Ask for repetition, slower speech and meaning

Wenn man etwas nicht versteht

Choose a suitable way to repair a conversation: ask for slower speech, repetition or the meaning of a word.

Before this lesson: recognise polite Sie questions and the basic können + infinitive pattern. Use Können Sie das bitte langsamer sagen? when the speaker is too fast. Können comes first, Sie is the polite form of you, langsamer means more slowly, and sagen is the infinitive at the end; do not change it to sagt. Ich habe das nicht verstanden. means I did not understand that. Learn habe ... verstanden as a useful Perfekt pattern: verstehen has the participle verstanden, not geverstanden. The sentence reports a comprehension problem; it does not ask the speaker to do anything by itself. Was bedeutet das? asks for meaning, not for a slower speed. Bitte noch einmal. asks for repetition; Noch einmal, bitte. is also natural. This short request is useful speech even without a full subject and verb. Example: A: Können Sie das bitte langsamer sagen? B: Ja. Der Termin ist am Montag. A: Bitte noch einmal. B: Am Montag. The response must address what the other person asked.

First name the problem: speed, repetition or unknown meaning. Then choose the matching request. Use Ich habe das nicht verstanden. to state that comprehension failed.

At reception, ask for slower speech when an appointment is explained too quickly. When a sign contains an unknown word, ask Was bedeutet das? instead.

Können Sie das bitte langsamer sagt? incorrectly conjugates the second verb. Können carries the agreement; use sagen at the end. Bitte noch einmal. is not wrong merely because it is a short request.

langsamer = slower; noch einmal = once again; bedeutet = means; nicht verstanden = did not understand.

A partner reads an appointment too fast. Ask for slower speech, then ask for repetition. Finally point to an unfamiliar word and ask what it means.