German · Real conversations
How to say “I've had this for ... days.” in German
Explain how many days a symptom or condition has lasted.
Ich habe das seit … Tagen.
I've had this for … days.
Specify what you mean by 'this' when it is not obvious.
Use it in three situations
Describing a cough
Ich habe das seit drei Tagen.
I've had this for three days.
Explaining discomfort
Ich habe diesen Husten seit zwei Tagen.
I've had this cough for two days.
Answering a duration question
Das hat gestern angefangen.
This started yesterday.
What to watch for
The expression reports duration; it does not describe the cause or recommend treatment.
Read the whole expression before replacing a detail. The natural wording may use a different order or construction from the English sentence.
Your turn
Imagine appointments and pharmacies. Say this in German: I've had this cough for two days.
Reveal a sample reply
Ich habe diesen Husten seit zwei Tagen.
I've had this cough for two days.
Build a useful exchange
Arrange a visit and clarify medicine instructions.
This expression 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.
