Negotiating salary: Asking for a higher salary politely

💬 das Gehalt is a monthly salary for office work. Hourly or manual pay is usually der Lohn "wage".

💬 sich vorstellen literally means "to picture to yourself", and the vor jumps to the end. The same verb without sich means "introduce": Ich stelle mich vor "I introduce myself".

💬 German uses the present tense ich bin for something that started in the past and is still going on, where English says "I've been". Same with Ich wohne seit 2020 hier "I've lived here since 2020".

💬 hätte is the soft "would have" form of haben, and it is the standard polite way to ask for something. You hear it at the bakery too: Ich hätte gern zwei Brötchen "I'd like two rolls".

🇩🇪 Naming a concrete percentage is expected in Germany. A vague request is easier to brush off than a clear figure.

💬 German treats fünf Prozent as plural, so the verb is sind, where English says "is".

💬 gerade adds a sense of "of all times". It turns a plain question into "why exactly now?"

💬 machen covers "handle" or "take care of" tasks, not just "make". Ich mache die Buchhaltung means "I do the bookkeeping".

💬 German glues nouns together: Kunde "customer" + Projekt. The last part decides the gender, so it's das Kundenprojekt because of das Projekt.

🇩🇪 Backing your request with added responsibilities is the argument German managers expect. Seniority alone is weaker.

💬 stimmen means "to be correct" here, not "to vote". Stimmt so at a café means "keep the change".

💬 This verb splits in sentences, and an moves to the end: Ich biete Ihnen drei Prozent an. After kann it stays whole at the end: Ich kann Ihnen drei Prozent anbieten.

💬 Ihnen is formal "to you", the form used for the person receiving something. Compare Ich helfe Ihnen "I'll help you".

🇩🇪 Dropping vielleicht into a counter-offer softens it a lot. It signals you're open to compromise rather than making demands.

💬 wären is the polite "would be" form of sein, and it opens the question. Reuse it: Wäre Freitag möglich? "Would Friday be possible?"

💬 ab marks a starting point in time: ab Montag "from Monday on", ab sofort "effective immediately".

🇩🇪 A one-word Einverstanden? invites a clear yes. Answering Ja, einverstanden closes the deal; a vague reply reads as hesitation.

💬 das Gespräch often means a formal talk or meeting, as in das Vorstellungsgespräch "job interview".

🇩🇪 Thanking your manager for the conversation itself is a standard, gracious way to end a negotiation, whatever the outcome.

💬 This is short for Ich wünsche Ihnen noch einen schönen Tag, which is why it ends in -en. noch means "for the rest of" the day.