German Register and Style: From Slang to Legal German

German register: five ways to say the same thing

Register is the level of formality of your language. At C2, you move between registers deliberately: chatting with friends, writing to a client, reading a contract. German marks register through vocabulary, the du/Sie choice, and grammar: the more formal, the more nouns, passives and Konjunktiv.

Short answer: standard German (Standardsprache) is right almost everywhere. Recognise the levels below and above it, and choose them on purpose: colloquial with friends, formal and nominal in official writing.

One idea in every register

Register is the level of formality of your language. Choose an idea to see it change from slang to administrative German; every word has its English meaning underneath. The page covers German at C2, where you need to understand every level and write in the top two. The same choices exist in English; compare with our guide to formal letters in English.

Slang

IchIbinamtotaltotallypleite.broke

ikh bin toh-TAHL PLY-tuh

pleite: broke

Colloquial

IchIhabhavekeinenoKohle.coal

ikh hahp KY-nuh KOH-luh

Kohle: “coal”, cash; hab for habe

Standard

IchIhabehavekeinnoGeld.money

ikh HAH-buh kine GELT

neutral

Formal

Mirto-mefehlenare-lackingdiethefinanziellenfinancialMittel.means

meer FAY-lun dee fee-nan-TSYEL-un MIT-ul

Mittel: means; the money becomes the subject

Administrative

EsitliegtlieseineanZahlungsunfähigkeitinability-to-payvor.(before)

es leekt INE-uh TSAH-loongs-oon-fay-ikh-kite FOR

nominal, impersonal: vorliegen, “to exist (on file)”

Du or Sie: the first register choice

German has two words for “you” to one person. Du is informal. Sie is polite: always written with a capital S, it takes the same verb form as “they” (Sie haben). Choosing between them sets the register of everything else you say.

When unsure, start with Sie. Moving to du is a small social step, usually offered by the older or more senior person; going back to Sie is rare and cold.

HasthaveduyouZeit?time

hast doo TSYT“Do you have time?”Du takes the -st ending: hast.

Sie

HabenhaveSieyouZeit?time

HAH-bun zee TSYT“Do you have time?”Sie takes the “they” form, haben, and is always capitalised.

The switch

Wollenwantwirweunseach-otherduzen?say-du

VOL-un veer oons DOO-tsun“Shall we use du?”Duzen and siezen are verbs: to call someone du or Sie.

Vocabulary ladders

Many everyday words have a colloquial and a formal equivalent. The standard word in the middle is safe everywhere.

English	Colloquial	Standard	Formal
money
to eat
work, job
to get
to look
great
car
to start
to explain

The grammar of each register

Colloquial

· Contractions: hab, gibt’s, haste· Perfect tense instead of simple past· weil + verb second: weil ich hab keine Zeit· Particles: halt, mal, eben

Standard

· Full forms and correct word order· Simple past for sein, haben and modals· Sie with strangers· Clear verb-based sentences

Formal and administrative

· Nominal style: zur Vermeidung von …· Passive and impersonal forms· Konjunktiv I in reports· Fixed formulas: hiermit, bezüglich, gemäß

Amtsdeutsch: fixed phrases from contracts and forms

Administrative German uses a set of formulas you will meet in every letter from a landlord, bank or authority. Learn to decode them.

Sehr geehrte Frau …, Hallo Anna: emails by register

Könnten Sie …? Softening a request

German moves from blunt to polite with Konjunktiv II, bitte and small particles like mal and vielleicht.

Blunt

Gibgivemirmedas!that

GIP meer DAS · “Give me that!”Why: A bare imperative: only for close friends, and still abrupt.

Neutral

Gibstgiveduyoumirmemal das?just that

GIPST doo meer maal DAS · “Could you pass me that?”Why: A question with mal sounds friendly.

Polite

KönntencouldSieyoumirmehelfen?help

KÖN-ten zee meer HEL-fen · “Could you help me?”Why: Konjunktiv II könnten softens the request.

Very polite

Wärenwould-beSieyouso nett,so kind…?…

VAI-ren zee zoh NET · “Would you be so kind as to …?”Why: For favours from strangers or superiors.