Do you know this little word? Soon. I'll be there soon.
I'll have time soon. We'll do this together soon. But what if "soon " sometimes means "never"?
Today you'll listen to a story and read German naturally at the same time. I've highlighted the verbs in red and the nouns in green so you can recognize them immediately. At the end of the video, there's an extra section with vocabulary, grammar , and examples—from the story and with pictures for better understanding.
Stay until the end. It's worth it. Have you ever seen someone who needed help?
But you looked away. Have you ever thought it wasn't your problem? And have you ever wondered what would have happened if you had simply asked?
Can I help? Sometimes the most important lessons in life come from strangers, from people we'll never see again. Lukas learned this on an airplane.
30,000 feet above the earth. It was April. Spring had finally arrived in Munich.
The trees were in bloom, the sun was shining, and Lukas surprised his family. "We're flying to Spain," he said at breakfast. " To Mallorca.
A week by the sea. " Emma squealed with delight. She jumped up from her chair and hugged Lukas.
" Really, Dad? The sea. With the beach and the waves.
" "Yes, sweetheart," Lukas laughed. "With everything. " Anna looked at him in surprise.
" But you have so much work! " she said. Lukas shook his head.
"Work can wait. My family can't. " They were just simple words.
But for Lukas, they were a revolution. A few months ago, he would never have said that. A few months ago, work was everything.
Now he understood that life is more than that. Klaus, of course, protested. " You can't just go on vacation," Klaus said.
" What will your colleagues think? What will your boss say? " But Lukas ignored Klaus.
He had learned that Klaus was often wrong. He had learned that Klaus spoke out of fear, not wisdom. A week later, they were standing at Munich Airport.
Emma was excited. She had never seen the sea before. She asked a thousand questions.
" Is the water cold? Are there fish? " Can I swim?
Lukas patiently answered all the questions. He held her hand. He wasn't in the past in that moment.
Not in the future, but here and now. The plane was full. Families with children.
Couples on vacation. Businesspeople with laptops. Lukas, Anna, and Emma found their seats.
Emma sat by the window. She looked out and commented on everything. "Daddy, look, the airplanes are so big!
" "Daddy, why do the wings have lights? " "Daddy, when are we finally going to fly? " Lukas smiled.
He loved that curiosity. That pure joy of life. The kind only children have.
The plane took off. Emma held onto Lukas's hand. Her eyes were wide with wonder as they rose into the air.
The houses became smaller, the cars turned into ants. The clouds came closer. After 20 minutes, everything was quiet.
The passengers were reading or sleeping. Emma looked out the window. Anna opened a book.
Lukas closed his eyes and relaxed. Then he heard it. A child was crying.
Not just a little, but loudly. Desperately. The crying was coming from a few rows behind them.
Lukas opened his eyes and turned around. He saw a little boy, maybe four or five years old. The child was screaming and crying.
Tears were streaming down his face. A young woman was sitting next to him. Probably his mother.
She looked stressed. Her face was red. Her hands were trembling.
She was trying to calm the child. But nothing worked. "Be quiet," she said.
Her voice was sharp. " People are looking at us! Stop crying.
" But the child didn't stop. It just cried louder. The other passengers started to react.
Some looked annoyed, some sighed. A man in a suit said loudly that he needed quiet. An older woman rolled her eyes.
The mother heard all of this. Her face turned even redder. She grabbed the child by the arm.
" I said, 'Be quiet! '" she almost screamed. " You're driving me crazy.
" The child cried even more with fear. Lukas watched all of this. He felt the discomfort.
He saw how everyone looked away. How everyone acted as if it weren't their problem. And then he thought of Emma.
He remembered a day three years ago. Emma had been four years old. They had been at the supermarket.
Emma had thrown a tantrum because she hadn't been given any sweets. She screamed and stamped her feet. Everyone stared.
Lukas was ashamed. He yelled at Emma. At him.
He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the shop. Later at home, Emma cried for hours. And Lukas realized he had made a mistake.
