(Das) stimmt (ja)!
That’s right!(e) Reservation can be indicated in a variety of ways. In approximate order of
forcefulness: naja, aber... ‘well OK, but... ’; ja, das schon, aber... ‘yes, of course,
but.. .’; naja, vielleicht ‘well, maybe’; wirklich? ‘really?’; tatsächlich? ‘really?’
alternatively, one can say Meinst du (wirklich)? ‘You really think so?’ More abrupt
responses include:(Wohl) kaum!
Hardly!Nein doch!
Certainly not!Ach was!
Come off it!See^109 (pp. 376–80) on expressing disagreement.
117.3 There are several ways in which the listener can show that he or she has not understood
what has just been said:
Wie bitte? ‘Could you please repeat that?’
Könnten sie bitte das noch mal wiederholen? ‘Could you please repeat that?’
Was? ‘What?’
etw. nicht mit*bekommen/nicht mit*kriegen ‘to not get/understand sth.’
(etw.) kapieren ‘to “twig” (sth.)’
schalten, schnallen ‘to catch on, “twig” ’(a) The most common and perfectly polite way to ask someone to repeat what they
have just said is (Wie) bitte? The following may also be used:Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?
Could you please repeat that?Könnten Sie bitte (etwas) langsamer sprechen?
Could you please speak (a little) more slowly?Was haben Sie gesagt?
What did you say?Langsamer, bitte! (informal, potentially rude)
More slowly, please!Noch einmal bitte! (informal, potentially rude)
Again, please.The abbreviated form noch mal! is likely to be offensive unless said to a friend, and
was? is either very informal or rude. These expressions can of course be accompanied
by expressions like Es tut mir Leid ‘I’m sorry’ and Das habe ich nicht mitbekommen
‘I didn’t catch that’.117
Keeping the channel open