Speaking Practice - Role Play: Everyday Transactional Scenarios
Handle a café, shop or station in German. Learn the polite phrases, the du/Sie rule and the question words you need to ace the speaking role play.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
The role-play task
In the Speaking exam you act out a short role play: an everyday situation such as ordering in a café, buying something in a shop, or asking at a station. You will need polite phrases, the right level of formality, and the correct question words. This module gives you all three.
Du and Sie
German has two words for "you", and the role-play setting tells you which one to choose.
Du or Sie?
You are in a shop, speaking to a shopkeeper you do not know. Should you use du or Sie?
- Sie (formal, for someone you do not know)
- du (informal, for friends and family)
- It never matters which you use
- wir (we)
Polite phrases
A few chunks make you sound polite and score marks.
Match each German phrase to its meaning
- ich möchte
- bitte
- die Rechnung
- danke
- I would like
- please
- the bill
- thank you
Question words
To ask for what you need, learn the question word first, then attach the thing you need.
Match each question word to its meaning
- wie viel
- wo
- wann
- um wie viel Uhr
- how much / how many
- where
- when
- at what time
Build the price question
Put the German words in order to ask "How much does that cost?"
- Wie viel
- kostet
- das?
Order in a café
You are ordering in a German café. Choose the best thing to say at each step.
- To order a coffee politely, you say...
- To ask how much it costs, you ask...
- To ask for the bill, you say...
Useful role-play phrases
Select the THREE phrases that would be useful in a transactional role play.
- Ich möchte... (I would like)
- Haben Sie...? (Do you have?)
- Wo ist...? (Where is?)
- Der Hund ist blau (The dog is blue)
- Sie sind ein Tisch (You are a table)
- Guten Tag wie viel Pizza Katze
At the station
Travel scenarios come up often. A few essentials: - eine Fahrkarte = a ticket - der Bahnhof = the station - die Straße = the street - Wo ist...? = Where is...?
Buy a ticket
Which phrase asks for a train ticket?
- Eine Fahrkarte, bitte
- Einen Kaffee, bitte
- Die Rechnung, bitte
- Danke schön
Complete the role play
To order politely: Ich _____ einen Kaffee, bitte. To ask the price: Wie _____ kostet das? To ask for the bill: Die _____, bitte. To say thanks: _____.
Role-play summary
In the role play, use _____ (not du) with someone you do not know. Say ich _____ to order politely, and _____ for please. Ask wie _____ to find out the price.