Language in use

German for studying

Lectures, office hours, exams and shared flats: the German of a university town.

Why this field

Universities in the German-speaking countries charge little or nothing in tuition at most public institutions, and many degree courses are taught in German. Even on English-taught courses, the administration, the shared flat and the student job are usually in German.

University German has its own words for things every student meets in the first week: the Mensa, the Sprechstunde, the Hausarbeit, the WG. Knowing them saves a lot of confusion.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

1. Ich studiere Maschinenbau im dritten Semester.I am in my third semester of mechanical engineering.

   neutral

2. Wann ist die Sprechstunde von Professor Wagner?When are Professor Wagner’s office hours?

   neutral Sprechstunde is the time a lecturer sets aside for students’ questions.

3. Ich muss mich noch für die Prüfung anmelden.I still have to register for the exam.

   neutral sich anmelden für is reflexive and takes für.

4. Die Vorlesung fällt heute aus.The lecture is cancelled today.

   neutral ausfallen is separable: the aus goes to the end of the sentence.

5. Kann ich mir kurz deine Mitschrift ausleihen?Can I borrow your notes for a moment?

   casual

6. Gehen wir nach der Übung in die Mensa?Shall we go to the canteen after the tutorial?

   casual The Mensa is the university canteen.

7. Ich schreibe gerade meine Hausarbeit über Migration.I am writing my term paper on migration at the moment.

   neutral

8. Sehr geehrter Herr Professor Wagner, ich habe eine Frage zur Hausarbeit.Dear Professor Wagner, I have a question about the term paper.

   formal

9. Die Abgabefrist ist am 15. März.The deadline is the 15th of March.

   neutral

10. Ich wohne in einer WG mit drei anderen Studierenden.I live in a shared flat with three other students.

    neutral WG (Wohngemeinschaft) is a shared flat — the usual way to live as a student.

What matters here

• Students say du to each other from the start; lecturers are addressed with Sie and their title or surname: Herr Professor Wagner, Frau Dr. Keller.
• A Vorlesung is a lecture, an Übung or Seminar is a smaller class with exercises or discussion.
• Deadlines are strict: a Hausarbeit handed in late is often simply not marked.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in German, then open it to compare.

1. I am in my third semester of mechanical engineering.

   Ich studiere Maschinenbau im dritten Semester.

2. I still have to register for the exam.

   Ich muss mich noch für die Prüfung anmelden.

3. Can I borrow your notes for a moment?

   Kann ich mir kurz deine Mitschrift ausleihen?

4. I am writing my term paper on migration at the moment.

   Ich schreibe gerade meine Hausarbeit über Migration.

More fields

Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.