Lesson 20: Daily Routines
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about simple daily routines in German. You’ll also learn a few useful time phrases and how to use the ich form of common verbs.
What you’ll learn
- common daily routine words
- how to say what you do every day
- how to use simple time phrases
- how to conjugate verbs for ich
- how to make short sentences about your routine
Daily routine verbs
Here are some useful verbs for everyday routines:
aufstehen = to get up
frühstücken = to eat breakfast
arbeiten = to work
lernen = to study / learn
essen = to eat
nach Hause kommen = to come home
schlafen = to sleep
These are good beginner verbs because they describe things many people do every day.
The ich form
When you want to say I do something, German often changes the verb ending.
With many verbs, the ich form ends in -e.
Examples:
lernen → ich lerne
arbeiten → ich arbeite
schlafen → ich schlafe
mache from machen
spiele from spielen
So:
- lernen = to learn
- ich lerne = I learn
- arbeiten = to work
- ich arbeite = I work
- schlafen = to sleep
- ich schlafe = I sleep
This is a very useful beginner pattern.
A simple rule
For many verbs:
verb ending -en → remove -en → add -e for ich
Examples:
lernen → ich lerne
arbeiten → ich arbeite
kochen → ich koche
You do not need to memorize every verb form yet. Just focus on the ich form for now.
A note about aufstehen
Some verbs are a little different.
aufstehen becomes:
ich stehe auf = I get up
This is because aufstehen is a separable verb.
For now, just learn this as a whole phrase:
ich stehe auf
The same idea applies to:
nach Hause kommen → ich komme nach Hause
Again, learn this as one phrase for now.
Simple time phrases
Here are a few helpful time phrases:
am Morgen = in the morning
am Nachmittag = in the afternoon
am Abend = in the evening
jeden Tag = every day
These phrases help you say when something happens.
Talking about your routine
A simple pattern is:
Ich + verb + time phrase
Examples:
Ich stehe am Morgen auf. = I get up in the morning.
Ich frühstücke am Morgen. = I eat breakfast in the morning.
Ich arbeite am Nachmittag. = I work in the afternoon.
Ich lerne am Abend. = I study in the evening.
A useful beginner idea
You do not need to describe your whole day yet. Start with one action at a time.
Examples:
Ich esse am Abend. = I eat in the evening.
Ich schlafe am Abend. = I sleep in the evening.
Ich lerne jeden Tag. = I study every day.
Short sentences are enough.
Simple example sentences
Ich stehe am Morgen auf. = I get up in the morning.
Ich frühstücke am Morgen. = I eat breakfast in the morning.
Ich arbeite am Nachmittag. = I work in the afternoon.
Ich komme am Abend nach Hause. = I come home in the evening.
Ich schlafe am Abend. = I sleep in the evening.
