Hallo Team! – Introducing Yourself at Work
Introducing yourself to a team · a free German immersion capsule
Useful sentences · 10
Phrases you'll actually use today. Tap Explain for the why behind each one.
Hallo, ich heiße Maria und ich freue mich sehr, euch alle kennenzulernen.
Hello, my name is Maria and I am very happy to meet you all.
Literal Hello, I am-called Maria and I please myself very, you-all to-get-to-know.
A natural opening for any self-introduction. 'Heißen' (to be called) is the standard verb for giving your name in German. 'Sich freuen' is a reflexive verb expressing happiness, and 'euch' is the informal plural 'you all'.
- 'Ich heiße' uses 'heißen' (to be called) — more natural than 'ich bin' for stating your name
- 'Sich freuen' is reflexive: freue mich (I am pleased), freust dich (you are pleased)
- 'Kennenzulernen' is an infinitive of the separable verb kennen + lernen (to get to know)
Ich arbeite seit drei Jahren als Softwareentwicklerin in der IT-Branche.
I have been working for three years as a software developer in the IT industry.
Literal I work since three years as software-developer in the IT-industry.
German uses the present tense with 'seit' to describe an ongoing situation — where English uses the present perfect. 'Als' introduces a professional role.
- 'Seit + dative' + present tense = ongoing action: 'seit drei Jahren' (for three years)
- 'Als' introduces an occupation or role: 'als Entwicklerin' (as a developer)
- Dative case after 'seit': 'drei Jahren' — Jahren is the dative plural of Jahr
Ich komme ursprünglich aus München, wohne aber seit zwei Jahren in Berlin.
I originally come from Munich, but I have been living in Berlin for two years.
Literal I come originally from Munich, live but since two years in Berlin.
'Ursprünglich' (originally) adds nuance to an origin statement. The connector 'aber' (but) contrasts origin with current location, and 'seit' with the present tense shows the move is still the current situation.
- 'Kommen aus' = to come from — used with place names for origin
- 'Seit + dative' again with 'wohnen' (to live): present tense for ongoing action
- 'Aber' (but) follows the conjugated verb in the second clause: 'wohne aber'
Meine Hauptaufgabe in diesem Team ist die Koordination neuer Projekte.
My main responsibility in this team is the coordination of new projects.
Literal My main-task in this team is the coordination of new projects.
A professional sentence to describe your role. 'Meine' (my) agrees with the feminine noun 'Aufgabe'. 'Diesem Team' uses the dative after 'in' for a static location.
- Possessive adjective 'meine' agrees with feminine noun 'Aufgabe' (nominative singular)
- 'In diesem Team' — dative after 'in' for location (not movement)
- Genitive: 'neuer Projekte' — 'of new projects'
In meiner Freizeit spiele ich gerne Gitarre und gehe oft wandern.
In my free time I enjoy playing guitar and often go hiking.
Literal In my free-time play I gladly guitar and go often hiking.
'Gerne' (gladly/with pleasure) after a verb expresses enjoyment — a very natural German construction. The opening adverbial 'In meiner Freizeit' pushes the verb to second position, a core German word-order rule.
- Dative after 'in' for location: 'meiner Freizeit' (feminine dative)
- 'Gerne + verb' = to enjoy doing something: 'spiele ich gerne' (I like to play)
- Verb-second rule: adverbial phrase in position 1 → verb 'spiele' must come second
Ich habe meinen Abschluss in Wirtschaftsinformatik an der Uni Hamburg gemacht.
I completed my degree in business informatics at the University of Hamburg.
Literal I have my degree in business-informatics at the uni Hamburg made/done.
'Abschluss machen' (to complete a degree) is the idiomatic expression for graduating. 'Meinen' is masculine accusative because 'Abschluss' is a masculine noun.
- Accusative: 'meinen Abschluss' — masculine accusative of 'mein'
- Dative after 'an der': 'an der Uni' (at the university) — static location
- Present perfect: 'habe … gemacht' — common in spoken German for completed past events
Ich bin sehr gespannt auf die Zusammenarbeit mit euch.
