German A2.6 Listening Practice: Write To Me Or To You
German A2 listening practice with audio, transcript, key phrases, and a speaking challenge for write to me or to you.
Podcast listening is in beta while creation and discussion tools are refined. This published chapter includes its complete segmented audio and transcript.
Level
A2.6
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
24 segments
What to notice while you listen
What you'll understand
Say who receives a short written communication.
Choose mir for a recipient who is the speaker and dir for one familiar addressee after the communication verb schreiben.
New pattern
mir and dir as dative recipients with schreiben
Practice aloud after listening
Schreibst du mir? Ja, heute schreibe ich dir.
Are you writing to me? Yes, today I am writing to you.
A short German listening chapter with transcript.
Mark who receives the writing, without adding message content or another object.
Read while you listen.
1. Hanna · Teacher
Welcome back! I'm Hanna, and today we are focusing on how to tell someone to write to you, or that you are writing to them in German.
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2. Lukas · Student
Hi Hanna! So we are learning how to use the verb schreiben with words like mir and dir?
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3. Hanna · Teacher
Exactly, Lukas. In German, the verb schreiben marks the recipient in the dative case. So mir means 'to me' and dir means 'to you'. Let's listen to a short conversation between Felix and Clara.
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4. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Felix, schreibst du mir später eine Nachricht?
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5. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ja, heute schreibe ich dir alle Informationen.
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6. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Gut, und wann genau schreibst du mir?
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7. Felix · Native Speaker 1
Ich schreibe dir am Nachmittag.
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8. Clara · Native Speaker 2
Perfekt, dann schreibe ich dir auch zurück!
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9. Hanna · Teacher
Let's look at the first sentence. Clara asked: 'Felix, schreibst du mir später eine Nachricht?' This means 'Felix, are you writing me a message later?' Here, mir is used because Clara is the recipient.
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10. Lukas · Student
Why is it mir and not mich?
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11. Hanna · Teacher
Because the person receiving the written message takes the dative case, making 'to me' mir.
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12. Hanna · Teacher
Next, Felix replied: 'Ja, heute schreibe ich dir alle Informationen.' That means 'Yes, today I'm writing you all the information.'
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13. Lukas · Student
Why does ich come after schreibe in 'heute schreibe ich dir'?
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14. Hanna · Teacher
Because starting with the time word 'heute' pushes the verb 'schreibe' into second position, followed immediately by the subject 'ich'.
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15. Hanna · Teacher
Then Clara asked: 'Gut, und wann genau schreibst du mir?' which means 'Good, and when exactly are you writing to me?'
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16. Lukas · Student
Does 'schreibst du mir' work for any simple question asking 'are you writing to me'?
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17. Hanna · Teacher
Yes, standard verb-first question order gives us 'Schreibst du mir?'.
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18. Hanna · Teacher
Felix answered: 'Ich schreibe dir am Nachmittag.' Meaning 'I'll write to you in the afternoon.'
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19. Lukas · Student
So 'ich schreibe dir' is the core pattern for 'I write to you'?
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20. Hanna · Teacher
Precisely! Subject, verb, dative pronoun: 'Ich schreibe dir.'
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21. Hanna · Teacher
Finally, Clara said: 'Perfekt, dann schreibe ich dir auch zurück!' which means 'Perfect, then I'll write back to you too!'
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22. Lukas · Student
Where does 'zurück' come from here?
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23. Hanna · Teacher
It comes from 'zurückschreiben', to write back. The prefix 'zurück' goes to the end of the clause.
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24. Hanna · Teacher
That's all for today! Practice using 'schreibe mir' and 'schreibe dir' whenever you send messages in German.
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