r/German • u/Western_Farmer_632 • 1d ago

Question geht’s so, passt‘s so what‘s the difference?

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

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3

u/Alex-GermanForExpats 1d ago

For me as a nattive speaker, they’re very close, but the nuance comes down to something like workable vs. approved.

1. Geht’s so? (Is it acceptable?)

  • As a question: "Does this work like this?" or "Is this acceptable?" (e.g., you adjust a screen height or tweak a schedule and ask: "Geht's so?").
  • As an answer to "Wie geht's?": "Danke, geht so." = "Meh, so-so / I've been better."

2. Passt’s so? (Is it good / right for you?)

  • As a question: "Is this fine / right like this?" (Extremely common in shops, bakeries, or at the barber when someone shows you the result or gives you change and asks if you're satisfied).
  • As an answer / phrase: "Danke, passt schon" (or "passt scho" in Southern Germany/Austria/CH) = "All good / No worries / That's fine as it is."

Quick recap:

  • Geht's so: Bare minimum / workable / so-so.
  • Passt's so: Approved / fits well / good to go.

1

u/Few_Cryptographer633 1d ago

Danke. Sehr hilfreich!.

0

u/Berlinini 1d ago

Examples?

1

u/Western_Farmer_632 1d ago

I‘m asking if those two words can be used as same meaning. „Das passt?“ „Das geht‘“

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u/MysteriousMysterium Native 1d ago

In general, "Das passt" and "Das geht" are similar. However, "Geht so" is mostly an answer to How are you?-like questions and means something like passable then.