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How to Say ‘One moment, let me check.’ in German

Einen Moment, ich schaue mal nach.

EYE-nen moh-MENT ikh mahl nahkh

[EYE-nen moh-MENT ikh mahl nahkh]

💬 Usage Tip: nachschauen "to check" splits in two, and the nach jumps to the end: ich schaue mal nach. The little mal just softens it, like "let me just".

Phrase Breakdown

Einen Moment,

EYE-nen moh-MENT

One moment,

Stress the second syllable of 'Moment': mo-MENT. Pause briefly at the comma.

Example

Einen Moment, bitte.

One moment, please.

Words in this phrase

Einen

[EYE-nen]

Indefinite article before a masculine accusative noun.

Example

Ich plane einen kurzen Austausch nächste Woche.

I am planning a short exchange next week.

Moment

[moh-MENT]

moment

A noun meaning moment. Common in polite requests asking someone to wait briefly.

Example

Einen kleinen Moment, ich komme gleich.

One small moment, I'll be right there.

ich schaue mal nach.

ikh mahl nahkh

I'll just check.

'Nachschauen' (to check) is a separable verb, so 'nach' moves to the end. 'Schaue' sounds like 'SHOW-e', and 'mal' softens the phrase.

Example

Ich schaue mal im Kalender nach.

I'll just check the calendar.

Words in this phrase

ich

[ikh]

The pronoun 'ich' in nominative form.

Example

Ich bin da.

I am here.

schaue

mal

[mahl]

just / for now

A softening particle; together with 'schon' it means 'in the meantime, in advance'.

Example

Ich deck schon mal den Tisch.

I'll just set the table in the meantime.

nach

[nahkh]

(up) — part of 'nachschauen', to check

Separable prefix of 'nachschauen', meaning to look something up.

Example

Ich sehe im Kalender nach.

I'll check in the calendar.

Guides for German learners

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