Reacting & Giving Feedback
Reacting & Giving Feedback
Reacting to news and giving feedback — positive or critical — rounds out the social-language toolkit for B1, pairing set phrases with the polite, indirect tone German speakers expect in feedback situations.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Das freut mich: 'that pleases me', not 'I'm happy'
Das freut mich zu hören! (I'm glad to hear that!)
I'm glad to hear that!
German often phrases reactions with the thing doing the pleasing as the grammatical subject (Das freut mich — literally 'that pleases me') rather than the person as subject with an adjective (English 'I'm glad'). freuen also appears reflexively elsewhere (sich freuen auf/über), so seeing both the reflexive and non-reflexive versions side by side is worth noticing.
Softening criticism with Konjunktiv II
Ich würde vorschlagen, dass... / Man könnte vielleicht...
I would suggest that... / One could perhaps...
Direct criticism (Das ist falsch) can sound blunter in German feedback contexts than intended; native speakers often reach for Konjunktiv II (würde, könnte) to soften a suggestion, exactly the diplomatic function 'would' and 'could' serve in English feedback ('I would suggest...' rather than 'Do this instead').
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Das freut mich (zu hören). | dahs froyt mikh (tsoo HER-en) | I'm glad (to hear that). |
| Das tut mir leid. | dahs toot meer lyte | I'm sorry (about that). |
| Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback. | FEE-len dahnk fuer eer FEED-behk | Thank you for your feedback. |
| Ich kann Ihre Kritik nachvollziehen. | ikh kahn EE-reh kree-TEEK nahkh-FOL-tsee-en | I understand your criticism. |
| Ich würde vorschlagen, dass... | ikh VUER-deh FOR-shlah-gen, dahs | I would suggest that... |
| das ist verständlich | dahs ist fair-SHTENT-likh | that's understandable |
| gute Arbeit! | GOO-teh AHR-byte | good work! |
| das könnte man verbessern | dahs KERN-teh mahn fair-BES-ern | that could be improved |