🧑‍🏫🏙️🇬🇧5️⃣📆

How to Say ‘I was a teacher in London, for five years.’ in German

Ich war Lehrer in London, fünf Jahre lang.

ikh vah LAY-rer in LON-don fuenf yah-re lahng

[ikh vah LAY-rer in LON-don fuenf yah-re lahng]

Phrase Breakdown

Ich war Lehrer

ikh vah LAY-rer

I was a teacher

No article before the profession. The 'h' in 'Lehrer' is silent.

Example

Sie war Lehrerin.

She was a teacher.

Words in this phrase

Ich

[ikh]

The pronoun 'ich' in nominative form.

Example

Ich bin da.

I am here.

war

[vah]

was

Past tense of 'is', used to describe something that happened or existed in the past.

Example

Er war ein großer Krieger.

He was a great warrior.

Lehrer

[LAY-rer]

teacher

A person who teaches at a school; masculine noun (female: Lehrerin).

Example

Mein Vater ist Lehrer.

My father is a teacher.

in London,

in LON-don

in London

'in' plus a city name gives the location. Pause briefly at the comma.

Example

Ich wohne in London.

I live in London.

Words in this phrase

[in]

Expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.

Example

Das Haus steht in Trümmern.

The house is in ruins.

London

[LON-don]

London

The capital city of England; same name in German.

Example

London ist sehr groß.

London is very big.

fünf Jahre lang.

fuenf yah-re lahng

for five years

This gives the duration. Say 'ü' with rounded lips. The 'J' in 'Jahre' sounds like an English 'y'.

Example

Er war drei Jahre lang hier.

He was here for three years.

Words in this phrase

fünf

[fuenf]

five

The number 5.

Example

Ich habe fünf Euro.

I have five euros.

Jahre

[yah-re]

years

A unit to measure time, equivalent to 365 days or 12 months.

Example

99 Jahre sind fast ein Jahrhundert.

99 years is almost a century.

lang

[lahng]

for (a duration)

After a time expression, 'lang' means 'for that length of time'.

Example

Sie hat drei Tage lang gewartet.

She waited for three days.

Guides for German learners

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