German A1.19 Listening Practice: Make A Polite Request With Möchten
Listen to a A1 German dialogue about make a polite request with möchten, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
A1.19
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
24 segments
A short German listening chapter with transcript.
Make a polite request with möchte and ask what a familiar or formal addressee would like.
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1. Hanna · Teacher
Welcome back! I'm Hanna, your German teacher. Today, we will learn how to make polite requests using möchten, which means would like.
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2. Lukas · Student
Hi Hanna! I'm Lukas. Is möchten used when asking for something politely?
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3. Hanna · Teacher
Exactly! Let's listen to Felix and Clara in a short conversation.
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4. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Möchtest du heute kommen?
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5. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Ja, ich möchte heute kommen.
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6. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Wir möchten bitte zahlen.
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7. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Ich möchte bitte zahlen.
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8. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Möchten Sie heute kommen?
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9. Hanna · Teacher
Great! Let's break down those five sentences. First, Felix asked Clara: Möchtest du heute kommen?
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10. Lukas · Student
Why does he say möchtest instead of möchte?
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11. Hanna · Teacher
Because he is addressing du, informal you. With du, we use möchtest, and the action verb kommen stays at the very end.
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12. Hanna · Teacher
Next, Clara replied: Ja, ich möchte heute kommen.
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13. Lukas · Student
So for ich, we use möchte?
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14. Hanna · Teacher
Spot on! Ich möchte means I would like.
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15. Hanna · Teacher
Then Felix said: Wir möchten bitte zahlen.
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16. Lukas · Student
What does zahlen mean, and where does bitte go?
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17. Hanna · Teacher
Zahlen means to pay. Bitte softens the request in the middle, while the action verb zahlen goes to the end.
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18. Hanna · Teacher
After that, Clara said: Ich möchte bitte zahlen.
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19. Lukas · Student
So Ich möchte bitte zahlen means I would like to pay, please?
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20. Hanna · Teacher
Precisely. It is the most common polite way to ask to pay the bill in German.
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21. Hanna · Teacher
Finally, Felix asked: Möchten Sie heute kommen?
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22. Lukas · Student
Why did he use möchten with Sie?
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23. Hanna · Teacher
For formal Sie, as well as wir and plural sie, we use möchten.
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24. Hanna · Teacher
Wonderful practice today! Keep using möchte and möchten whenever you want to be polite in German.
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