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Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du, und womit kommst du am besten zurecht?

Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du, und womit kommst du am besten zurecht?
Which program do you work with, and with what do you cope best?

Breakdown of Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du, und womit kommst du am besten zurecht?

und
and
mit
with
du
you
arbeiten
to work
am besten
best
das Programm
the program
welches
which
womit
with what
zurechtkommen mit
to cope with
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Questions & Answers about Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du, und womit kommst du am besten zurecht?

Why does the sentence start with “Mit welchem Programm” and not just “Welches Programm arbeitest du?” like in English?

In German, the verb arbeiten usually takes the preposition mit when you say what tool or software you use:

  • Ich arbeite mit Photoshop. – I work with Photoshop.

Because of this, when you turn it into a question, you also have to include the preposition:

  • Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du? – With which program do you work?

Two key points:

  1. German doesn’t “strand” prepositions like English.

    • English: Which program do you work *with?* (preposition at the end)
    • German must keep the preposition together with the question word:
      • Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du?
        (you can’t say Welches Programm arbeitest du mit?)

  2. The whole phrase “Mit welchem Programm” counts as position 1 in the sentence; the verb arbeitest must still be in second position, so the pattern is:

    • [Mit welchem Programm] [arbeitest] [du]?
Why is it “welchem” and not “welches”?

Because of case and preposition:

  1. Mit always takes the dative case.
  2. Programm is neuter: das Programm.
  3. The question word welch- declines like der/das:
    • Nominative neuter: welches Programm
    • Accusative neuter: welches Programm
    • Dative neuter: welchem Programm

Since we have mit + dative, we need welchem:

  • mit + welchem Programm (dative neuter) → Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du?
What’s the difference between “mit welchem Programm” and “womit”?

They are closely related:

  • mit welchem Programm = with which program (explicit noun)
  • womit = with what / with which (thing)

Grammatically, womit = wo + mit, and it’s used as a question word for things, not people.

In your sentence:

  • First clause: Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du – asking for the specific program by name.
  • Second clause: womit kommst du am besten zurecht? – you already know we’re talking about a program, so you replace the whole “with which program” phrase with womit.

You could say:

  • Mit welchem kommst du am besten zurecht?

Here, welchem stands for welchem Programm. That’s also correct and a bit more parallel in structure, but womit is very natural and idiomatic.

Could I say “mit was kommst du am besten zurecht?” instead of “womit kommst du am besten zurecht?”

In everyday spoken German, you will hear:

  • Mit was kommst du am besten zurecht?

However, in standard / written German, womit is preferred and more correct:

  • womit (for things)
  • mit wem (for people)

So:

  • Standard: Womit kommst du am besten zurecht?
  • Colloquial: Mit was kommst du am besten zurecht?

As a learner, it’s safest to use “womit” in questions like this, especially in writing or formal situations.

Why is there a comma before “und” in this sentence?

You have two full main clauses, each with its own subject and verb:

  1. Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du,
  2. und womit kommst du am besten zurecht?

In German, when two independent clauses are joined by und, the comma is optional according to modern rules:

  • Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du(,) und womit kommst du am besten zurecht?

Using the comma is very common because:

  • it makes the structure clearer,
  • it separates the two questions visually.

So the version with the comma is stylistically good and very typical, but leaving it out would not be a spelling mistake.

Why is the word order “arbeitest du” and “kommst du” and not “du arbeitest” / “du kommst”?

These are yes/no or wh-questions, so German uses verb-second word order with the finite verb in the second position:

  1. Take the statement:
    • Du arbeitest mit diesem Programm.
  2. Turn it into a wh-question:
    • Put the question phrase in first position:
      • Mit welchem Programm …
    • The conjugated verb must be second:
      • Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du?

Same for the second clause:

  • Statement: Du kommst mit diesem Programm am besten zurecht.
  • Question: Womit kommst du am besten zurecht?

Pattern:

  • [Question word / phrase] – [finite verb] – [subject] – [rest]
What exactly does “zurechtkommen (mit …)” mean here?

Zurechtkommen mit etwas means:

  • to manage well with something
  • to cope with something
  • to get along with something
  • to find something easy/comfortable to use

So “womit kommst du am besten zurecht?” is like asking:

  • Which program do you handle best / feel most comfortable using / find easiest to work with?

It’s not just about what you use, but what you do well with or feel confident using.

A few examples:

  • Mit Windows komme ich gut zurecht.
    I manage well with Windows. / I get along well with Windows.
  • Mit diesem neuen Programm komme ich gar nicht zurecht.
    I can’t handle this new program at all.
Why is it “am besten” and not something like “am gutesten”?

Gut is an irregular adjective/adverb in the comparative and superlative:

  • positiv: gut – good / well
  • komparativ: besser – better
  • superlativ (adverbial): am besten – best

So:

  • gut → besser → am besten,
    not gut → guter → am gutesten.

The structure am + -sten is how you form adverbial superlatives:

  • schnell → am schnellsten (fast → fastest)
  • gern → am liebsten (gladly → most gladly / like most)
  • gut → am besten (well → best)

Here, am besten modifies the verb phrase kommst du zurecht:

  • Du kommst damit am besten zurecht.
    You manage best with that.
What does “Programm” mean here? A TV program or software?

In this context, Programm very likely means software program / application.

German Programm can mean:

  1. Software:
    • Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du?
      Which software program do you work with?
  2. TV/radio show:
    • Ich sehe mir das Programm im Fernsehen an.
      I’m watching the program on TV.
  3. Schedule / agenda:
    • Was steht heute auf dem Programm?
      What’s on the agenda / program today?

Because the verb is arbeiten (to work), the natural reading is software.

Why is it “du” and not “Sie”? How would the formal version look?

Du is the informal singular “you”, used with:

  • friends
  • family
  • classmates/colleagues (in informal workplaces)
  • people of similar age in casual contexts

The formal “you” (singular and plural) is Sie with a capital S, and it uses the same verb form as sie (they).

The formal version of the sentence would be:

  • Mit welchem Programm arbeiten Sie, und womit kommen Sie am besten zurecht?

Only the pronoun and verb endings change:

  • du arbeitest → Sie arbeiten
  • du kommst → Sie kommen

Everything else stays the same.

Could I say “Mit welchem Programm kommst du am besten zurecht?” instead of the second clause?

Yes, that’s a perfectly good and slightly different question.

  • Mit welchem Programm arbeitest du? – Which program do you use?
  • Mit welchem Programm kommst du am besten zurecht? – With which program do you get along best?

In your original sentence, the second clause uses womit because the program has already been mentioned, so you don’t repeat Programm. Using Mit welchem Programm … again is also correct but slightly more repetitive.

So you have three natural options for the second question:

  1. Womit kommst du am besten zurecht? (short, very natural)
  2. Mit welchem kommst du am besten zurecht? (ellipsis of Programm)
  3. Mit welchem Programm kommst du am besten zurecht? (fully explicit)