20+ ways to say OKAY in German, when to say it, and why you should break the rules

Wondering how to say okay in German?

I got you.

In this article I will answer your question in 3 ways:

• Show you how to say okay in German
• Teach you other related phrases like ‘alright’ in German
• Show you the best way to learn German and why you don’t need to memorize these words

Let’s go.

The 3 simplest ways to say okay in German

So what would you say in German for okay?

• gut – good

This is one of the most common German words, and you’ll find it everywhere.

• in Ordnung – all right

This phrase is also often used formally to show agreement.

• okay, ok, OK 

Just like in English, we also use these versions of ‘okay’ in German. This is widely used in Germany and doesn’t sound foreign to Germans at all.

I’ve begun with those 3 because they are the most basic and are what you would ideally use most of the time.

But that’s just the beginning.

The German language is quite complex, and just like saying thank you in German, the ideal way of saying thank you in German really depends on context.

That’s why it matters what you say, because while some words may be used in a given situation, they may also be less appropriate in some instances.

For example, let’s say someone asks you to do something.

If you want to reply and say that you will do it, then you say ‘Mach ich’ or ‘Klar’.

You can also combine them ‘Klar, mach ich’.

Here is the break down:

Kannst du das für mich erledigen?
Can you do that for me?

• Klar! – sure
• Mach ich – I’ll do it
• Klar, mach ich – Sure, I’ll do it.

In addition to that, you can also check out these different ways of saying yes in German and no in German, so you don’t say ‘ja’ and ‘nein’ all the time.

9 other ways to say okay or just ok in German

• Das ist gut – That is good
• Das passt gut – It fits well
• Das passt mir – That works for me
• natürlich – of course
• verstanden – understood
• Du hast recht – You’re right
• Na gut – Yeah, sure
• Wenn es sein muss – If it must be (mostly to agree to something as a last resort)
• gerne – (can mean other things as well as ok, and here is the difference between gern and gerne)

How to say ‘I’m okay’ in German

If someone asks how you are doing, you would basically reply that you’re doing well. In German, this would be ‘Mir gehts es gut’, or ‘Ich bin ok’.

If it’s something they are asking about and you want to say that it’s ok, then you say ‘Es ist ok’.

• Mir gehts gut – I’m ok
• Ich bin ok – I’m ok
• Es ist ok – It’s ok

(It’s ok – you could also use this to confirm of something that you’ve checked)

But what if you’re ok but not great?

Then you say ‘ganz gut‘.

‘Ganz gut’ can be used to mean ok in German when you’re just fine but not great.

How to say alright in German

As you’ve seen above, the words you use will mostly depend on context.

That is the same when you want to say ‘alright’, and here are the words you could use:

• Alles gut – everything is fine/alright
• Klar – clear/alright
• Alles klar – everything is clear/ got it/ alright
• In Ordnung – alright
• Ja, gut – yes, alright
• stimmt – alright

When you’re seeking confirmation, you add ‘stimmts’ at the end then pose it as a question.

Morgen ist Montag, stimmts?
Tomorrow is Monday, right?

In this case, we Germans also often use the word ‘oder‘ instead of ‘stimmts‘ at the end of a sentence.

Morgen ist Montag, oder?
Tomorrow is Monday, right?

And if you want to counter a negative statement you use the word ‘doch‘ in German.

Morgen ist nicht Montag, oder?
Tomorrow isn’t Monday, is it?

Doch, morgen ist Montag.
Yes it is, tomorrow is Monday.

The German word ‘doch‘ is an interesting word that doesn’t mean anything specific. You can check the meaning of doch here).

So how will you memorize and remember all these?

I know this is the question on your mind right now.

When you want to learn German, you somehow think that you need to memorize a lot of words in order to speak properly.

This is a misconception many people have, and if you want to be fluent really fast, you have to break the rules of learning German.

By my definition, being fluent is not being perfect.

It is being able to hold a conversation with a native for 10 – 15 minutes with little difficulty.

The problem is that even if you knew all the above words, you would still not be able to hold a conversation for 10 minutes.

That’s why I developed a method to learn German alone and still be fluent without the trouble of memorizing every German word and rule.

This method is easy and effective, and you only need to practice for 10 minutes every day.

>>> Try it here for free