German · Real conversations
How to respond to “Du sprichst sehr gut.” in German
A compliment about ability can be accepted without pretending that your work took no effort.
What you might hear
Du sprichst sehr gut.
You speak very well.
Choose a reply that fits
Danke. Ich habe geübt.
Thank you. I've been practicing.
Acknowledge the compliment and your practice.
Danke. Ich muss noch viel lernen.
Thanks. I still have a lot to learn.
Accept while recognizing continued learning.
Mein Lehrer / Meine Lehrerin hat mir sehr geholfen.
My teacher helped me a lot.
Credit help you actually received.
Schön, dass es hilfreich war.
I'm glad it was useful.
Use when the compliment concerns a useful explanation or task.
Two short exchanges
Speaking practice
Du sprichst sehr gut.
You speak very well.
Danke. Ich habe geübt.
Thank you. I've been practicing.
A clear explanation
Du hast das sehr verständlich erklärt.
You explained that very clearly.
Danke. Ich muss noch viel lernen.
Thanks. I still have a lot to learn.
Your turn
Credit a teacher who has helped you improve.
Reveal a sample reply
Mein Lehrer / Meine Lehrerin hat mir sehr geholfen.
My teacher helped me a lot.
This response guide in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
