Asking how someone is
Wie geht es dir? is the standard question — literally "how does it go for you". It takes the DATIVE (dir, Ihnen), never the nominative, and there is no way to say it with du. Use Wie geht es Ihnen? with anyone you address as Sie.
The reply everyone learns first is Es geht — "so-so", "I'm getting by". It is honest but lukewarm; Danke, gut is the cheerful answer.
| How are you? — I'm OK. | Wie geht es dir? — Es geht. |
Apologising, and accepting an apology
Es tut mir leid is the real apology — Entschuldigung gets attention, es tut mir leid expresses regret. It is dative again: the thing does the hurting, mir receives it.
When someone apologises to you, you answer with Das macht nichts (it doesn't matter) or Schon gut (it's all right, never mind).
| I am sorry. — It doesn't matter. | Es tut mir leid. — Das macht nichts. |
Agreeing
| reply | force |
|---|---|
| Na klar | of course! — enthusiastic |
| In Ordnung | OK, fine — neutral agreement to a plan |
| Das stimmt | that's right — agreeing that something is TRUE |
Das stimmt agrees with a FACT, In Ordnung agrees to a PROPOSAL. They are not interchangeable.
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