{"id":94164,"date":"2023-07-14T18:20:13","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T22:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-oral-exam-phrases\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T02:45:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T06:45:51","slug":"german-oral-exam-phrases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-oral-exam-phrases\/","title":{"rendered":"59 German Oral Exam Phrases [Audio Included]"},"content":{"rendered":"

I personally consider Steve Jobs to be one of the greatest oral speakers. His key tip was: rehearse, rehearse and rehearse\u2014with the phrases you want to use<\/a> in your presentation.<\/p>\n

This made me think to myself, “Hey, why don’t I create a phrase bank to prepare for German oral exams?”<\/p>\n

Here are some of my phrase banks for German oral exams, grouped by category. I’ve based these categories largely on the Goethe-Zertifikat oral exam rubrics<\/a>, but you can mix, match and adapt them to any exam you’re planning to take.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Introduction Phrases and Questions<\/h2>\n

Remember to take note of the different ways of saying “you”.<\/a> You should use\u00a0Sie\u00a0<\/em>for formal situations, such as asking your examiner questions, and du\u00a0<\/em>for informal situations, such as role-playing a conversation with a friend with the examiner. We’ve listed both forms below in all our phrases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Talking About Yourself<\/h3>\n

Ich hei\u00dfe…\/Ich bin… <\/em>(My name is…\/I am…)<\/p>\n

Ich komme aus… <\/em>(I come from…)<\/p>\n

Ich wohne in… <\/em>(I live in…)<\/p>\n

Ich bin … Jahre alt. <\/em>(I am … years old.)<\/p>\n

Meine Hobbys sind… <\/em>(My hobbies are…)<\/p>\n

Asking About Someone Else<\/h3>\n

Was machen Sie\/machst du gerade? <\/em>(What are you doing right now?)<\/p>\n

Was machen Sie\/machst du beruflich? <\/em>(What do you do professionally?)<\/p>\n

Was machen Sie in Ihrer\/machst du in deiner Freizeit? <\/em>(What do you do in your free time?)<\/p>\n

Wann haben Sie\/hast du frei?<\/em> (When are you free?)<\/p>\n

Phrases and Questions for Shopping<\/h2>\n

For many beginner and lower-intermediate German oral exams, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can get by in daily German life. You may be asked to role-play a conversation in a store or some other German public place. These questions and phrases will help.<\/p>\n

For the most part, you should avoid using the du<\/em> form<\/a> in this context, as you would want to speak respectfully and formally with strangers.<\/p>\n

Wie viel kostet … ?\/Was kostet … ?<\/em> <\/em>(How much does … cost?)<\/p>\n

Wo kaufen\/bekommen Sie…?<\/em> (Where do you buy\/get…?)<\/p>\n

Wie sind Ihre\/deine Arbeitszeiten? <\/em>(What are your working hours?)<\/p>\n

Wann schlie\u00dft … ? <\/em>(When does … close?)<\/p>\n

Wann \u00f6ffnet die B\u00e4ckerei\/der Supermarkt\/die Apotheke? <\/em>(When does the bakery\/supermarket\/pharmacy open?)<\/p>\n

Ich h\u00e4tte gern\/Ich m\u00f6chte…<\/em>\u00a0(I would like…)<\/p>\n

Phrases and Questions to Ask for Help<\/h2>\n

Ich habe eine Frage.<\/em> (I have a question\/inquiry.)<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nnten Sie\/k\u00f6nntest du mir bitte helfen? <\/em>(Could you please help me?)<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nnten Sie\/k\u00f6nntest du bitte mir ein\/eine\/einen<\/a> … geben? <\/em>(Could you please give me a … ?)<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nnten Sie mir sagen…<\/em> (Could you tell me…)<\/p>\n

Ich m\u00f6chte wissen, ob…<\/em> (I would like to know whether…)<\/p>\n

Vielen Dank f\u00fcr die Informationen\/Hilfe.<\/em> (Thanks a lot for the information\/help.)<\/p>\n