I am very excited about working together with you all.
Literal I am very curious/excited on the collaboration with you-all.
'Gespannt sein auf' is an idiomatic expression for anticipation or excitement. 'Zusammenarbeit' is a compound noun (zusammen = together + Arbeit = work) very common in professional German.
- 'Gespannt auf + accusative': 'auf die Zusammenarbeit' — accusative after 'auf' for anticipation
- 'Euch' is the accusative/dative form of informal 'ihr' (you all)
- Compound noun: 'die Zusammenarbeit' — learn it as a whole word in professional contexts
Ich spreche fließend Deutsch und Englisch, und ich lerne gerade Spanisch.
I speak German and English fluently, and I am currently learning Spanish.
Literal I speak fluently German and English, and I learn currently Spanish.
'Fließend' (fluently) is placed after the verb to modify it. 'Gerade' (currently/right now) signals an ongoing action in the present tense, equivalent to the English present continuous.
- 'Fließend' (fluently) — adverb placed directly after the verb
- 'Gerade' signals present continuous: 'ich lerne gerade' (I am currently learning)
- Language names in German are always capitalized as nouns: 'Deutsch', 'Englisch', 'Spanisch' — this holds even when preceded by an adverb like 'fließend'
Falls ihr Fragen habt, könnt ihr mich jederzeit ansprechen.
If you have any questions, you can approach me at any time.
Literal If you-all questions have, can you-all me anytime address.
A warm and open invitation to colleagues. 'Falls' (if) sends the verb to the end of the subordinate clause. 'Jederzeit' (at any time) emphasizes availability, and 'ansprechen' (to approach/speak to) is a separable verb.
- 'Falls' introduces a conditional clause — verb moves to the end: 'habt'
- Modal verb 'können': 'könnt ihr' — verb-second rule in the main clause
- Separable verb 'ansprechen': prefix 'an-' separates — 'sprecht mich an'
Ich freue mich wirklich darauf, euch alle besser kennenzulernen.
I am truly looking forward to getting to know you all better.
Literal I please myself truly there-on, you-all better to-get-to-know.
A warm closing line. 'Sich freuen auf' (to look forward to) uses the da-compound 'darauf' when followed by a clause. This pattern is very common in spoken and written German.
- Da-compound 'darauf' replaces 'auf + pronoun' when the object is a following clause
- 'Sich freuen auf + accusative' — reflexive verb for anticipation
- Infinitive clause: 'euch besser kennenzulernen' — verb at the very end
New words · 10
Themed vocabulary, each with an example you can borrow.
heißen
to be called / to be named
Ich heiße Jonas.
My name is Jonas.
The standard verb for giving your name; more natural than 'ich bin' in introductions
seit
since / for (ongoing duration)
Ich wohne seit einem Jahr hier.
I have been living here for a year.
Always takes the dative case; used with present tense for situations still in progress
ursprünglich
originally
Ich komme ursprünglich aus Wien.
I originally come from Vienna.
Useful for contrasting where you are from vs. where you currently live
die Aufgabe
the task / responsibility
Meine Aufgabe ist die Planung neuer Projekte.
My responsibility is the planning of new projects.
Very common in professional contexts to describe one's role
die Freizeit
free time / leisure time
In meiner Freizeit gehe ich gerne wandern.
In my free time I enjoy going hiking.
Compound of 'frei' (free) + 'Zeit' (time)
gespannt
excited / eager (about something upcoming)
Ich bin gespannt auf das neue Projekt.
I am excited about the new project.
Use 'gespannt auf + accusative' to express positive anticipation
die Zusammenarbeit
collaboration / teamwork
Die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Team macht Spaß.
The collaboration with the team is fun.
Compound: zusammen (together) + Arbeit (work); core professional vocabulary
fließend
fluently
Sie spricht fließend Französisch.
She speaks French fluently.
Literally 'flowing'; the go-to word for describing language fluency
jederzeit
at any time / anytime
Du kannst mich jederzeit anrufen.
You can call me at any time.
