When Chris and I need to go somewhere together, he’ll usually ask me “Are you ready?” The meaning of “ready” in that question can be interpreted in different ways:

• It can mean (as it does to Chris), “Do you have everything you need and can we now step out the door and go?”
• It can also mean (as it does to me): “Are you done with what you were doing and prepared to start putting on your coat, get your hat, etc.”

Either interpretation is plausible with the meaning of “ready” in that question. IMHO. But, of course, neither of us really ever takes that into account when asking/answering the question. 😉

Chris commented the other day that perhaps it would be easier if we spoke in German for that question, since German actually has two different words that can be translated by the English word “ready”, but each has a separate meaning.

Ich bin fertig = “I’m ready”.
fertig is used in German in the sense of being done with what I was doing. Fertig has no comment on whether or not I’m ready prepared to proceed onto the next item on the agenda.

Ich bin bereit = “I’m ready”
bereit is used in German in the sense of being ready to move on to the next thing.

So, when Chris asks me if I am “ready,” my reply usually only answers whether or not I’m fertig or not, while what he really wants to know is if I am bereit or not.

For example, once I’ve put on my shoes, I may be fertig with what I was doing (i.e. putting my shoes on), but I may not yet be bereit to head out yet, since I may still have to pick up my purse, my camera, my keys, my hat, etc.  So, I’m ready in the fertig sense, but not the bereit sense he’s really asking about.

See, it’s much clearer in German, isn’t it. 😉

Chris suggested over the weekend that perhaps bereit could really be translated as “All set?” As in, “are you all set to go”, rather than just “ready.”

And indeed, one can say in German alles bereit.

But that reminded me, then, that there’s the expression “Ready, set, go!” in English, which has sense that you “(all) set” to do something. Since “Ready, set, go!” in English  definitely refers to the moment when you are bereit and ready for the next step, I figured the comparable German expression would also use that word.

But in fact, “Ready, set, go!”  is translated in German as Auf die Plätze, fertig, los!

So much for my understanding of fertig means “done”, not “ready for something new. It apparently also means you’re “set” (and ready to go). Argh. I’m not sure what that does to my understanding of how to make it easier to use German here than English.

At least I am sure that we’ve come to the end of this topic for today.

Are you ready? 😉

****

Well, I guess I was really fertig, not bereit, as it turns out. 😉 Here’s a look at the same question, courtesy of Mary Martin and Robert Preston from the musical I Do, I Do.  The relevant part of the song starts at 4:02.

OK, now I’m all set.