Workplace warning language

Sicherheit am Arbeitsplatz

Recognise basic warnings and say when you have not understood an instruction.

Vorsicht warns you to be careful; verboten means prohibited; Gefahr means danger and Schutz means protection. Notausgang is an emergency exit. Learn these meanings and the phrase for not understanding. The lesson does not replace workplace signs or safety training. First review Wo questions and the request to repeat. Dort rechts means over there on the right; in the dialogue it describes a fictional location only, not an actual emergency route.

Hier ist Rauchen verboten starts with the place word Hier, then ist. Rauchen is the activity being prohibited. In Ich habe die Anweisung nicht verstanden, verstanden comes last and nicht makes the statement negative.

A warning, a prohibition and a question are not interchangeable. Brauche ich Handschuhe? asks for information; it does not say gloves are required or sufficient. Use the lack-of-understanding phrase to communicate that an instruction was unclear.

Use ist, not sind, with the activity Rauchen in this model. Das ist billig is grammatical but means that something is cheap, not dangerous. Keep nicht when reporting that you did not understand.

Warning: Vorsicht. Prohibited: verboten. Dangerous: gefährlich. Emergency exit: Notausgang. Did not understand: nicht verstanden.

In a fictional conversation, identify a warning phrase and ask a location question. Then say that you did not understand the instruction. Do not invent a safety procedure from the examples.