Mastodawn

Curly Cuddledealer Nov 19, 2022

The German word "bitte" means "please".

Combined with other words, it means more:

Bittebitte! (expandable by as many "bitte" as you want) = Prettyplease!
Wie bitte? = Say what?
Bitteschön (literally: pleasenice) = There you are.
Bittesehr (pleasevery) = There you are.
Na, bitte! = Told you so.
Also bitte! = Stop that!
Aber bitte doch! = Go ahead!
Bitte was? = That's impossible.
WIE BITTE?! = ARE YOU F*CKING SERIOUS?!

Enjoy our language!

Chris Marquardt Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen paging @anhdres

Lars Holgersson 🎶Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Nice to have such a versatile word in a language. 😉

Squidbilly Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen
And then, depending on inflection, "Bitte" on it's own can mean:
- Please.
- You're welcome.
- Are you serious?
- You can't be serious.
- Sorry? (As in: Can you repeat that, please?)
- Here you are.

@sqdblly @jensclasen , similar to the 'are you serious' is the
'ach bitte' oder mehr 'bītte' = get real

Sam Bosbach Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen “There you are” equaling “you’re welcome”? That’s how I always used bittesehr and bitteschön.

Der Deutscher 🇪🇺🇺🇦Nov 19, 2022

@s_bosbach @jensclasen

Yes and no, I guess. „Bitte.” can mean “there you are” or “you’re welcome”, but those aren’t exactly equivalents, are they? 😉

esthi Nov 19, 2022

@s_bosbach
You can use it that way!
Additionally, you can say "Bitte schön /bitte sehr!" while handing something to someone. ("Here you are" - as in: here is your sandwich / tea / ...)
@jensclasen

Sam Bosbach Nov 19, 2022

@esthi @jensclasen Aha! I suppose I did use it that way but never really processed it in English lol. Thanks!

esthi Nov 19, 2022

@s_bosbach
In any case, it's a polite thing to say 😎
@jensclasen

Theta Sigma Nov 19, 2022

@Atarbuck Does this bit of German translation explain a certain Wulver’s biting tendencies? @jensclasen

Dr Alice Tarbuck Nov 19, 2022

@ThetaSigma @jensclasen ha!! I think it may

Pumps Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I love those elements of your language!

classless Kulla Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Ich bitte dich!

LennStar_de Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Bitte enjoy our language!

Secular_Girl (Marg)Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Vielen Dank.

Johannes Knopp Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen nice one! Short addendum: The more common use of "wie bitte?" is "(I beg your) pardon?" when someone did not clearly understood what was said.
The "Say what?" translation is possible, when the speaker is more agitated. "wie bitte?!"

metaphora42 Nov 19, 2022

@joknopp @jensclasen Häh? 😁

The Old Reading Room Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Love this. My German is a bit rusty now but when working in Köln as a young adult 'bitte' fast became my favourite word

André Côte ✅Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Was bitte?

Mike Rose Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen and of course the ever popular “bitte, baby” https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/2abd35bd-5435-4a0f-8cbb-80d796e0f8f4

Bitte, baby.

Yarn

fchaverri Nov 19, 2022

Mark Codes the Web Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I love the German language. I’ve been learning it with Mondly and Duolingo. But you don’t learn some of the subtleties like this from apps. Great post.

Bethany E. Toma Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen My German sucks ass and honestly it's shocking how far I can get with just "bitte" and "ach so" in different tones if voice. If only I could master "doch"...

Der Deutscher 🇪🇺🇺🇦Nov 19, 2022

@sparksbet @jensclasen

You do know the (American) English translation of „doch“, don’t you? 😉
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/fe7eff6b-28f5-41a4-89b9-a41fc3188f01

- No way. - Way!

Yarn

Bethany E. Toma Nov 19, 2022

@derdeutscher @jensclasen ... unironically this makes it so much clearer to me holy shit

Der Deutscher 🇪🇺🇺🇦Nov 19, 2022

@sparksbet @jensclasen

This is how every American German teacher I know explains the meaning of „doch“, at which point their students immediately get it.

Wayne’s World has done more for German language education than any other movie.

Bethany E. Toma Nov 19, 2022

@derdeutscher @jensclasen my German teachers were all German so no luck there... though tbf my class was a bit young for Wayne's World

Rachel Happe 🐘Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen have tried using ‘please’ in similar intonations as the Germans use bitte and it sort of works but not entirely 😏

Rechenschieber Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Es fehlen Bitterfeld, Bitterling, Magenbitter, ...