Expressing and Asking for Opinions<\/h2>\n

Was meinen Sie\/meinst du dazu?<\/em> (What do you think about that?)<\/p>\n

Meiner Meinung nach…<\/em> (In my opinion…)<\/p>\n

Ich finde, dass…<\/em> (I find that…)<\/p>\n

Ich glaube, dass…<\/em> (I think that…)<\/p>\n

Haben Sie\/hast du etwas dazu zu sagen?<\/em> (Do you have something to say about that?)<\/p>\n

Wie denken Sie\/denkst du?<\/em> (What do you think?)<\/p>\n

Giving\u00a0a Mini-presentation<\/h2>\n

At the intermediate stages and up, you’ll need to prove that you can discuss a topic coherently, support your opinions and address counterarguments. The Goethe-Zertifikat B1 exam<\/a>, for example, requires a brief presentation about an everyday topic.<\/p>\n

Opening Phrases<\/h3>\n

Guten Tag, meine Damen und Herren.<\/em> (Hello, ladies and gentlemen.)<\/p>\n

Mein heutiges Thema ist…<\/em> (Today my topic is…)<\/p>\n

Ich spreche \u00fcber dieses Thema, weil…<\/em> (I am speaking about this topic because…)<\/p>\n

Main Points<\/h3>\n

Ich m\u00f6chte \u00fcber die folgenden Punkte sprechen…<\/em> (I would like to speak about the following points…)<\/p>\n

Erstens\/zweitens\/drittens werde ich \u00fcber … sprechen.<\/em> (First\/second\/third I will be talking about …)<\/p>\n

Concluding Phrases<\/h3>\n

Ich m\u00f6chte kurz zusammenfassen.<\/em> (I would like to shortly conclude.)<\/p>\n

Abschlie\u00dfend m\u00f6chte ich sagen, dass…<\/em> (In conclusion I would like to say that…)<\/p>\n

Vielen Dank f\u00fcr Ihre\/deine Aufmerksamkeit.<\/em> (Thank you for the attention.)<\/p>\n

Haben Sie noch Fragen?<\/em> (Do you have any questions?)<\/p>\n

Important German Grammatical Structures<\/h2>\n

Partizip 2\u00a0<\/em>(Present Perfect Tense)<\/h3>\n

This tense is particularly useful for question-framing. Of course to use this tense, just be sure you’re familiar with your German participles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Haben Sie schon etwas gegessen?<\/em> (Have you eaten something already?)<\/p>\n

Wie sind Sie\/bist du nach London gefahren? <\/em>(How did you travel to London?)<\/p>\n

Wann hast du Deutsch gelernt? <\/em>(When did you learn German?)<\/p>\n

Modalverben\u00a0<\/em>(Modal Verbs)<\/h3>\n

German modal verbs<\/a> are quite handy to use in question-framing<\/a> or expressing wants, abilities, permissions, etc.:<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nn(t)en Sie Bitte…<\/em> (Could\/Can you please…)<\/p>\n

Ich wollte eigentlich…<\/em> (I actually wanted to…)<\/p>\n

Darf ich… ?<\/em> (May I… ?)<\/p>\n

Trennbare Verben\u00a0<\/em>(Separable Verbs)<\/h3>\n

Many German oral exams will ask you to make plans or negotiate with another German speaker to demonstrate flexible conversation skills<\/a>. Separable verbs<\/a> are very useful here.<\/p>\n

Kommst du Freitag um neunzehn Uhr mit?<\/em> (Are you coming along on Friday at 7pm?)<\/p>\n

Was bringst du zur Party mit?<\/em> (What are you bringing along to the party?)<\/p>\n

Um wie viel Uhr soll ich dich abholen?<\/em> (At what time should I pick you up?)<\/p>\n

