Bitte sehr?
Martin Kitt
A colleague of mine uses the expression "bitte sehr" to say thank you;
is this colloquial German or just a pet expression of his?
Martin
Stefan Huebel
"Bitte sehr" may have a lot of meanings, depending on the context but is
never used to say thank you.
Some examples? Bitte sehr:
- Darf ich (mal) ... ? Bitte sehr ! ( May I ...? Certainly ! )
- there you go ( if offering sth. )
- as an *answer* to "danke": that's all right
Stefan
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Melissa
meaning of "You're welcome".
If he really says it instead of "Thank you" he is probably a funny guy
(or tries to be funny). It is just wrong to use it that way.
Melissa
nishikawa
"Martin Kitt" <mar...@kitt.clara.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7E5B4.134$Eq....@nnrp4.clara.net...
>
>
> A colleague of mine uses the expression "bitte sehr" to say thank you;
> is this colloquial German or just a pet expression of his?
>
> Martin
Isn't is "Danke sehr" that he uses ?
M. Nishikawa
David Dahlberg
>A colleague of mine uses the expression "bitte sehr" to say thank you;
>is this colloquial German or just a pet expression of his?
You can use it to say "You're welcome", but better use "Bitte schoen".
To say "Thank you" you can use "Danke schön".
HTH,
David
--
"Ich bin ein .signature Virus. Mach' mit und kopiere mich in Deine
.signature."
Helmut Richter
>"Bitte sehr" may have a lot of meanings, depending on the context but is
>never used to say thank you.
>Some examples? Bitte sehr:
>- there you go ( if offering sth. )
And this is an occasion where I heard "thank you" in England. In a
restaurant, the waiter said "thank you" each time he placed a plate
with food before us on the table. A German waiter would have said
"bitte sehr" (if anything at all) but certainly not "danke
[sehr/schön]": he is offering and not receiving something. Is this use
of English "thank you" typical? Then we would have a single example
where "bitte sehr" stands for "thank you".
The various versions of "bitte" and "danke" have a somewhat different
emphasis.
1) bitte / danke: neutral, brief, polite but not *overly* polite
2) bitte schön / danke schön: colloquial, familiar
3) bitte sehr / danke sehr: formal, sounds a bit like a butler/waiter
4) bitte, bitte! / danke, danke!
- equal stress on both words: exaggerated request or thank
- second word stressed: polite rejection, for instance thanking for a
compliment that one considers not fully deserved; answering a thank
for something one would have considered no big deal)
For the foreigner who does not know the nuances, I would suggest using
only number 1 and perhaps 2. If you feel the need to be more polite, a
complete sentence is better than a possibly misplaced modal adverb:
"Darf ich Sie/dich um etwas bitten?" - "Ich danke Ihnen/dir". - "Ich
möchte mich bei Ihnen/dir [für ...] bedanken."
The last sentence is only appropriate when the thank does not evolve
naturally out of the context for something you just received, for
instance when you are writing a letter, or call someone on the phone,
or change the subject of a conversation to express your thanks.
Helmut Richter
Mary Richards
Helmut Richter wrote:
> And this is an occasion where I heard "thank you" in England. In a
> restaurant, the waiter said "thank you" each time he placed a plate
> with food before us on the table.
Were you, by any chance, at an Indian restaurant?
It's not normal English usage, although we do seem to say 'thank you' a
ridiculous amount. Count the number of times during a normal shop
transaction:
Put items on counter: 'Thank you'
'That'll be £4.50, thank you'
Hand over the money 'Thank you'
Give back the change 'Thank you'
Hand over the goods 'Thank you' on both sides
'Thanks, bye'
It can get pretty silly, I guess we're just too polite!
Mary
Helmut Richter
>Helmut Richter wrote:
>> And this is an occasion where I heard "thank you" in England. In a
>> restaurant, the waiter said "thank you" each time he placed a plate
>> with food before us on the table.
>Were you, by any chance, at an Indian restaurant?
Indeed.
Helmut Richter
John M Clark
spoken German.
Martin Kitt wrote:
> A colleague of mine uses the expression "bitte sehr" to say thank you;
> is this colloquial German or just a pet expression of his?
>
> Martin
Paul Pfalzner
John M Clark <jom...@infinet.com> wrote in message
news:38d7fec2$0$13...@news.erinet.com...
> "Bitte sehr", is not peculiar to your colleague. It is fairly common
in
> spoken German.
>
True, it takes the place of "it's nothing", or, "I am glad to do it",
in RESPONSE to a request or a thank you.
But it is not the right way to say, thank you.
The colleague of Martin Kitt seems confused.
P.