🧍💼5️⃣📅

How to Say ‘I've been working for five years.’ in German

Ich arbeite seit fünf Jahren.

ikh AR-by-teh zyte fuenf YAH-ren

[ikh AR-by-teh zyte fuenf YAH-ren]

💬 Usage Tip: German uses the present tense with seit for something still going on, where English says "have been working". Saying Ich habe seit fünf Jahren gearbeitet would sound wrong.

Phrase Breakdown

Ich arbeite

ikh AR-by-teh

I work

Stress the first syllable: AR-bei-te. The 'ei' sounds like English 'eye'.

Example

Ich arbeite in einem Büro.

I work in an office.

Words in this phrase

Ich

[ikh]

The pronoun 'ich' in nominative form.

Example

Ich bin da.

I am here.

arbeite

[AR-by-teh]

work

'I' form of the verb 'arbeiten' (to work).

Example

Ich arbeite als Entwickler.

I work as a developer.

seit fünf Jahren.

zyte fuenf YAH-ren

for five years

German uses the present tense with 'seit' for something that is still going on. English uses 'have been' instead.

Example

Wir wohnen hier seit fünf Jahren.

We have lived here for five years.

Words in this phrase

seit

[zyte]

since / for

Used with time expressions to show duration from the past until now.

Example

Seit zwei Jahren arbeite ich in Berlin.

I have been working in Berlin for two years.

fünf

[fuenf]

five

The number 5.

Example

Ich habe fünf Euro.

I have five euros.

Jahren

[YAH-ren]

years

Plural of 'Jahr', used for periods of time.

Example

Nach vielen Jahren kennt man die Branche gut.

After many years, one knows the industry well.

Guides for German learners

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