Emma hadn't wanted sweets. Emma had wanted attention. She had been tired.
She had been hungry. She had been overwhelmed. And Lukas hadn't listened.
Now, on the plane, Lukas made a decision. He got up from his seat. Anna looked at him questioningly.
"What are you doing? " she whispered. Lukas didn't answer.
He walked slowly over to the mother and child. The mother saw him coming. Her face was scared.
She probably thought he was going to complain. But Lukas smiled. "Excuse me," he said kindly.
" May I help you? " The mother looked at him in surprise. She didn't know what to say.
Lukas knelt down beside the little boy. The child looked at him with big, wet eyes. He was still crying, but more quietly now.
"Hello," Lukas said gently. " I'm Lukas. What's your name?
" The child sobbed. "L. Leon," he said.
"Hello, Leon," Lukas said. "That's a nice name. Tell me, are you scared?
" Leon nodded. " The airplane is so loud," he whispered. " And it shakes.
I don't like it. " Lukas nodded. He understood.
" You know what, Leon? " he said. " I was scared too, the first time I flew.
My dad explained something to me. Do you want to hear it? " Leon nodded again.
His tears had stopped. " The airplane is like a big bird," Lukas explained. "And birds like to fly.
The shaking just means the bird is flying through the clouds. It's like a slide in the playground. Sometimes it shakes.
But that's fun. " Leon looked at Lukas. His eyes weren't so scared anymore.
Like a slide, he repeated. Exactly! Lukas said.
And you know what? When we land, you'll see the sea. Have you ever been to the sea?
Leon shook his head. Oh, that's great, Lukas said. There's sand and waves and seashells.
You'll love it. Leon showed a small smile for the first time. He leaned against his mother.
His breathing had become calmer. His mother looked at Lukas. Her eyes were moist.
Thank you, she said softly. Her voice was broken. Thank you.
I forgot he was scared. I was so stressed. Everyone was staring.
I just wanted him to stop crying. But I didn't ask why he was crying. She started to cry.
Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. It's his first time on a plane, she explained. I'm traveling alone with him.
His father isn't with us anymore. I thought a trip would do him good. But I didn't think about his fear.
Lukas touched her hand. You're a good mother, he said. I can see that.
Sometimes we all forget to listen. That doesn't make us bad people. It makes us human.
The mother smiled. A sad smile, but a genuine one. Thank you, she said again.
You're very kind. Lukas went back to his seat. Anna looked at him.
Her eyes were warm. That was nice, she said. What did you do?
Lukas shrugged. I just did what I wished someone would do for me, he said. Emma hugged him.
"You're the best, Dad," she said. Lukas held her tight. He thought of Leon.
Of his mother. Of all the people who need help but are too proud to ask. Of all the people who look away because it's not their problem.
But it's always our problem, Lukas thought. We're all human. We're all.
Sometimes scared. We all need someone to ask us if everything's alright sometimes. Klaus had been silent throughout the entire incident.
But now he spoke. "You made a fool of yourself," Klaus said. " The others were staring at you.
" But this time Lukas smiled. "No, Klaus," he answered in his head. " I did the right thing.
Sometimes the right thing is uncomfortable. Sometimes it means standing up when everyone else stays seated. Sometimes it means helping when everyone else looks away.
And that's okay. " Klaus didn't say anything more. Maybe even Klaus understood that Lukas was right.
The rest of the flight was quiet. Leon slept, his head resting on his mother's shoulder. The other passengers read and slept again.
And Lukas looked out the window and thought. He thought about the formula he had learned months ago: Stress is challenges divided by the ability to cope with them. But now he understood a new formula: Humanity is the fear of seeing others and asking how you can help.
It was a simple lesson, but sometimes the simplest lessons are the most important. Lukas hadn't learned everything yet. He hadn't yet understood that sometimes the greatest challenge isn't work, and not other people, but himself.
This lesson was waiting for him at home on a perfectly ordinary Sunday. Do you know the word "soon"? That little word we use so often.
