Small Talk (in Slow German) | Easy German Live

10 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Let's go Here we go with the Easy German livestream Hello Manuel Hello Cari How are you doing I'm doing great because I'm live on YouTube and speaking very slow German today We're speaking slowly today We're live Subtitles will be available soon If you watch this video later you can click on cc in the corner What does later mean Later Right now we're live and there are plenty of comments Hello from Mannheim writes Mia Hello from Hungary Budapest Hello Manuel and Cari There are countless comments coming in from all around the world Great to have you both here We're live on YouTube and live on Facebook That means you can leave us a comment Must people write slowly too Manuel You must write down everything very slowly We're glad to be live today We're trying to speak slowly You can chat with us but you can also watch this video later Well today we've got a really interesting topic Manuel Today we're talking about small talk In German we call it small talk Little talk No you don't say that We use many English words including Smalltalk But the Germans are supposedly terrible at small talk That's exactly what we're going to test today Our idea is to just call up a few friends And we'll show you how this typical small talk on the phone sounds This is my phone This phone is connected to our machine using this nice cable connected to our machine so now we can make calls and listen to YouTube and Facebook here And then we'll use typical vocabulary Let 's introduce a word Manuel That's "na " That means we actually discussed it at length recently on the podcast It's kind of like perhaps in English But it's also something like No not quite Sorry Sup A little bit like that Sup Sup Well Well That means hello how are you All together somehow Right Who should I call first Manuel Want to give Janusz a call There are already quite a few questions about whether he'll be joining us today No problem I'll call Janusz now and try this out with him right away And look how he reacts—that's also a test for you That's how you can start your call from now on Heard anything yet Yes Hello Well This is also a test for you Janusz like on the radio You need to turn off the radio first Janusz is looking at us right now Yes Well how are you all doing Very well How about you I'm doing great What are you up to right now I made myself a little snack to eat and am now munching on it in front of the monitor And on the monitor you both appear comfortably seated in the studio And Cari had already made herself a cocktail which made me chuckle a little Wait that's just a glass of water Janusz Yes yes I don't believe you Here's a very delicious glass of water sitting on my table And you But I'm looking forward to it because after this conversation I'll get ready and head over to you Tonight we're hanging out with some people just chilling together And I think I’ll treat myself to a beer there too Janusz says we want to hang out with some people Our plan for this evening Manuel is a team meeting With our team Right Some people Oh that makes me even happier Also we do have a small company now—Easy German has become a team by now And we have a team meeting We order pizza have a beer But Janusz says we're hanging out with some people Manuel What does that mean That means I wanted to put a smile on your face with this riddle twist Hanging out is kind of teenage slang When I was 13 I used to hang out with my friends all the time We just hung around doing nothing Hanging out okay Hanging out is basically just to hang in English too Yes I recently came across a video showing Manuel hanging out with his friends And he sings a song And funny enough you sang Game on I do it Okay stop it No personal stories I just like your laugh That's how it is That's right Good Very nice Back to small talk And anything else Yes and now I'll get ready and come to you I'm really looking forward to it Got it Great See you soon Janusz I'll represent our broad audience at this party Great Janusz It was really nice talking with you See you soon at the Easy German Studio with a drink Yay See you soon Bye See you soon Bye Manuel you just used a line And otherwise Yes you could say that when one… Cue that in Yes I'll gladly include that so you can write it down too And otherwise When would you say that You could say "and so on" or "and the like " which basically means tell me something else about your life I don't have a specific question—I just want you to tell me something now too And otherwise how's life treating you these days That can be shortened to "and otherwise " What else is new It could mean anything—it could also be asking what's going on right now what's happening Exactly Yes that's a good saying—when you're talking to someone your neighbor in the stairwell could be listening and you don't know what to say now so you just say What about the rest And if someone says that to you and you don't have a proper answer You don’t really feel like sharing much anymore and you might not be in the best mood—just okay Then you can answer of course you can Of course you can means you've got to keep living It's like