Asking about someones family: Asking if someone has brothers or sisters
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Key Phrases
Hast du Geschwister?
Do you have any siblings?
Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester.
I have a brother and a sister.
Nicht so oft, leider.
Not that often, unfortunately.
Skills You'll Learn
Talking about family members and siblings
Über Familienmitglieder und Geschwister sprechen
Comparing ages with older/younger
Alter vergleichen mit älter/jünger
Expressing frequency and regret in conversation
Häufigkeit und Bedauern im Gespräch ausdrücken
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you run into your friend Anna on the street. You greet each other, and you get chatting about your families. You ask whether she has any siblings, and she asks about yours. You tell her about your sister in London and how often you see her before Anna has to hurry off.
Hallo Anna! Wie geht's dir?
Hi Anna! How are you?
Hi Emily ! Gut, danke. Und dir?
Hi Emily! Good, thanks. And you?
Auch gut. Sag mal, hast du Geschwister?
Good too. Say, do you have any siblings?
Ja, ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester.
Yes, I have a brother and a sister.
Cool! Sind sie älter oder jünger?
Cool! Are they older or younger?
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Wie geht's dir?
vee gayts deer
How are you?
💬 Swap dir for Ihnen to ask someone you'd address as Sie: Wie geht es Ihnen?
🇩🇪 Germans often answer this honestly rather than with an automatic "fine", so it's mostly asked of people you actually know.
See breakdown →Gut, danke.
goot DAHN-keh
Good, thanks.
Und dir?
oont deer
And you?
💬 After "how are you", it's Und dir?, because it echoes Wie geht's dir?. Use Und du? when you're asking about something like where someone's from or whether they have siblings.
See breakdown →Auch gut.
owkh goot
Good too.
Sag mal
zahk mahl
Tell me
🇩🇪 A casual, friendly way to open a question, like "so, tell me". It sounds natural among friends but too chummy with someone you call Sie.
See breakdown →Hast du Geschwister?
hahst doo geh-SHVIS-ter
Do you have any siblings?
💬 To ask a yes/no question, put the verb first: du hast becomes hast du. Same with Hast du Kinder? "Do you have children?"
See breakdown →Sag mal, hast du Geschwister?
zahk mahl hahst doo geh-SHVIS-ter
Say, do you have any siblings?
Die Geschwister
dee guh-SHVIS-ter
Siblings
💬 Geschwister covers brothers and sisters together, so you can ask without guessing which one. It is almost always used as a plural.
See breakdown →Ich habe einen Bruder
ikh HAH-buh EYE-nen BROO-der
I have a brother
💬 After ich habe, ein becomes einen for a masculine word like Bruder. Feminine words don't change: eine Schwester.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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