Spelling names clearly

Namen sicher buchstabieren

Ask someone to spell a word or name, introduce a surname and ask for repetition.

Buchstabieren asks for letters. Wie schreibt man Ihren Namen? asks how a name is written. Introduce a surname with Mein Nachname ist … . Noch einmal, bitte asks for repetition without specifically requesting spelling. Practise with invented names. First review German letter names in A1-F01 and spelling in A1-L22. The fictional surname Weber is spelled W – E – B – E – R; pronounce the German letter names, not the English ones. Wie ist Ihr Nachname? asks for the surname. A request to repeat a whole utterance is not automatically a request for separate letters.

Können Sie starts the polite question; buchstabieren is the infinitive at the end. In Wie schreibt man Ihren Namen?, schreibt agrees with man.

At reception, ask how a name is written so that you can record it correctly. Asking for spelling and asking how a name is written often serve the same practical purpose, but the expressions have different wording.

The wrong example needs buchstabieren, not buchstabiert, after können. The position of bitte alone is not the decisive error: German allows more than one natural position for bitte.

Letters: buchstabieren. Family name: Nachname. Again: noch einmal. General subject: man, with one n.

Practise a short exchange with an invented name. Ask for spelling and then repetition; notice the difference between the two requests.