Working hours and opinions
If you need to describe your working hours - die Arbeitsstunden - you could use some of the following phrases:
- Ich arbeite ab und zu. – I work occasionally.
- Ich habe ab und zu gearbeitet. – I worked occasionally.
- Ich arbeite drei Stunden die Woche. – I work three hours a week.
- Ich habe drei Stunden die Woche gearbeitet. – I worked for three hours a week.
- Ich arbeite nur am Wochenende. – I only work at weekends.
- Ich habe nur am Wochende gearbeitet. – I only worked at weekends.
- Ich arbeite am Samstag von 19 Uhr bis 24 Uhr. – I work on Saturdays from 19.00 until 24.00.
- Ich habe am Samstag von 19 Uhr bis 24 Uhr gearbeitet. – I worked on Saturday from 19.00 until 24.00.
Opinions of jobs
If you wanted to say what you thought of a job, you could say:
- es war toll – it was great
- es hat Spaß gemacht – it was fun
- ich habe viel gelernt – I learned a lot
- ich habe es ein bisschen langweilig gefunden, aber es war meistens okay – I thought it was a bit boring, but it was mostly OK
- es war manchmal schwer, aber es hat sich gelohnt – it was sometimes hard, but it was worth it
Question
What do these people say about themselves and their jobs?
Ich bin ganz praktisch. Ich habe am Wochenende in der Küche geholfen. Ich habe von 18 Uhr bis 23 Uhr gearbeitet. Es war schwer, aber meistens okay.
- What sort of person is he?
- What sort of work did he do?
- When? Give two pieces of information.
- What did he think of it? Give two pieces of information.
| Question | Answer |
| What sort of person is he? | quite practical – ganz praktisch |
| What sort of work did he do? | helped in the kitchen/kitchen hand – in der Küche geholfen |
| When? Give two pieces of information. | at the weekend, from 18.00 until 23.00 – am Wochenende, von 18 Uhr bis 23 Uhr |
| What did he think of it? Give two pieces of information. | hard, but mostly ok – es war schwer, aber meistens okay |
| Question | What sort of person is he? |
|---|---|
| Answer | quite practical – ganz praktisch |
| Question | What sort of work did he do? |
|---|---|
| Answer | helped in the kitchen/kitchen hand – in der Küche geholfen |
| Question | When? Give two pieces of information. |
|---|---|
| Answer | at the weekend, from 18.00 until 23.00 – am Wochenende, von 18 Uhr bis 23 Uhr |
| Question | What did he think of it? Give two pieces of information. |
|---|---|
| Answer | hard, but mostly ok – es war schwer, aber meistens okay |
Question
Ich bin wirklich freundlich und fleißig. Ich habe letztes Jahr in einem Café gearbeitet und habe auch abgewaschen. Es hat viel Spaß gemacht, weil die Kollegen sehr nett waren.
- What sort of person is she?
- Where did she work?
- When?
- What did she think of it?
| Question | Answer |
| What sort of person is she? | really friendly and hard-working – wirklich freundlich und fleißig |
| Where did she work? | in a café – in einem Café |
| When? | last year – letztes Jahr |
| What did she think of it? | lots of fun because the colleagues were very nice – es hat viel Spaß gemacht, weil die Kollegen sehr nett waren |
| Question | What sort of person is she? |
|---|---|
| Answer | really friendly and hard-working – wirklich freundlich und fleißig |
| Question | Where did she work? |
|---|---|
| Answer | in a café – in einem Café |
| Question | When? |
|---|---|
| Answer | last year – letztes Jahr |
| Question | What did she think of it? |
|---|---|
| Answer | lots of fun because the colleagues were very nice – es hat viel Spaß gemacht, weil die Kollegen sehr nett waren |
Did you know?
Working hours in German-speaking countries vary, but most people think of German speakers as fleißig – hard-working.
Germans work the fewest number of hours – 35 hours per week. This allows them lots of free time in the evenings. But when they are at work, they are not allowed to use social media or send personal emails; they are there to work.
The Swiss have the longest working hours and some people work as many as 50 hours per week.
In Austria, the average working week is 40-45 hours.
BBC journalist Justin Rowlatt finds out that German employees are more disciplined at work than their British counterparts (This clip is from: BBC TWO Make Me a German)