you've got to get up go to work of course you do That’s how I’ll signal I have nothing more to tell you It is what it is Good Manuel Now let's run a new test I'll call my old friend Klaus Let's see what's going on Rings Still ringing Hello What Nah what's up with you What's up with us Manuel All good And you Yeah I guess so You were just watching YouTube Klaus Yes that's right We're currently watching YouTube What a coincidence And Enno is with me and he has a question for you Okay Enno go ahead Trivia question What's really in the glass You caught her red-handed It's melted ice It's water Enno It's just water Enno doesn't believe that Well Enno then you'll just have to come to our studio and smell the glass but better not taste it Enno what do you think Any ideas What's inside your idea To be honest I don't know what it's called but Dad probably means that could be a Gin Tonic Exactly Very good You've won your own quiz Klaus and Enno Well done Klaus what do you think of the photo we picked out for you Let me just take a quick look—I'm a bit distracted by the TV Funny just funny But it hits close to home I have to say That's Klaus in real life Klaus where are you right now I'm just at home And where is that Münster and we've just had dinner Had my evening snack What's the weather like where you are Not so pleasant A bit cold a bit wet a bit windy Same here It's just like that over here And now it's getting dark too And otherwise Yes otherwise everything's fine Nothing out of the ordinary Naturally How is the family doing Good Yes that's good too Only annoying that we'll have to write two papers back-to-back soon Ah I see He's at school and has to take tests which is annoying You guys feel that too right Totally Do you still remember that Manuel I don't want to do class tests What is a class test A quiz A quiz Enno you're taking class tests Good luck Thank you Yes good Then we've covered all the questions right Yes Have a nice evening Yes I wish you the same and have fun later with the pizza What else are you doing today We'll watch a bit more YouTube and then head to bed Yeah that's a pretty typical evening for Klaus and Enno right Do you always do that Watching YouTube and going to bed We do that often except we're not watching YouTube—we 're doing something else Okay You don't get an Easy German livestream every single evening That's true Sometimes you just have to watch something else Good job you two Yes thank you for the pleasant conversation See you soon Bye Ciao Manuel those were two typical conversations right Absolutely Those were typical small talk exchanges We'd usually talk faster And even less to say The conversation felt genuine You know we’ve got plenty of comments—want to take a look Definitely Uiuiui so many Yes that's a bit like Smalltalk What are your hobbies Do you have a hobby Cari playing computer games Ah yes And anything else Mixing cocktails Okay Marsha wants to know why Germans are such bad small talkers And is that even true Yes that's exactly the live proof that Smalltalk is We need proper phrases just to be able to engage at all What's the weather like today People talk about it all the time right I'd say weather is definitely the number one small talk topic And I remember once talking to Dana about Wanted Adventure and she mentioned that it's actually quite typical German en people start asking well what's the weather like where you are What's the weather like And you wouldn't necessarily ask something like that in other countries because it's essentially uninteresting Exactly Whenever you talk to someone who doesn't live in the same city when you're on the phone You'll always want to know what the weather is like where you are won't you But why It's just a weather report We wanted to know what the weather is like in Münster where Klaus lives I really need to know what the weather is like in Münster Should we call someone else to check the weather Yes are there any phrases we still need to learn Yes What's the weather like with you Did we just cover that What's the weather like where you are And where are you right now You're right we had that too—people want to know that as well Are you at home Are you at the supermarket Maybe you're out for a walk I'll call Isi since she's in a different country Okay It's ringing already Let's see if she answers No answer Let's try once more Call someone else I' ll call again I'm calling again There Hello Hello Where are you right now I'm in England In England You can tell The internet's terrible Can't you hear me clearly You'really far away Hello Yes we hear you Isi Where are you right now In England Hello You need to speak more slowly Are you there The internet is really bad Really really bad yes Should we try again via FaceTime Yes I'll call you again Isi Regular call please Regular call okay Okay I'll give it a try I only have three bars but we'll see how it goes Does calling Isi with a regular phone actually cost money Yes it does cost money but it should be worth it for Easy German That’s worth it for Easy German Okay I’ll give him a call But the phone rings There it is the line already connected to England ClickHello A little bit Okay Isi Where are you right now In England