Making Plans Together
Making Plans Together
German's everyday way of proposing an activity — Wollen wir...? — translates literally as the fairly formal-sounding 'shall we', but is actually the neutral, casual default in speech.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Suggesting with Wollen wir...? / Sollen wir...?
Wollen wir ins Kino gehen? (Shall we go to the cinema?)
Shall we go to the cinema?
English 'shall we...?' has a fairly formal, almost old-fashioned ring, so casual English tends to say 'let's...' or 'do you want to...?' instead. German Wollen wir...? (literally 'do we want...?') is the everyday, neutral way to propose a joint activity — much more common in speech than its literal translation suggests. Sollen wir...? works the same way and is equally natural.
sich verabreden vs. sich treffen: arranging vs. the actual meeting
Wir verabreden uns für Samstag. Wir treffen uns um 15 Uhr.
We're arranging to meet on Saturday. We're meeting at 3pm.
sich verabreden (reflexive) is about making the plan itself, while sich treffen (also reflexive) describes the actual meeting or get-together. English uses 'meet up' loosely for both stages, but German keeps them conceptually distinct.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Wollen wir...? | VOL-en veer | Shall we...? / Do you want to...? |
| Hast du Lust auf...? | hahst doo loost owf | Do you feel like...? |
| Ich habe eine Idee. | ikh HAH-beh EYE-neh ee-DAY | I have an idea. |
| sich treffen | zikh TREF-en | to meet up |
| sich verabreden | zikh fer-AHP-ray-den | to arrange to meet |
| Wann passt es dir? | vahn pahst es deer | When works for you? |
| Wie wäre es mit...? | vee VAY-reh es mit | How about...? |
| Das klingt gut. | dahs klingt goot | That sounds good. |
| Ich kann leider nicht. | ikh kahn LY-der nikht | Unfortunately I can't. |
| Bis später! | bis SHPAY-ter | See you later! |