I'll be there in a minute. I'll have time in a minute. We'll do this together in a minute.
But have you ever noticed that "soon" sometimes never means, that "soon" is a lie we tell ourselves? Lukas thought he had changed. He thought he had learned his lessons.
But life still had one more test for him. A test that came on a perfectly ordinary Sunday. Sunday is a special day in Germany.
A sacred day, not just for religious people, but for everyone. On this day, all the shops are closed. The streets are quiet, people rest.
They spend time with their families, they take walks in the park, they eat cake and drink coffee together. Sunday is the day when Germany breathes. Lukas has always loved Sundays.
As a child, he used to go to the forest with his parents. They picked mushrooms, they watched birds. They laughed together.
These memories were warm and golden in his heart. But at some point, something changed. At some point, Sunday became like any other day.
A day for working, a day for checking emails. A day that passed without Lukas truly living it. It was a Sunday in May.
The sun shone through the windows. The birds sang. It was a perfect spring day.
Lukas woke up late. Anna had already made breakfast. The smell of fresh coffee and rolls filled the house.
Emma sat at the table and drew a picture. "Good morning, Dad! " she called.
" Look, I'm drawing our house. " Lukas looked at the picture. A yellow house with a red roof, a smiling sun.
Three figures holding hands. "Dad, Mom, and me," Emma explained. "That's beautiful, sweetheart," Lukas said.
He meant it. Breakfast was lovely. They ate and talked together.
Emma told him about her friends at school. Anna told Lukas about a book she was reading. He listened and smiled.
After breakfast, Anna suggested they go for a walk. " The weather is so nice," she said. " We could go to the English Garden, maybe have a picnic.
" "Yes! " Emma exclaimed. " Please, Dad, can we?
" Lukas nodded. "Good idea," he said. " I just need to check my emails.
Just five minutes. Then we can go. " Anna looked at him.
There was something in her eyes. A warning. Maybe.
But she didn't say anything. Lukas went into the living room and opened his laptop. "Just five minutes," he told himself.
" Just a quick look. " He opened his email program. Twenty-three new messages.
Most were unimportant: newsletters, advertisements, automatic notifications. But one email was from his boss. Lukas opened it.
" Dear Mr Müller, has the email started? I've been thinking about our new project. Could you send me a short summary by Monday?
Nothing major, just a few points. " Lukas looked at the clock. It was 10:00 a.
m. He had all day. He could quickly write the summary and then go to the park with his family.
Just 30 minutes, he thought. Then I'll be done. He started typing.
An hour passed. Lukas didn't notice. The summary was more complicated than he'd thought.
He had to find old documents. He had to check figures. He had to make everything perfect.
Klaus was talking in his head. This has to be good, Klaus said. Your boss expects quality.
You can't make any mistakes. The promotion was just the beginning. You have to prove you deserve it.
Lukas kept typing. He didn't hear Anna tidying up in the kitchen. He didn't hear Emma playing in her room.
He was in his own world. A world of numbers and words and deadlines. After two hours, Emma came into the living room.
"Dad," she said. " When are we going to the park? " Lukas glanced up briefly.
"Soon, honey," he said. " Dad just has to finish this. " Emma nodded and left.
After another hour, she came back. "Daddy, the weather is so beautiful. Can we go now?
" "Yes, in a minute," Lukas said. "Just a little longer. " Emma left again.
Her steps were slower than before. The hours passed. 12:00 PM.
The sun made its way across the sky. The shadows grew longer. Lukas stared at his screen.
He'd forgotten about the summary. He was answering other emails. He was reading articles.
He was checking the news. He wasn't doing anything important. But he felt busy.
Klaus was pleased. "See? " Klaus said.
" That's how a successful man should be. Always productive, always busy. Others will respect you.
" But deep down, Lukas felt something else. An emptiness. A restlessness.
The feeling that something wasn't right. At 5:00 p. m.
, Emma came again. This time she didn't ask anything. She just stood there and looked at Lukas.