Composed of 'jeder' (every) + 'Zeit' (time); very common in professional offers of help
ansprechen
to approach / to speak to someone
Bitte sprich mich an, wenn du Hilfe brauchst.
Please speak to me if you need help.
Separable verb: the prefix 'an-' splits off in main clauses — 'sprich mich an'
Short reading
A tiny story stitched from today's words. Translation is hidden, tap to peek.
Hallo zusammen, ich heiße Lena und ich freue mich wirklich, heute hier zu sein. Ich arbeite seit zwei Jahren als Projektmanagerin, und meine Hauptaufgabe ist die Koordination unserer Teams. Ich komme ursprünglich aus Dresden, wohne aber seit einem Jahr in Hamburg. In meiner Freizeit wandere ich gerne und lerne neue Sprachen — ich spreche fließend Deutsch und Englisch und lerne gerade Französisch. Ich bin sehr gespannt auf die Zusammenarbeit mit euch, und ihr könnt mich jederzeit ansprechen, wenn ihr Fragen habt.
Sentence by sentence
ich heiße Lena
my name is Lena
Uses 'heißen' (to be called) — the natural German verb for stating your name in an introduction, preferred over 'ich bin Lena' in most contexts.
ich freue mich wirklich, heute hier zu sein
I am truly happy to be here today
Reflexive verb 'sich freuen' (to be pleased). The infinitive phrase 'hier zu sein' (to be here) follows a comma, which is required before an infinitive clause in German.
Ich arbeite seit zwei Jahren als Projektmanagerin
I have been working for two years as a project manager
The core 'seit + dative + present tense' structure for ongoing duration. 'Als' introduces the professional role in the nominative equivalent.
wohne aber seit einem Jahr in Hamburg
but I have been living in Hamburg for a year
'Seit einem Jahr' — dative singular after 'seit' (einem = masculine/neuter dative of 'ein'). The connector 'aber' (but) follows the verb in the second clause.
lerne gerade Französisch
I am currently learning French
'Gerade' (currently/right now) placed after the verb signals an ongoing action in the present — German's equivalent of the English present continuous.
ihr könnt mich jederzeit ansprechen
you can approach me at any time
Modal verb 'können' (can) governs the separable verb 'ansprechen'. 'Mich' is the accusative object. 'Jederzeit' conveys genuine openness and availability.
wenn ihr Fragen habt
if you have any questions
Subordinate clause introduced by 'wenn' (when/if) — verb 'habt' moves to the end of the clause, a key rule for all German subordinating conjunctions.
Pattern of the day
One grammar move, explained once, that unlocks dozens of sentences.
seit + Dative for Ongoing Duration
To describe something that started in the past and is still happening now, German uses 'seit' (since/for) with the PRESENT tense — the opposite of English, which uses the present perfect ('I have been working'). 'Seit' always takes the dative case, so time expressions change their endings accordingly.
subject + present-tense verb + seit + [dative time expression]
Ich arbeite seit drei Jahren hier.
I have been working here for three years.
Sie wohnt seit einem Monat in Berlin.
She has been living in Berlin for a month.
Wir kennen uns seit dem Studium.
We have known each other since university.
Er lernt seit zwei Wochen Deutsch.
He has been learning German for two weeks.
Mini practice · 5
Low-pressure, never graded. Just enough to make it stick.
I have been living in Berlin for two years.
Hint Use 'seit' with the present tense to express ongoing duration.
Ich arbeite ___ drei Jahren als Softwareentwicklerin in der IT-Branche.
Hint Think about which word expresses 'for a period of time' that is still ongoing.
Ich bin sehr gespannt auf die Zusammenarbeit mit euch.
Hint 'Gespannt auf' expresses anticipation or excitement about something upcoming.
Maria wants to say she has spoken fluent German and English for her whole career. Which sentence is most natural?
Rewrite this sentence using 'seit': 'Ich habe vor drei Jahren angefangen, Gitarre zu spielen, und ich spiele noch immer.'
Hint Replace the two-part past+present structure with 'seit + present tense'.
That’s today’s phraseberry.
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