Day 17: Asking for directions

asking politely · left/right/straight on · the imperative · understanding the answer · 25 min

Asking is easy. Understanding the answer is the hard part, and no course prepares you for it because the reply comes fast, from a stranger, in a dialect.

So today has two halves: the phrases (sections 1–4), and a strategy for when you did not catch it (section 5). The second half is the one that actually gets you there.

1. Asking

Always open with Entschuldigung — a stranger, so Sie.

⚠️ zum or zur — the Day 15 contraction, and it is decided by gender.

★ This is the most practical reason to have learned articles properly on Day 6.Ask for zur Bahnhof and you will still be understood — but zum / zur is the fastest, cheapest tell that you know what you are doing.

2. The words in the answer

★ Almost every one of these is a dative preposition from Day 15 or a two-way preposition from Day 16 in its position sense — an der Ampel, an der Ecke, gegenüber dem Kino. You are not learning new grammar here, only new nouns.

Distance

3. ★ The imperative — how the answer is phrased

Directions come at you as commands, so today is the natural place to learn them.

The Sie form — verb + Sie, that is all

Gehen Sie geradeaus. · Nehmen Sie die erste Straße links. · Fahren Sie mit dem Bus.

Take the infinitive, put Sie after it. No change to the verb at all. This is the form you will hear, and the only one you need to produce as a visitor.

The du form — the bare stem

Cut off -en, use what is left, no ending:

⚠️ Verbs that change their vowel for du keep that change: nehmen → du nimmst → Nimm! · sprechen → du sprichst → Sprich! But a → ä verbs drop it: fahren → du fährst → Fahr! (not Fähr)

The ihr form — identical to the present tense

Geht! · Kommt! · Nehmt!

The two you must know

★ German imperatives sound blunter to an English ear than they are. Gehen Sie geradeaus is not barked, it is neutral. Add bitte if you want, but you do not need to apologise for asking someone to do something.

4. Dialogue

Alex: Entschuldigung, wie komme ich zum Hauptbahnhof?Frau: Zum Hauptbahnhof? Gehen Sie hier geradeaus, bis zur Ampel.Alex: Bis zur Ampel, ja.Frau: Dann nehmen Sie die zweite Straße links. Der Bahnhof ist gegenüber der Post.Alex: Wie bitte? Noch einmal, bitte — langsamer. — LANG-zah-muhFrau: Geradeaus… bis zur Ampel… dann zweite Straße links.Alex: Also: geradeaus, dann zweite Straße links. Richtig? — RIKH-tikhFrau: Genau!Alex: Und wie weit ist das?Frau: Ungefähr zehn Minuten zu Fuß.Alex: Vielen Dank! — Frau: Bitte schön. Gute Reise!

★ Alex does three things right and none of them are vocabulary: asks for it slower, repeats it back, and asks Richtig? to confirm. That is section 5.

5. ★★ When you did not catch it — the actual strategy

You will not understand the first answer. That is normal, it happens to every learner in every language, and the fix is a script, not more vocabulary.

Step 1 — do not nod

Nodding ends the conversation and leaves you lost. Say one of:

Step 2 — repeat back what you did catch

Also: geradeaus, dann links. Richtig?(So: straight on, then left. Correct?)

★ This is the single most valuable technique in the whole course. You are not asking them to explain again — you are asking them to confirm or correct a short summary, which is a far easier thing for them to answer and needs far less German from you.

Step 3 — narrow it down

And the reply you may get

Tut mir leid, ich bin auch fremd hier. — Sorry, I'm not from here either. Do not take it as a failure — it happens in every city. Danke trotzdem! (thanks anyway) and ask someone else.

6. Exercises

A. zum or zur?

1. ___ Bahnhof 2. ___ Post 3. ___ Kino 4. ___ Apotheke 5. ___ Schule 6. ___ Supermarkt

B. Put it into the Sie-imperative.

1. gehen → ___ Sie geradeaus.
2. nehmen → ___ Sie die erste Straße.
3. fahren → ___ Sie mit dem Bus.
4. warten → ___ Sie hier.

C. Put it into the du-imperative.

1. gehen 2. kommen 3. nehmen 4. fahren 5. sprechen

D. Translate.

1. Excuse me, how do I get to the station?
2. Is there a pharmacy nearby?
3. Go straight on to the traffic light.
4. Take the second street on the right.
5. It's about ten minutes on foot.

E. What do you say if…

1. …they spoke too fast.
2. …you want to confirm what you understood.
3. …you only need to know left or right.
4. …you want them to show you on a map.

F. ⚠️ Fix the error.

1. Wie komme ich zur Bahnhof?
2. Gehen geradeaus, bitte. (to a stranger)
3. Fähr mit dem Bus! (to a friend)
4. Die Post ist gegenüber den Bahnhof.

7. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)

1. Entschuldigung, wo ist der Bahnhof? — Excuse me, where's the station? (voh ist dair BAHN-hohf)
2. Wie komme ich zum Museum? — How do I get to the museum? (vee KOM-muh ikh tsoom moo-ZAY-oom)
3. Ist hier in der Nähe eine Apotheke? — Is there a pharmacy nearby? (in dair NAY-uh)
4. Gehen Sie geradeaus. — Go straight on (GAY-en zee guh-RAH-duh-owss)
5. Nehmen Sie die erste Straße links. — Take the first street on the left (dee AIRS-tuh SHTRAH-suh LINKS)
6. An der Ampel rechts. — Right at the traffic light (an dair AM-pel REKHTS)
7. Es ist gegenüber der Post. — It's opposite the post office (gay-gen-EW-buh dair POST)
8. Wie weit ist es? — How far is it? (vee VITE ist es)
9. Ungefähr zehn Minuten zu Fuß. — About ten minutes' walk (OON-guh-fair … tsoo FOOSS)
10. Also: geradeaus, dann links. Richtig? — So: straight on, then left. Right? (AL-zoh … RIKH-tikh)

8. 📲 Upload to LangNote

Upload section 2 (the direction words), section 5 (the strategy) and section 7 → study language German.

★ Practise failing. Everyone drills the question and nobody drills what happens next — which is why real conversations collapse at turn two. In today's role-play, ask the tutor to answer quickly, then dig your way out with Wie bitte? and Also: … Richtig?That skill transfers to every remaining day of this challenge.

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