In German, you say ‘Was ist das?’ to ask ‘What is that?’.
This phrase is commonly used when you want to inquire about something you see but don’t recognize or understand. Let’s break it down:
- Was means ‘what’.
- ist is the third person singular form of the verb ‘sein’, which means ‘to be’.
- das means ‘that’ or ‘it’.
So, when you put these words together, it translates directly to ‘What is that?’. This is a handy phrase to know for various situations, especially when traveling in Germany or communicating with German speakers.