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How to Say ‘I've only been waiting ten minutes.’ in German

Ich warte erst zehn Minuten.

ikh VAR-tuh airst tsayn MIN-u-ten

[ikh VAR-tuh airst tsayn MIN-u-ten]

💬 Usage Tip: For something still going on, German uses the simple present where English says "have been waiting". erst "only (so far)" is what adds the "only". Same pattern: Ich wohne erst zwei Jahre hier "I've only lived here two years".

Phrase Breakdown

Ich warte

ikh VAR-tuh

I have been waiting / I wait

'warten' means 'to wait'. German uses the present tense where English uses 'have been waiting'. The 'w' sounds like English 'v'.

Example

Ich warte auf dich.

I'm waiting for you.

Words in this phrase

Ich

[ikh]

The pronoun 'ich' in nominative form.

Example

Ich bin da.

I am here.

warte

[VAR-tuh]

am waiting

From warten; used when you are waiting for something or someone.

Example

Ich warte auf meinen Freund, und warte means am waiting.

I am waiting for my friend, and warte means am waiting.

erst zehn Minuten.

airst tsayn MIN-u-ten

only ten minutes

'erst' here means 'only' or 'just', in the sense of 'not long yet'. 'zehn' starts with 'ts'. In 'Minuten', stress the second syllable: mi-NU-ten.

Example

Es ist erst acht Uhr.

It's only eight o'clock.

Words in this phrase

erst

[airst]

only (so far)

With time amounts, it means 'only' or 'just', stressing that it is less than expected.

Example

Es ist erst acht Uhr.

It's only eight o'clock.

zehn

[tsayn]

ten

The number ten, often used when giving the time.

Example

Zehn Uhr ist für laute Musik zu spät.

Ten o'clock is too late for loud music.

Minuten

[MIN-u-ten]

minutes

Units of time, each equal to 60 seconds.

Example

Es dauert fünf Minuten.

It takes five minutes.

Guides for German learners

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