"I would like to pay with a credit card."
Translation:Ich würde gerne mit Kreditkarte zahlen.
19 Comments
Almost a useless sentence in Germany. The answer is almost always something like "Schade" or "Nur Bares ist Wahres." :(
The short answer is that they're used interchangeably in nearly all senses nowadays.
The long answer is... I think "zahlen" was traditionally used transitively or intransitively, while "bezahlen" – like all be- verbs – required either an object or a prepositional phrase (unless used in the passive voice). However, this rule no longer applies. For example, Duden online lists the example, "Herr Ober, ich möchte bezahlen!", which uses bezahlen intransitively. Nonetheless, some uses are still considered colloquial, or umgangssprachlich, like when you use "zahlen" with a specific product, service, or person as its direct object [Source: "zahlen" bei Duden, Bedeutungen 2a, b]. Therefore:
- Ich zahle. ✔
- Ich bezahle. ✔
- Ich zahle 50 Euro. ✔
- Ich bezahle 50 Euro. ✔
- Ich zahle die Getränke. ✔ [umgangssprachlich]
- Ich bezahle die Getränke. ✔
- Ich zahle für die Getränke. ✔
- Ich bezahle für die Getränke. ✔
- Ich zahle mit Karte. ✔
- Ich bezahle mit Karte. ✔
- Dafür wirst du zahlen! ✔ [figurativ]
- Dafür wirst du bezahlen! ✔ [figurativ]
As far as I know, however, "bezahlen" is somewhat of an exception among be- verbs. Usually, you use them with direct objects, like "eine Frage beantworten". If you used "antworten", you'd use a prepositional object instead of a direct object, e.g. "auf eine Frage antworten", "mit Ja antworten".
Actually in this case you can use both interchangeably. I cannot think of a case where you should use one of those specifically. "Ich bezahle." is valid as well as "dafür wirst du bezahlen!" Also "bezahlen" is a bit more common than "zahlen".
I agree. In most if not all contexts, they're completely interchangeable.
Wouldn't that be a double "like". It might translate to "I would like to like to secure my basement.", but I'm not sure.
"Predikarte"? I've never heard that word and I can't find it online. What is it supposed to mean?
It would have to be "mit einer* Kreditkarte zahlen", but it sounds a bit unusual.
22
Thank you. "A bit unusual" is hard to figure out unless someone tells me. And "mit einer," right.
Is there much of a difference to say 'Ich Möchte', instead of 'Ich würde gerne', or does it depends on what follows in the sentence?
Basically, yes. In a given sentence, one may sound a little better than the other, and you can get a feel for that over time. There is no explicit distinction in meaning or grammar between "gern" and "gerne", so don't worry too much about choosing the "right" one. :-)
