danke der Nachfrage
In German, "thank you for asking" is expressed as danke der Nachfrage.
This phrase is a polite expression specifically used as a response to someone inquiring about your health, your well-being or how a certain situation is progressing.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "thanks for the inquiry" or "thanks for the follow-up question".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
danke der Nachfrage is a slightly more formal or elegant way to express gratitude for an inquiry compared to more casual alternatives. For very formal contexts, you might use Vielen Dank für Ihre Nachfrage. or Herzlichen Dank, dass Sie gefragt haben. In informal settings, you can say Danke, dass du gefragt hast. or Vielen Dank für deine Nachfrage.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Swiss German, the variation Merci, dass du gfrogt hesch. is used to mean "Thanks for asking."
How does it change in a sentence?
While danke der Nachfrage uses the genitive case, another common way to express this is by using the prepositional phrase danke für die Nachfrage.
Did you know?
- Using danke der Nachfrage can serve as a polite social signal to end a conversation about your health or a specific situation without providing further details.
- In Switzerland, speakers often replace danke with the French word merci even when the rest of the sentence is in German.
- In German, the word der in this specific phrase is a genitive article, which is a linguistic relative of the Old English word 'sē'.
Examples in context
- Mir geht es wieder besser, danke der Nachfrage.I am feeling better again, thank you for asking.
- Mir geht es gut, danke der Nachfrage.I am doing well, thank you for asking.
- Alles bestens, danke der Nachfrage.Everything is great, thank you for asking.
- Ich fühle mich besser, danke der Nachfrage.I feel better, thank you for asking.
Example conversation
Julian and Hannah meet by chance on the street.
- JulianHallo Hannah, wie geht es dir heute?Hello Hannah, how are you doing today?
- HannahMir geht es sehr gut, danke der Nachfrage.I am doing very well, thank you for asking.
- JulianDas freut mich zu hören!I'm glad to hear that!
- HannahUnd wie geht es dir, Julian?And how are you, Julian?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Nachfrage, danke, der, CC BY-SA 4.0.