@jensclasen Bitte ein Bit!

Souldog Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I visited Germany in May and I'm just glad so many people speak English, as nobody speaks French or Portuguese and there's no way I'm going to learn enough German.

A_deck_of_51 Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I may have been using “wie bitte” incorrectly… Explains some of the service I’ve had in shops here.

Strammamax Nov 19, 2022

Ich möchte da wirklich gerne "Wirklich" beisteuern...😁
Wirklich?
Ja, wirklich!
Nicht wirklich...!?
Wirklich jetzt?
Wirklich jetzt!
Wirklich ätzend!
Aber wirklich!
In Wirklichkeit...
...
And so on...
Wer mag übersetzen 😂

Sean Tibor Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I'll take things I never learned in high school German class for $100, please.

The #python programmer in me immediately though of "Bittebitte!" as:

n = int(input("How many bitte? "))
("Bitte" * n).title() + "!"

>>> n = int(input("How many bitte? "))
How many bitte? 20
>>> ("Bitte" * n).title() + "!"
'Bittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebittebitte!'
>>>

Uriel29⛧⸸🇩🇪🏳️‍🌈Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Was ist mit "your welcome"?

Atle 🧇🧅Nov 19, 2022

I think the Norwegian ja (yes) works kinda the same

Ja =yes
Tja =well
Nja = i'm not sure
Jaja (yesyes) = oh, whatever
Jammen (yesbut) = this is unfair
Javel (yeswell) = ok, i'll do it
Jada (yesthen) = same as over, or excited yes
Jaggu = who would have thought?

Bernd Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen 😂😂😂

Saida Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen großartig! Hier lerne ich meine eigene Sprache nochmal ganz neu kennen, und zwar von ihrer komischen (im doppelten Wortsinn) Seite.
Dankeschön.

[email protected]Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Ach bitteeee... = All the other kids can stay at the party as long as they want.

Ralf Weber, MS, CPDT

@jensclasen Nice! Das Letzte ist das Beste!

CodingKurzgeschichten Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Nice! In Viennese dialect there is the non-translatable word "Oida" (something like old guy... but watch this video for a more detailed explanation 😂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuXR53ex4iI

#Viennese #Oida

🇦🇹 ❤️ HOW TO SPEAK VIENNESE USING ONLY ONE WORD. Video Tutorial

🇦🇹 ❤️ Tutorial Did you want to learn the intricacies of German in Austria? All you need to know is this one little word and you can master any situation!...

YouTube

Steven Don Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I love this. And I'm very happy that all of them made sense to me despite not being fluent in German.

malte Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen "Na, bitte!" can also mean "Finally!" [after many tries], though 😄

Tobias Mueller Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen "Oh bitte!" = That's embarrasing, stop telling.

Joachim Heistinger 🌶️Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen OIDA?!? O.o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuXR53ex4iI

🇦🇹 ❤️ HOW TO SPEAK VIENNESE USING ONLY ONE WORD. Video Tutorial

🇦🇹 ❤️ Tutorial Did you want to learn the intricacies of German in Austria? All you need to know is this one little word and you can master any situation!...

YouTube

@jensclasen , dankeschön !

Chris Der Englander Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen bite bitte. noch mehr sprach Hinweis. 👍😄

Zeroespero Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen never thought German is such a pleased language.

Norbert Ciperle Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen
Geh Bitte!

HRH ginsterbusch Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen
Bitte nicht - Nope.
Bitte nicht schon wieder - NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!

u_saurus Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen oh bitte = mach nicht so ein Drama

@jensclasen now i re-understand the lyrics of G-Spot Michael all over again.

Michael Marten Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen Viel Spaß, @axmthompson! 🇩🇪

Mathias Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen and what's about "Bitterarm"?

ValkySu82 Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen I've got one more:

"Ach bitte!" = Don't be ridiculous.

Joachim Seibert Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen @DL8GAM

Taki Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen don't forget the Austrian "bitte, danke" = asking for something and immediately saying thanks, to force the other to accept the plea.

eleanor Nov 19, 2022

@jensclasen another great meaning of “bitteschön”: “what would you like?” (e.g. to tell a customer it’s their turn to order)

Sabine ✅Nov 20, 2022

@jensclasen
Ich muß doch sehr bitten! - this annoys me, stop it.