Lesson 6.8

In lesson 6.8, “Ich kann Deutsch” is translated as “I know German”.  I would have expected that “Ich wei´ß Deutsch" or even ”Ich kenne Deutsch" for a beginner could be used. 

For an English speaker “I can German” is difficult to remember. Is “Ich wei´ß...” or Ich kenne..." acceptable?

Hallo ToddS12,

thank you for your question!

I can understand that this can be a bit tricky for an English speaker. Unfortunately using “ich weiß…” and “Ich kenne…” wouldn't be correct in this instance. The verb “können” in this case is more like “to be able to do something”, “to know how to”, “to have the necessary skills (e.g. reading/writing/listening/speaking)”. 

If you say “Ich kenne Deutsch.”, it means that you have heard of it and you might know some things about it but you can't actually speak it or communicate in German.

I hope this helps.

Viele Grüße,

Julia

Would it be helpful to think of an implied sprechen here?

Ich kann Deutsch (sprechen).

I can speak German.

Julia, sfpugh,

Thank you for the input.  I have to become more familiar with the exactness of the German language.  Although, “können” means “can”, it also means other things. As a native English speaker, English, to me, is more flexible.

Thanks again,

Scott

for me the correct way to say is Konnen Sie Deutsch sprechen? Please give your comments. Of course we have to use umlats.

Hallo nochmal!

“Können Sie Deutsch sprechen?” - “Can you speak German?” or “Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.” - “I can speak German." means that you are able to speak German whereas “Ich kann Deutsch." means that you have all the necessary skills to master the language (reading, writing, listening and speaking).

I hope this helps.

Grüße,

Julia