🤝🗣️❓🧠

How to Say ‘We agreed to use 'du', remember?’ in German

Wir hatten uns doch aufs Du geeinigt!

veer HAH-ten oons doch owfs doo geh-EYE-nikt

[veer HAH-ten oons doch owfs doo geh-EYE-nikt]

💬 Usage Tip: doch here adds a friendly "remember?" or "didn't we?" feel. It reminds someone of something they should already know.

🇩🇪 In Germany: Once in-laws offer du, slipping back into Sie can feel oddly distant to them. This is a gentle, good-natured correction, not a telling-off.

Phrase Breakdown

Wir hatten uns doch

veer HAH-ten oons doch

But we had (agreed)…

'Doch' adds a reminding, slightly reproachful tone, like 'but we did…'. The 'W' sounds like an English 'v': 'veer HAT-ten oons dokh'.

Example

Wir hatten uns doch für heute verabredet.

But we had arranged to meet today.

Words in this phrase

Wir

[veer]

Pronoun for a group including the speaker.

Example

Wir arbeiten gern zusammen.

We like working together.

hatten

[HAH-ten]

had

Past tense of 'haben'.

Example

Wir hatten Glück.

We were lucky.

uns

[oons]

each other / ourselves

Reflexive pronoun in 'wir sehen uns', meaning 'each other'.

Example

Dann sehen wir uns am Donnerstag.

Then we’ll see each other on Thursday.

doch

[doch]

after all

Used to imply that something is expected or should not be surprising.

Example

Das ist doch klar.

That is clear after all.

aufs Du geeinigt!

owfs doo geh-EYE-nikt

agreed on 'du' (to use first names / informal 'you')

'Aufs' is short for 'auf das'. 'Sich aufs Du einigen' means agreeing to use the informal 'du'. In 'geeinigt', say both e's separately: 'geh-EYE-nikt'.

Example

Wir haben uns gestern aufs Du geeinigt.

We agreed yesterday to use 'du' with each other.

Words in this phrase

aufs

[owfs]

on the

Contraction of 'auf das'; here used in 'sich aufs Du einigen' (agree on using 'du').

Example

Wir gehen aufs Land.

We are going to the countryside.

[doo]

the informal 'you' (du form)

As a noun, 'das Du' means the informal way of addressing someone.

Example

Wir sind jetzt per Du.

We now use first names / informal 'you'.

geeinigt

[geh-EYE-nikt]

agreed

Past participle of 'sich einigen', to come to an agreement.

Example

Wir haben uns auf einen Termin geeinigt.

We agreed on a date.

Guides for German learners

Duolingo vs Pimsleur: Tapping on a Screen or Talking Out Loud?Duolingo vs Pimsleur: five minutes of tapping versus thirty minutes of speaking. What each is good at, what each costs, and which to pick for your goal.

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