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How to Say ‘Hmm, I usually pay around twenty for this trip.’ in German

Hm, sonst zahle ich für die Strecke meistens um die zwanzig.

hm SONST TSAH-leh ikh fyr dee SHTREK-keh MY-stens oom dee TSVAHN-tsikh

[hm SONST TSAH-leh ikh fyr dee SHTREK-keh MY-stens oom dee TSVAHN-tsikh]

🇩🇪 In Germany: Mentioning what you usually pay is a gentle, face-saving way to question a fare. Taxi meters in Germany are regulated, so drivers generally expect you to pay what's shown unless the route was clearly wrong.

Phrase Breakdown

Hm, sonst zahle ich

hm SONST TSAH-leh ikh

Hm, usually I pay

Here 'sonst' means 'usually / otherwise'. The verb comes before 'ich' because 'sonst' starts the clause.

Example

Sonst zahle ich mit Karte.

Usually I pay by card.

Words in this phrase

[hm]

Hesitation sound expressing doubt.

Example

Hm, ich weiß nicht.

Hm, I don't know.

sonst

[SONST]

otherwise

Indicates other activities or alternatives.

Example

Hast du sonst noch Pläne?

Do you have other plans?

zahle

[TSAH-leh]

pay

First-person form of 'zahlen' (to pay).

Example

Ich zahle mit Karte.

I pay by card.

ich

[ikh]

The pronoun 'ich' in nominative form.

Example

Ich bin da.

I am here.

für die Strecke meistens

fyr dee SHTREK-keh MY-stens

for this route mostly

'meistens' means 'mostly / usually'. Stress 'MEIS'. 'Strecke' starts with 'sht'.

Example

Ich fahre meistens mit dem Rad.

I mostly go by bike.

Words in this phrase

für

[fyr]

for

A preposition indicating purpose or destination.

Example

Das ist für dich.

This is for you.

die

[dee]

the

Definite article used to specify something already known.

Example

Die Katze ist süß.

The cat is cute.

Strecke

[SHTREK-keh]

route / distance

A stretch of way travelled between two points.

Example

Die Strecke ist kurz.

The route is short.

meistens

[MY-stens]

usually

Most of the time.

Example

Ich fahre meistens Bus.

I usually take the bus.

um die zwanzig.

oom dee TSVAHN-tsikh

around twenty.

This gives an approximate amount. 'zw' sounds like 'tsv'.

Example

Das kostet um die zwanzig Euro.

That costs around twenty euros.

Words in this phrase

[oom]

around (in 'um die')

'um die' + number = approximately.

Example

Es kostet um die zehn Euro.

It costs around ten euros.

die

[dee]

the

Definite article used to specify something already known.

Example

Die Katze ist süß.

The cat is cute.

zwanzig

[TSVAHN-tsikh]

twenty

The number 20; used for time and quantity.

Example

In zwanzig Minuten ist das Team bereit.

In twenty minutes the team is ready.

Guides for German learners

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