Was ziehst du heute an?<\/em> (What are you wearing today?)<\/p>\n

Das sieht gut aus.<\/em> (That looks good.)<\/p>\n

Konnektoren <\/em>(Connectors)<\/h3>\n

These work well in expressing opinions<\/a>, thoughts, conditions and situations.<\/p>\n

weil<\/em> (because):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember to place the verb in the second clause at the end.<\/p>\n

Das ist so, weil…<\/em> (That is so, because…)<\/p>\n

Ich denke so, weil…<\/em> (I think so, because…)<\/p>\n

Ich habe keine Zeit, weil…<\/em> (I have no time because…)<\/p>\n

Ich brauche es, weil…<\/em> (I need it because….)<\/p>\n

Ich habe es so gemacht, weil…<\/em> (I did it that way because…)<\/p>\n

dass<\/em> (that):<\/strong><\/p>\n

This connector<\/a> is used to reinforce facts and express direct speech as indirect. It’s very handy when you want to express your personal opinion. This again displaces the verb in the second clause to the end.<\/p>\n

Ich finde, dass…<\/em> (I find that…)<\/p>\n

Mir ist es klar, dass…<\/em> (It is clear that…)<\/p>\n

Ich meine, dass…<\/em> (I mean to say that…)<\/p>\n

Das zeigt uns, dass…<\/em> (It shows us that…)<\/p>\n

obwohl <\/em>(although):<\/strong><\/p>\n

This could either be placed in the first clause or the second.<\/p>\n

Obwohl ich das gesagt habe, glaube ich…<\/em> (Although I said this, I think…)<\/p>\n

Ich bin \u00fcberhaupt nicht m\u00fcde, obwohl ich die ganze Nacht nicht geschlafen habe.<\/em> (I’m not tired at all, even though I didn’t sleep all night.)<\/p>\n

How to Prepare for a German Oral Exam<\/h2>\n

Now that you’ve learned 59 key German oral exam phrases, it’s time to see how you can prepare for your exam.<\/p>\n

Familiarize Yourself with the Exam Format<\/h3>\n

This is the first step to ensuring that you’ll be calm and confident on test day<\/strong>. You’ll know what to expect, how to present yourself and, most importantly, your preparation will be focused and relevant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you’re taking an oral exam in an academic setting<\/a>, your teacher or professor will likely explain the scope of the test, even if it’s just the basics. When you’re studying, be sure to adhere to that structure\u2014time yourself, discuss certain topics in the order your professor specified, leave your notes somewhere hard to reach\u2014anything to imitate what you’ll actually be experiencing on test day.<\/p>\n

With official German language tests, you may need to do a little bit of research to know the test structure. However, it’ll be easy to find.<\/p>\n

For example, there’s tons of information about the popular Goethe-Zertifikat<\/a>\u00a0exam online. You’ll see that the A1 (beginner) level exam<\/a> has a basic question-and-answer format, and you’ll need to speak for about 15 minutes. However, the C2 (advanced) level exam<\/a> requires you to deliver a presentation and respond to counterarguments, also within 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Memorize Words Smarter with Word Maps\"german-oral-exam-phrases\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Once you know the format of the test, you’ll know what vocabulary topics would be best for you to study. Word maps<\/a> are an incredible tool to\u00a0avoid those long, uncomfortable pauses while speaking<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That’s because word maps make it easy to memorize a lot of related words at once. That way, you can be fully prepared for any topic you need to discuss in your German oral exam and handle anything that’s thrown at you during the test.<\/p>\n

They’ll also help you get more use out of the phrases you’ll be preparing to use in your oral exam. If you have a wide range of nouns<\/a>, verbs<\/a> and adjectives to work with, you can easily swap them in and out of your German phrases, adapting them to specific situations.<\/p>\n

The beauty of this technique is that you can be creative within a framework. Check out my examples below, where you’ll see that I’ve organized words both by theme (work) and part of speech.<\/p>\n

Verbs:<\/strong><\/p>\n