Yes in Brighton England How's the weather there Terrible Just like here The connection is bad too Oh man I'm sorry to hear that How are you doing Just okay—I just lay down in the park because of the weather Lying in the park Just lying on the grass An accident Did you slip Yes I slipped yes I really did Mitch described to me how it looked—I did a split Isi did an involuntary split in the park Isi you had an accident I'm sorry I'm drinking a glass of water to you That's very kind of you It must I'll say that too Of course it must And otherwise Otherwise I'm just watching Nola right now as she nibbles her dinner Is Nola your dog Nola is my dog And Mitch is preparing dinner for us Is Mitch your husband Just an ordinary evening A typical evening in England There's food bad weather and accidents in the park Yes Isn't that lovely though And what else are you doing today I'm heading straight to the couch now the pain is starting to get really bad Ui Yeah I just wanted to hear how you're doing Oh Manuel's drinking beer I think I'll catch up with you later But Manuel's definitely drinking beer—that's clear to me It's non-alcoholic beer Okay Zero percent Are you also watching YouTube right now Yes I watch YouTube too Thanks for the info Manuel—that was important to know Yes Okay then I'd say… This is so boring Hanging up See you soon It was really nice talking to you Isi I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing That's sweet Thank you so much Get well soon Thank you After the accident Have fun Bye Health is another typical small talk topic Of course we always ask how you are and Germans don’t always just say thank you good Especially when you're not feeling well—maybe you have a cold a runny nose or the flu— That's what they say No not really good right now I've got a cold Yes exactly So in Germany you should expect that if you ask someone how they're doing Then the person usually answers honestly That's part of our small talk And how the conversation ends is typical too right At some point you've asked the usual questions and then you just say yeah okay I just wanted to hear how you're doing Exactly That's almost the farewell saying yes I didn't want to bother you I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing Do you ever just call your friends out of the blue to check in and see how they're doing Far too infrequent Actually it's quite good when you just call people out of the blue And the question you pose at the end is also typical of someone who no longer knows what else to ask Then you ask what are you doing today You want to know Actually these small talk questions are pretty invasive Invasive Also privacy anyway What are you doing today It's totally private really You can tell everything or nothing at all Yeah You could just mention something completely unimportant What else are you doing today You could also reply with nothing special Cari do you find it difficult to speak slowly No I've practiced it extensively and mastered it well The Germans sometimes say things like "so la " That's true When someone asks how you're doing and you don't want to say "good" but also don't want to say "bad " Then you can say "So la " which means medium But if you say that the other person will probably ask "What's wrong " or something like that Yes then one might ask oh just so -so Why just so-so How are you Why And are the Germans often honest asks Floyd Yes we are very direct and honest and while we do small talk we tell the truth You say that so seriously but it's actually funny because I often have this thing with Jeremy I say something or no he asks me a question He just says something completely random He says yeah nice weather today And I say huh No the weather isn't all that good I'm analyzing this right away and taking it very seriously We do engage in casual small talk from time to time but we think deeply about everything we say Absolutely I'll give Erik a call and see if it's the same for him What do you think Definitely How would I call Erik Erik is a German teacher or didactician Can he particularly excel at small talk Perhaps he's especially German in that regard We'll see Let me try It's ringing Hello Hello Kari Hello Erik What's up Yeah what's going on I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing I'm doing just fine yes Can't complain But I think you're slightly distracting me from my work right now What are you doing I'm sitting in front of my computer at home reading the comments we're getting right now Oh you're on YouTube too now Yes I'm live with you And how are the reviews Do we have positive feedback Or do you have to delete a lot as always We're deleting a lot after all No there isn't much to delete today There are plenty of positive comments The people seem to like the topic I think That's nice And otherwise Well what can I say It's all the same as always What did you do today Today I worked all day so nothing special That's interesting And yes what else do you have planned for today I actually also want to come to the party later just to hang out with people like that And why exactly Yes I think I'm a bit sick too I'm getting a bit sick That's why I need to reconsider this again No Erik