Lukas looked up. "What is it, honey? " he asked.
Emma didn't say anything. She just shook her head and walked away. In that moment, Lukas saw something in her face.
Not anger. Not tears. Something worse.
Resignation. The acceptance that Dad wasn't coming. The acceptance that "soon" meant never.
Lukas looked at the clock. 5:00. He'd been at his laptop for seven hours.
Seven hours. The whole of Sunday was over. He looked out the window.
The sun had set. The sky was orange and pink. It was beautiful.
And he had missed it. That evening, the house was quiet. Emma went to bed early.
She didn't say goodnight to Lukas. Anna sat in the living room and read a book. She didn't look at Lukas when he sat down next to her.
" Verpassen " (to miss) is an infinitive form of "verpassen" (to miss). The perfect tense is "hat vermisst" (has missed). " Verpassen" means that one has not experienced an important moment or opportunity, even though it would have been possible.
Often, a feeling of regret remains afterward. He had missed the beautiful evening. I missed the bus.
"Eingehen" (to set). The infinitive form of "untergehen" (to set). The perfect tense is "hat nicht vergessen" (has set).
"Untergehen" describes something. The sun, in particular, disappears slowly. It can also symbolically mean the end of a day or moment.
The sun has set. Hope has set. The email, the emails (singular).
The email (plural): the emails. An email is a digital message that one writes or receives, especially in a professional context. An email was from his boss.
I wrote three emails. Open (infinitive: to open). Perfect tense.
Has opened. To open means to make something accessible. For example, a program, a file, or a door.
He opened his email program. She opened the window. Answer (infinitive: to answer).
Perfect tense. Has answered. Answering means to respond to a question or message in writing or verbally.
He answered other emails. I answered all the questions. The presentation.
The presentations. Singular. The presentation.
Plural. The presentations. A presentation is a planned talk with information for colleagues or superiors.
He read through the presentation. The presentation worked well. Read through (infinitive: to read through).
Perfect tense. Has read through. Reading through means to read a text carefully, constantly, and attentively.
He read through the presentation again. I read through the contract. The hour.
The hours. Singular. The hour.
Plural. The hours. An hour is a unit of time of 60 minutes.
Seven hours have passed. I waited two hours. Passing.
Infinitive. Passing. Perfect tense.
It has passed. Passing. Describes that time.
Slowly or quickly, it has gone by. The hours have passed. Time has passed quickly.
The shadow. The shadows (singular). The shadow.
Plural. The shadows. A shadow is created when light hits an object and a dark area is formed behind it.
The shadows have grown longer. The tree cast a long shadow. To sit (infinitive: to sit).
Perfect tense: Has sat. To sit means to be on a surface. For example, on a chair or the ground.
He sat at the laptop for seven hours. I sat in the garden. The sun (singular), the sun (plural).
The suns, the sun is the star that gives light and warmth. The sun has set, the sun has shone. To shine (infinitive: to shine).
Perfect tense: Has shone. To shine means to radiate light or to be bright. The sun shone through the windows.
The sun shone all day. To listen (infinitive: to listen). Perfect tense: Has listened.
Listening means to pay attention to someone and to consciously perceive their words. Lukas listened and smiled. I listened to you.
To ignore (infinitive: to ignore). Perfect tense: Has ignored. To ignore means to deliberately not react to something or to disregard it.
Lukas ignored Klaus. He ignored the criticism. The decision, the decisions (singular).
The decision (plural). The decisions. A decision is the choice between several possibilities.
He made a decision. I made an important decision. To meet (infinitive, perfect: met).
Meeting here means to make a conscious choice. He made a decision. She made the right choice.
To help (infinitive, perfect: helped). Helping means to support someone. Can I help you?
He helped his friend. To hug (infinitive, perfect: hugged). Hugging means to hold someone with your arms to show closeness.
Emma hugged him. She hugged her mother. To touch (infinitive, perfect: touched).
Touching means to reach someone or something physically or emotionally. Lukas touched her hand. The words touched me.
