Business vocabulary in German (work and negotiations)
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This chapter will teach you some of the most useful words for talking business in German. The chapter will discuss vocabulary related to job titles, small talk, which is important in the Dutch business culture, and meetings.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.General German vocabulary related to business
- 2.Job titles in German
- 3.Small Talk in German
- 4.Vocabulary related to meetings in German
- 5.Presentations in German
- 6.Exercises
- 6.1.Translate the business vocabulary into German
- 6.2.Complete the business small talk by matching the right phrases
- 6.3.Type in the correct German business vocabulary
General German vocabulary related to business
Let's start with some general Vocabulary necessary for business related talk
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Arbeit | work |
| Chef | boss |
| Ergebnis | result |
| Fehler | mistake |
| Formular | form |
| Hilfe | help |
| Industrie | industry |
| Kollegen | colleagues |
| Konkurrenz | competition |
| Leistung | performance |
| Lieferant | supplier |
| Mitarbeiter | coworker |
| Möglichkeit | opportunity |
| Stelle | job |
| Termin | appointment |
| Unternehmen | company |
| Verhandlung | negotiation |
| Versicherung | insurance |
| Wirtschaft | economy |
- Der Chef erwartet Ergebnisse - The boss is expecting results
- Unser Chef hat viele Termine - Our boss has many appointments
- Ich habe sehr nette Kollegen - I have very nice colleagues
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Job titles in German
When applying for a job it is important to know what position there are in a company. Below you will find some examples of job titles in Dutch.
| English | German |
|---|---|
| Head of Department | Abteilungsleiter |
| Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | Geschäftsführer |
| Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Finanzleiter |
| Supervisory Board | Aufsichtsrat |
| Production Manager | Produktionsleiter |
| Managing Partner | Geschäftsführende Teilhaber |
| Partner Shareholder | Aktieninhaber |
| Division Manager | Bereichsleiter |
| Senior Executive | Leitender Angestellter / Senior executive |
Small Talk in German
Once you got a job socializing with your colleagues is an important part of everyday life.
Depending on how well you know your conversation partner, the German form of politeness is appropriate. In General you should use the form of politness always when you meet someone for the first time and when talking to higher-ups.
| English | German | German form of politeness |
|---|---|---|
| Nice to meet you. | Schön dich kennen zu lernen | Freut mich Sie kennen zu lernen |
| Please, take a seat. | Nimm platz bitte | Bitte, nehmen Sie Platz |
| May I introduce you to... | Darf ich dir *Name* vorstellen? | Dürfte ich Ihnen *Name* vorstellen? |
| How was your vacation? | Wie war dein Urlaub? | Wie war Ihr Urlaub? |
| Can I get you something to drink? | Kann ich dir etwas zu trinken anbieten? | Kann ich Ihnen etwas zu trinken anbieten? |
| Lovely day today, isn’t it? | Schöner Tag heute, nicht wahr? | / |
| Did you have a pleasant flight? | Hattest du einen angenehmen Flug? | Hatten Sie einen angenehmen Flug? |
Vocabulary related to meetings in German
'Eine Besprechung' (which means 'a meeting' - however, just saying 'a meeting' is also very common) in German can be an important moment to discuss certain issues or agenda points. Below you will find a list of vocabulary related to meetings.
| English | German |
|---|---|
| to hold a meeting | Eine Besprechung / Ein Meeting halten |
| to address an issue | Ein Problem ansprechen |
| to attend a meeting | An einer Besprechung teilnehmen |
| the agenda | Die Agenda |
| the minutes | Die Minuten |
| to record the minutes | Die Minuten zählen |
| at short notice | kurzfristig |
| to take notes | Notizen machen |
| the negotiation | Die Verhandlung |
| to chair | vorsitzen / den Vorsitz haben |
| to collaborate | zusammen arbeiten |
| the absentee | Der Abwesende |
- Heute hatten die Angestellten schon 3 Besprechungen. - Today the staff hat 3 meetings already.
- Es gab fast keine Abwesenden. - There were almost no absentees.
- Jedes mal hatte der Chef den Vorsitz. - Everytime the boss chaired the meeting.
Presentations in German
The German business vocabulary includes terms to describe and explain diagrams and graphs.
| English | Dutch |
|---|---|
| the numbers / figures | Die Zahlen / Ziffern |
| the table | Die Tabelle |
| the pie chart | Das Tortendiagramm |
| the row | Die Reihe |
| the column | Die Spalte |
| the bar chart | Das Säulendiagramm |
| the line chart | Das Liniendiagramm |
| the graph | Die Grafik |
| the vertical / horizontal axis | Die vertikale / horizontale Achse |
| the curve | Die Kurve |
| to peak | gipfeln |
| to drop | fallen |
| annual / yearly | jährlich |
| year-on-year | Jahr für Jahr |
| to fluctuate | fluktuieren / schwanken |
| to remain stable | stabil bleiben |
| to increase | zunehmen |
| to decrease | abnehmen |
| to flatten out | abflachen |
- Diese Zahlen gipfeln jährlich zur Sommerzeit - These numbers peak annually at summer time
- Wie Sie in diesem Säulendiagramm sehen können - As you can see in this bar chart
- Unsere Verkäufe schwanken von Jahr zu Jahr - Our sales fluctuate year-on-year
Train your skills by doing the exercises below!
Exercises
- Translate the business vocabulary into German
- Complete the business small talk by matching the right phrases
- Type in the correct German business vocabulary
Translate the business vocabulary into German
Complete the business small talk by matching the right phrases
Type in the correct German business vocabulary
Exercises
- Translate the business vocabulary into German
- Complete the business small talk by matching the right phrases
- Type in the correct German business vocabulary
Translate the business vocabulary into German
Complete the business small talk by matching the right phrases
Type in the correct German business vocabulary
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Hello,
my name is Nina, I'm from Austria and I also lived for one year and a half in Canada. I worked there as a German Teacher for adults, so I speak German, English and French.
I also teach English for beginners and advanced beginners.
My teaching methodes are totally based on the level of my student. If somebody is already advanced, I focus on communication and pronunciation. We will arrange on a topic and talk and discuss in the lesson about it.
If my student is a beginner, I'm gonna start with the basics of the German language. (the articles, the verb "to be", the pronouns...)
The learning material is all made by myself, because I'm a German teacher, so that means, I already got lots of working sheets for many topics. I send these to my student via e-mail or put it directly on the coLanguage homepage.
I'm available from Monday to Thursday between 5pm and 08:00 pm. For the weekend it's the best to just send me a request.
Of course is a free trial lesson (it's about 20 minutes) possible.
I'm happy to teach you :-)
See you soon! Nina
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