Hallo! In the previous lesson, you learned to introduce yourself with Ich heiße …, Ich komme aus …, Ich spreche …, and Ich bin Student / Studentin. An introduction becomes a conversation when you can invite the other person to share the same information.
In this lesson, you will learn the essential questions and short answers for name, origin, languages, and well-being. These are useful when meeting classmates, during orientation, or in a simple exchange with university staff. Plan for about 30 minutes, with plenty of speaking aloud.
From a monologue to a conversation
Here is a short conversation between two students meeting for the first time:
A: Hallo! Wie heißt du?
B: Ich heiße Samira. Und du?
A: Ich heiße David. Woher kommst du?
B: Ich komme aus Marokko. Und du?
A: Ich komme aus Brasilien. Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
B: Ich spreche Arabisch, Französisch und ein bisschen Deutsch.
A: Wie geht’s dir?
B: Danke, gut. Und dir?
A: Auch gut, danke.
The conversation uses the same answer patterns you already know. The new skill is recognising the question and replying with the matching sentence.
| Topic | Ask a classmate | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Wie heißt du? | Ich heiße … |
| Origin | Woher kommst du? | Ich komme aus … |
| Languages | Welche Sprachen sprichst du? | Ich spreche … |
| Well-being | Wie geht’s dir? | Danke, gut. |
A helpful habit is to answer first, then return the question with Und du? (“And you?”). This keeps the exchange balanced without needing to make a new full sentence immediately.
The four question-and-answer pairs
1. Asking someone’s name
Use:
Wie heißt du?
What is your name?
The answer is familiar:
Ich heiße Amina.
My name is Amina.
You may also hear:
Wie ist dein Name?
What is your name?
For now, make Wie heißt du? your main question. It is common, short, and easy to recognise.
Notice the change:
| Person | Verb form | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I | heiße | Ich heiße Amina. |
| You, informal | heißt | Wie heißt du? |
| You, formal | heißen | Wie heißen Sie? |
Do not try to translate the sentence word by word. Learn Wie heißt du? as one useful spoken unit.
2. Asking where someone comes from
To ask about origin, use:
Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
The word woher means “from where.” It is different from wo, which asks where a person lives; you will use that distinction more later.
Woher kommst du?
Ich komme aus Pakistan.
Woher kommst du?
Ich komme aus Brasilien.
Most country names work directly after aus. A few countries use an article, so you may hear forms such as:
Ich komme aus der Türkei.
Ich komme aus den USA.
For your own introduction, learn your complete answer as a single phrase: Ich komme aus [country].
3. Asking about languages
Use:
Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
Which languages do you speak?
Welche means “which,” and Sprachen means “languages.” Although the question uses the plural, one language is also a complete answer:
Ich spreche Englisch.
Ich spreche Urdu und Englisch.
Ich spreche Spanisch und ein bisschen Deutsch.
The key pattern changes slightly from your own statement:
| Person | Verb form | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| I | spreche | Ich spreche Deutsch. |
| You, informal | sprichst | Welche Sprachen sprichst du? |
| You, formal | sprechen | Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie? |
For the moment, it is enough to hear and use the complete question rather than memorise every verb ending separately.
4. Asking how someone is
After a greeting or an introduction, German speakers often ask:
Wie geht’s dir?
How are you?
A shorter version is:
Wie geht’s?
Useful replies are:
| German reply | Meaning and tone |
|---|---|
| Danke, gut. | Thanks, good. A reliable default. |
| Sehr gut. | Very good. |
| Super. | Great. Informal and enthusiastic. |
| Es geht. | It’s okay / so-so. |
| Nicht so gut. | Not so good. |
| Auch gut. | Also good. A natural reply after the other person answers first. |
To ask the question back, say:
Und dir?
And you?
For example:
A: Wie geht’s dir?
B: Danke, gut. Und dir?
A: Auch gut.
You do not need to explain a problem at this stage. Nicht so gut is enough when you are not feeling well.
Informal and formal questions
You will study du and Sie in more depth next. For this lesson, use one practical rule:
- Use du with another student when you are speaking casually.
- Use Sie with a lecturer, a university office employee, or an adult you do not know.
The question topic stays the same; the form changes.
| Topic | Informal: du | Formal: Sie |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Wie heißt du? | Wie heißen Sie? |
| Origin | Woher kommst du? | Woher kommen Sie? |
| Languages | Welche Sprachen sprichst du? | Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie? |
| Well-being | Wie geht’s dir? | Wie geht es Ihnen? |
The word Sie is always capitalised when it means formal “you.”
