Catch a platform change in a German announcement

01Set up a departure board

Draw three boxes: service, old platform, new platform. Write a fourth box for action. Leave it empty until you have the whole message. This separates a train identity from a place. A number can belong to either one. You do not need to understand every polite introduction before you can use the information.

Choose a real station or travel video with a clearly audible announcement. The train should have a destination or service number that you can identify. A background announcement buried under music is a poor first choice. Use the written example below to prepare your boxes, not as an audio test.

02Read the change, not just the number

Achtung auf Gleis vier. Der Regionalexpress nach Köln fährt heute nicht von Gleis vier, sondern von Gleis sieben ab. Bitte benutzen Sie die Unterführung.

Translation: Attention on platform four. The regional express to Cologne departs today not from platform four, but from platform seven. Please use the underpass.

Nicht von Gleis vier rejects platform four; sondern von Gleis sieben supplies the replacement. The final ab completes the separable verb abfahren, meaning to depart. The opening addresses people waiting at the old location. The last instruction adds a route, not another platform change. Keep that route in your action box.

03Make a passenger decision

Cover the translation. Write one sentence for a passenger waiting on platform four for Cologne. Decide whether that passenger should stay, move or ask for the train identity. Then change the destination on your paper to Bonn. Does the announcement still give enough evidence to move? Explain the difference without guessing a connection between the destinations.

On your selected video, listen once for the service identity only. Replay for the replacement location. Pause after the whole announcement, not after the first number. Check the captions if available. If the service name is unclear, mark it uncertain. Do not fill a box because its empty space feels uncomfortable.

04Answer key and error check

The Cologne passenger should move to platform seven through the underpass. The announcement does not give a decision for a Bonn passenger. Your note should preserve both the destination and the new platform. A note that says only seven loses the reason that the number matters.

If you chose four, find nicht von Gleis vier, sondern von Gleis sieben ab. Underline the rejected platform and its replacement. Read through to ab, which completes fährt … ab. If you chose the underpass as the destination, distinguish the travel destination Köln from the station route Unterführung. These are different types of information. In a real station, check the live board or staff advice when the announcement and your understanding disagree.

05Transfer to a real clip

Jibber Jabber is our app. Its interactive captions and word lookup can help you inspect a change signal in a German video. It does not guarantee that a particular station scene is available. Select a suitable clip first, then use this sheet on the part you can actually hear.

Finish by hiding your notes and stating the new plan in English or German. Keep the train identity in the sentence. On a later pass, listen for an unexpected cancellation rather than another platform change. Your goal is a reliable decision from the full message, not faster recognition of isolated digits.

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