25 ways to say YES in German so you don’t use ‘ja’ all the time

There are many ways of saying yes in German.

Some are as direct as saying ‘I like you’ while some are a bit indirect like ‘I think I like you’.

I will now show you all these, as well as many more variations.

The direct and indirect ways of saying yes in German

The most direct way of saying yes in German is ja, and it sounds like the English yeah!

But that’s just the beginning.

If you want to be more polite, here are some words which you could add to it:

• Ja, bitte – Yes, please.
• Ja, danke – Yes, thank you.
• Ja, natürlich – Yes, of course.

How to say sure in German

You can also use the word sure to say yes in German, and this is how you say it:

• Sicher – Kann ich deinen Ferrari Fahren? (Can I drive your Ferrari?)

Sicher (sure)

• Gewiss – Darf ich reinkommen? (May I come in?)

Aber gewiss! (sure)

• Klar – Gehen wir morgen nach Hause? (Are we going home tomorrow?)

Na klar! (sure)

How to Say “Yes, Maybe” in German

Sometimes, you’re not entirely sure about something, or you may not want to be too direct, like when someone asks you out.

In these situations, you can agree without giving a firm “yes.”

Here’s how you can express “yes, maybe” and similar phrases in German:

• Ja, vielleicht – Yes, maybe
• Ja, möglicherweise – Yes, possibly
• Wahrscheinlich – Probably
• Ja, hoffentlich – Yes, hopefully
• Ja, kann sein – Yes, it’s possible

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Now think of instances when someone asks you a sentence in the negative and you want to respond with a yes.

For instance…

Aren’t you coming with us? Yes I’m coming…or simply…yes, I am.

In such a scenario, it would be wrong to use the word ja, if you intend to say yes.

In German, we use the word doch instead.

Note: While ‘doch’ is mainly used to mean ‘however’ or ‘yet’, it can be used to say yes, depending on context:

Hast du ihn nicht gesehen? (Didn’t you see him?)

Doch! (yes I did)

So note that and don’t forget what to use whenever the question is in the negative.

And if you think this is too much to remember, you can always learn German and become fluent without having to remember anything.

Other ways to agree or saying yes in German

• Ich stimme dir zu. – I agree with you. Don’t forget that dir is informal singular.
• Ich stimme Ihnen zu. – I agree with you. – (Ihnen is formal singular or plural).
• Ich stimme euch zu. – I agree with you. – (euch is informal plural).
• Auf jeden Fall – in any case or by all means
• Warum nicht? – Why not?
• In Ordnung – All right
• Also gut – Okay, then
• Genau! – Exactly!
• Kein Problem – No Problem
• Das ist wahr. – That’s true.
• Du hast recht. – You’re right. Don’t forget that du is informal singular.
• Stimmt, Sie haben recht – True, you’re right. (Sie is formal singular or plural).
• Ihr habt recht – You’re right. (ihr is informal plural).
• Das klingt gut – It sounds good.
• Ich bin ganz Ihrer Meinung – I couldn’t agree more with you (formal).
• Ich bin ganz deiner Meinung – I couldn’t agree more with you (informal).

For further information, visit the Wikipedia article on ‘Ja’ (in German).

Wait, hold up…

I know this feels like drowning in an ocean.

But don’t worry.

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