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FlalingoGerman practice

English-speaking expats in Germany learning A1–B1 German · DE

German for Handing Over a Task at Work

A colleague should be able to act without reconstructing your whole day. Give current status, remaining task, exact deadline and one risk in that order. Then ask for a short read-back of ownership. Your win is a handover that another person can summarize correctly in one breath, with no uncertainty about who checks, sends or escalates.

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Published 10 Sept 2026 · Editor: Flalingo

Read it once. Then take one role.

A complete German exchange

Day-off handover

Customer report.

You

Kann ich dir kurz den aktuellen Stand zum Kundenbericht geben?

Can I briefly give you the current status of the customer report?

Colleague

Was ist erledigt?

What is done?

You

Die Zahlen sind geprüft. Janas Freigabe steht noch aus.

The figures are checked. Jana’s approval is still outstanding.

Colleague

Bis wann?

By when?

You

Bis morgen um zwölf. Falls sie bis zehn nicht antwortet, frag Mehmet.

By noon tomorrow. If she has not replied by ten, ask Mehmet.

Colleague

Ich prüfe um zehn und frage sonst Mehmet.

I’ll check at ten and otherwise ask Mehmet.

Notice: The order is deliberate: completed work, open dependency, deadline, then contingency. Offen ist … identifies the missing condition without assigning blame. Spätestens marks the latest acceptable time. Falls introduces a trigger, and frag assigns the next action. The colleague closes the loop by restating time and escalation owner.

Ownership

Scope is unclear.

Colleague

Soll ich nur prüfen oder auch senden?

Only check or also send?

You

Bitte prüf nur die letzte Seite. Jana übernimmt den Versand.

Check only the last page. Jana handles sending.

Colleague

Ändere ich Fehler direkt?

Do I change errors directly?

You

Tippfehler ja; bei Inhalt bitte kommentieren.

Typos yes; comment on content.

Colleague

Ich prüfe, korrigiere Tippfehler und kommentiere Fragen.

I check, fix typos and comment questions.

You

Genau. Schreib mir, wenn etwas blockiert ist.

Exactly. Message if blocked.

Notice: Nur and auch expose scope, while übernimmt assigns ownership explicitly. Separate small corrections from content changes because they may follow different review rules. A good summary uses action verbs: prüfen, korrigieren, kommentieren. If the reply omits sending ownership or a deadline, correct that point before ending.

Keep the structure. Change the detail.

Useful phrases

Ich gebe dir den aktuellen Stand.

I’ll give current status.

Team du.

Erledigt ist …

Completed is…

Signpost.

Offen ist …

Outstanding is…

Unfinished work.

Die Frist ist morgen.

Deadline is tomorrow.

Be precise.

Falls X passiert, mach Y.

If X happens, do Y.

Contingency.

Fass bitte kurz zusammen.

Please summarize.

Closed loop.

Repair the sentence

Common mistakes and clearer alternatives

Avoid

almost finished

Use

Der Entwurf ist fertig; die Freigabe fehlt.

Two observable facts.
Avoid

Du must prüfen.

Use

Kannst du bitte prüfen?

Correct German and collegial tone.
Avoid

Wenn Jana wird nicht antworten

Use

Falls Jana nicht antwortet

Verb goes last.

Make it fit your situation

Two useful adaptations

Formal

Könnten Sie bitte bis 15 Uhr prüfen, ob die Freigabe vorliegt?

Could you check by 3 whether approval exists?

Sie form.

Shift

Die Maschine läuft. Prüfe um 18 Uhr den Druck; falls er fällt, informiere die Schichtleitung.

Machine runs. Check pressure at six; if it drops, inform shift lead.

Use only authorized procedures.

Your turn

Say a version that belongs to you

Four-line handover

Spreadsheet imported; three rows need checking by 16:00.

  1. Name task/status.
  2. State remainder.
  3. Give deadline/location.
  4. Add contingency.
  5. Ask for summary.
This exercise does not submit or save your draft.
Self-check after you speak

Common questions

Before you practise

Du at work?

Follow team practice.

Only shift work?

No; any task or information transfer.

Correct misunderstanding?

Say Fast—ein Punkt ist noch anders: … and restate the exact owner, item or deadline. Ask for another one-sentence summary when the difference affects who acts next.

Checked context

Sources