Importantly, your answer about yourself does not change:
Wie heißen Sie?
Ich heiße [your name].
Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie?
Ich spreche [your languages].
Here is a brief formal exchange at a university information desk:
Mitarbeiterin: Guten Tag. Wie heißen Sie?
Student: Guten Tag. Ich heiße [your name].
Mitarbeiterin: Woher kommen Sie?
Student: Ich komme aus [your country].
Mitarbeiterin: Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie?
Student: Ich spreche [your languages] und ein bisschen Deutsch.
Mitarbeiterin: Wie geht es Ihnen?
Student: Danke, gut.
Notice the question pattern
For the first three questions, German places the question word first and the changing verb immediately after it:
| Question word | Verb | Person | Full question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wie | heißt | du | Wie heißt du? |
| Woher | kommst | du | Woher kommst du? |
| Welche Sprachen | sprichst | du | Welche Sprachen sprichst du? |
Compare that with an answer, where the person comes first:
Woher kommst du?
Ich komme aus Deutschland.
Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch.
At A1 level, you do not need to analyse every rule while speaking. First, learn the questions as intact phrases. Later, the sentence pattern will make it easier to form many new questions.
Read the core patterns
The Goethe-Institut phrase overview brings the informal and formal versions together, then shows the same questions next to their statement answers.
DEUTSCH ONLINE A1 - Goethe-Institut
Read this concise Goethe-Institut overview to see the four conversation topics in both informal and formal settings. Its grammar table is especially useful for noticing the changing verb forms without trying to memorise a long grammar rule.
On page 2, under “PERSONAL INFORMATION,” find the familiar-address question list. Read the informal questions, then compare them with the formal list beginning “Wie heißen Sie?” and ending with the formal questions. Notice that the answer always begins with Ich. Still on the following “ASKING ‘HOW ARE YOU?’ AND ANSWERS” section, read the answer options. Choose two replies that genuinely fit your usual situation. Finally, on page 4 under “GRAMMAR WH QUESTIONS AND DECLARATIVE SENTENCES,” read the statement examples. Compare each question directly with its answer: question word and verb first in the question, Ich first in the answer.
Hear and repeat the conversation chunks
Listen to the selected parts of Learn German Greetings FAST! Essential Phrases You Need! by Learn German with Anja. The goal is not to copy every explanation; it is to hear the rhythm of the questions and repeat them clearly.
Learn German Greetings FAST! Essential Phrases You Need!
Watch these short clips to hear informal and formal questions about well-being, names, and origin. Repeat immediately after the speaker, then say the phrases again using your own details.
Start with well-being questions and listen for the difference between Wie geht’s? and the formal Wie geht es Ihnen?. Continue with name questions, repeating both Ich heiße … and Wie heißt du? Next, watch origin phrases. Pause after the example country names and substitute your own country. Finally, jump to the recap dialogue for a quick spoken review of the name and origin exchanges.
When repeating, keep the questions in meaningful chunks:
Wie heißt du?
Woher kommst du?
Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
Wie geht’s dir?
In each one, give slight emphasis to the information word: heißt, woher, Sprachen, or geht’s.
A five-minute conversation rehearsal
Use this routine with your own details. Speak aloud, even if you are practising alone.
- Say the four informal questions slowly.
- Answer each question with your real information.
- Add Und du? after each answer except the final one.
- Repeat the whole exchange once using formal Sie questions.
A compact personal script is:
Hallo! Wie heißt du?
Ich heiße [name]. Und du?
Woher kommst du?
Ich komme aus [country]. Und du?
Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
Ich spreche [languages] und ein bisschen Deutsch. Und du?
Wie geht’s dir?
Danke, gut. Und dir?
For a first encounter with a university staff member, replace the questions with Wie heißen Sie?, Woher kommen Sie?, Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie?, and Wie geht es Ihnen? Your self-answers remain exactly the same.
Key takeaways
You can now turn your self-introduction into a basic two-way conversation:
- Wie heißt du? / Wie heißen Sie? asks for a name.
- Woher kommst du? / Woher kommen Sie? asks about origin.
- Welche Sprachen sprichst du? / Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie? asks about languages.
- Wie geht’s dir? / Wie geht es Ihnen? asks about well-being.
- Danke, gut. Und dir / Ihnen? is a polite, useful response.
Use du with classmates in a casual setting and Sie as the safer formal option with staff and lecturers. Next, you will focus specifically on choosing between du and Sie in university and everyday interactions.
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