How to Say ‘What do you like?’ in German
Was gefällt Ihnen?
vas geh-FELT EE-nen
[vas geh-FELT EE-nen]
💬 Usage Tip: gefallen works backwards from English: the thing liked does the pleasing, and the person becomes Ihnen or mir. Das gefällt mir means "I like that."
Phrase Breakdown
Was
[vas]
what
Question word asking about a thing.
Was machst du?
What are you doing?
gefällt
[geh-FELT]
pleases (I like)
From 'gefallen'; 'X gefällt mir' means 'I like X'.
Das Bild gefällt mir.
I like the picture.
Ihnen
[EE-nen]
you (formal, dative)
The formal 'you' in the dative case, used in polite professional situations.
Darf ich Ihnen eine Frage zur Kultur im Unternehmen stellen?
May I ask you a question about the culture in the company?
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