein
to have one's turn
Use Du bist dran to tell a child it is their turn.
bereit
ready
Use with sein: Du bist bereit means You are ready.
Personal pronouns and sein (to be)
Sein changes depending on who you mean. Use du when speaking to one child and ihr when speaking to several children.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | ich bin | Ich bin dein Papa. |
| you — one person, informal | du bist | Du bist ein guter Freund. |
| he / she / it | er / sie / es ist | Sie ist deine Nachbarin. |
| we | wir sind | Wir sind ein Team. |
| you — several people, informal | ihr seid | Ihr seid bereit. |
| they | sie sind | Sie sind deine Freunde. |
Statements and yes/no questions
In these simple statements, the pronoun comes before the verb. To make a yes/no question, put the verb first.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | pronoun + verb + rest | Du bist bereit. |
| Question | verb + pronoun + rest? | Bist du bereit? |
Saying your: dein and deine
When speaking to one child, use dein before masculine or neuter nouns in these sentences. Use deine before feminine or plural nouns.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | dein + noun | dein Papa |
| Neuter | dein + noun | dein Team |
| Feminine | deine + noun | deine Nachbarin |
| Plural | deine + noun | deine Freunde |
More examples
Du bist dran. Bist du bereit?
It is your turn. Are you ready?
Use during a game.
Wir sind ein Team.
We are a team.
A warm way to encourage cooperation.
Du bist eine gute Freundin.
You are a good friend.
Use when praising a girl for being a good friend.