We've ordered pizza for you Come quick to the office Yes I know I'm doing my best Yeah okay And what's the weather like where you are It's dark so I can't tell you for sure without going outside Is it raining I'd have to go out myself to check that Have you been outside yet today Erik I haven't been outside yet today no Been in the office all day But it's high time you got on your bike and came to us Yes that's exactly what I mean Great Yes it's nice that we've talked Have a wonderful day Yes thank you I wish you the same See you later See you later Bye Ciao What strikes me about this situation is the dynamic where you ask many questions and the other person responds Usually you'd often hear the other person saying something like that but what about you You ask how it's going and the other person replies "So-so not great whatever " And then the other person would probably say "And you " and you'd reply " Right And you No I didn’t ask anything nor did I receive any questions Klaus didn’t care how I was doing And Isi either Maybe my last person to call Candidate I'm calling Pauline now Yes And I'd like to say that typical phrase with her again you know what's going on What's going on When do you use that Manuel That's kind of youth slang too—used to ask what's going on right now what are you doing right now Damn I don’t actually have Pauline’s phone number Pauline if you’re watching right now—wait can I just call her on Slack You can probably do it yes Or just send me your phone number This is working so well We've got such a good connection So well prepared I'll just have a quick huddle with Pauline Okay Maybe it'll work out Can you hear the audio I hear the tone yes Okay Oh hello Hi Pauline Not much Pauline what’s up Nothing much Why did you call me on Slack She doesn't have your number I haven't saved your number Then you'll have to ask me for my number later Okay do you want to do it now on YouTube Tell me your number No not now Let's do it privately later Let's do it privately later Yes Pauline how was your day Yeah pretty good Nothing special That's also a typical response Everything the same And you How about you With me Yes I was in the office I was working I recorded a podcast with Manuel here at the studio And then I spent three hours preparing for this livestream—just with water Thank you Manuel That’s how it was I call that very commendable Pretty great right And what are you doing right now I just finished work and am now waiting for our team meeting this evening So I'm taking a little break right now You're just resting up — that's good right Yes nice Manuel are you off work now too I'm clocking out myself right after this There's also a fantastic sketch by the German comedian Loriot And in it the woman asks the man what are you doing And the man says I do nothing And that's a bit like how you Pauline put it I'm just resting We don't know what it means You're sitting on the chair or on the couch resting Actually I'm standing right now—I don't know why but I often pace around the room when I'm on the phone I do that too That’s a better place to think Yes when you have to answer such important questions how was your day What are you doing right now Yes Pauline it was really nice that we finally got to talk again just like this over the phone I thought so too We should exchange phone numbers right away Sure sounds good It was nice hearing from you Yes great Then I wish you both a lovely evening and see you later See you later Bye Manuel we've had many interesting conversations now Do you think those were typical German exchanges I've noticed that too—there are so many conversations like that especially within one's own family someone who might call their mother once a week or so but doesn’t really have much to talk abou Maybe it's because not much has happened so conversations like this arise Who else are you calling now I've gone back outside Get out of the huddle Exactly Yeah I think this was a great livestream today Manuel I found that too If you'd like us to do this more often let us know… Are there any more questions from the community You know there are so many questions—we simply can't answer them all I find this comment particularly interesting Germans often say well okay Well okay See you soon That's true Alright But we can invite you whenever you'd like to chat with us more often Then join EasyGerman and chat with us daily for example in our EasyGerman Discord community Here below is the link: easygerman org /membership Five euros per month Manuel Then you get exercises for our videos transcripts for all videos and you can write with us every day We even have a channel in our Discord group called Smalltalk Now you can go there and practice everything you've just learned And that’s also my call to all current EasyGerman members: head over to our Discord channel Smalltalk and post your responses now Or just write a few questions—what are you up to right now And above all definitely let us know what the weather is like where you are right now What's the weather like where you are right now So one person asks and the others can reply That's how we'll do it Great to have you all here See you soon Nice weather still where you are