When you want to sound both clear and courteous in German, indirect questions can be a valuable tool. Rather than risking the rudeness of a too-sharp-sounding request, these questions offer a softer approach that splits the difference between precision and politeness.
Indirect questions are often delicately couched inside statements or paired with other questions. So, instead of asking, âWo ist der Bahnhof?â (Where is the train station?), you might ask, âKönnen Sie mir sagen, wo der Bahnhof ist?â. Itâs more or less the same question, but the indirect version is dressed up in an extra layer of nicety.
Because indirect questions are essential in formal and professional situations, understanding how to form them will seriously level up your spoken and written German. So, how do these elegant guys work? Letâs break it down.
Direct questions shoot straight from the hip. They typically take the form of a simple, plain statement followed by a question mark. To form a direct question in German, flip the word order so that the verb precedes the subject, like so:
Indirect questions, on the other hand, are more diplomatic. This requires some additional grammatical work, as indirect questions are generally tucked inside or paired with another clause â a polite request, statement or question about a question, for example:
Hereâs the main structural difference:
Indirect questions follow a clear logic â but when weâre dealing with German word order, even clear logic can seem puzzling at first! So, for the sake of clarity, weâll break this down into manageable parts:
In an indirect question, the question becomes part of a larger sentence. That means it behaves like a subordinate clause, and in German, that means the verb goes to the end. Compare the following two sentences, the first of which is a direct question and the second of which is an indirect version of that same question (albeit, one thatâs disguised as a statement):
The word order in the indirect question flips, because weâre embedding the question inside a statement.
When an indirect question doesn’t start with a question word but nonetheless demands a âyesâ or ânoâ answer, German uses the word âobâ (whether/if), like so:
Here, âobâ sets up the subordinate clause containing the indirect question. The verb (kommst) goes to the end, as it always does in subordinate clauses.
For questions that start with words like wann (when), wo (where), wie (how) and warum (why), just plug the question word into the indirect sentence â and, again, move that verb to the end:
The recipe is straightforward:
âWâ question word + subject + end verb = indirect question
Once you learn the pattern, youâll start spotting indirect questions everywhere.
As weâve seen, indirect questions donât always use question marks in German â though theyâre still technically questions. The rule is simple:
Itâs not about whether there’s a question word in the sentence, but whether the whole sentence is functioning as a question or not.
Indirect questions help keep things friendly, polite or just a bit less in-your-face. Youâll hear them all the time in casual chats:
The indirect formulation is especially useful when you need to ask for help or information without sounding too direct.
In emails, job interviews or academic contexts, indirect questions are the standard for sounding respectful and professional:
Using indirect questions in writing shows a solid grasp of tone â and makes you sound like a grown-up in the best way.
An indirect question is a question embedded in a statement or another question, with the verb moved to the end of the subordinate clause.
Use ob to introduce yes-or-no indirect questions, like: Ich weiĂ nicht, ob er kommt. (I donât know if he is coming.)
Indirect questions in German may look like a grammatical detour, but theyâre actually a shortcut to sounding more natural, polite and fluent. Weâve looked at how they differ from direct questions, how to form them using ob and âWâ question words, and where to place that ever-important verb. Weâve also seen how useful they are â whether youâre casually asking a friend to pass the salt or writing a professional email.
Mastering indirect questions isnât about memorizing rules â itâs about practicing them in real conversations. Thatâs where learning German with Lingodaâs small group classes pays off. Youâll get live feedback, flexible scheduling and plenty of chances to ask how and why (indirectly or otherwise).
Ready to put your polite German into action? Go ask someone where the train station is â but do it like a pro.
