How do you say "What was your first role?" in German?

"What was your first role?" in German is "Was war Ihre erste Rolle?". This phrase is commonly used in Germany.

What does "Was war Ihre erste Rolle?" mean in English?

"Was war Ihre erste Rolle?" means "What was your first role?" in English. Usage tip: [Ihre] shows formal [you/your]. In the same question with [du], it would be [Was war deine erste Rolle?]

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How to Say ‘What was your first role?’ in German

Was war Ihre erste Rolle?

vahs vahr EE-reh AIR-steh ROL-leh

[vahs vahr EE-reh AIR-steh ROL-leh]

💬 Usage Tip: [Ihre] shows formal [you/your]. In the same question with [du], it would be [Was war deine erste Rolle?]

🇩🇪 In Germany: Interviewers normally use [Sie] unless both sides explicitly switch. In a job interview, sticking with [Sie] is the safe default.

Phrase Breakdown

Was

[vahs]

what

Question word used to ask for information about something.

Example

Was machen Sie beruflich?

What do you do professionally?

war

[vahr]

was

Past tense of sein, meaning was.

Example

Früher war ich Student.

I used to be a student.

Ihre

[EE-reh]

your

Formal possessive pronoun meaning your.

Example

Ist das Ihre Tasche?

Is that your bag?

erste

[AIR-steh]

first

Erste means first, often referring to order or sequence.

Example

Das war meine erste Stelle.

That was my first job.

Rolle

[ROL-leh]

role; position

Rolle can mean role, function, or job position depending on context.

Example

Meine Rolle im Team war sehr technisch.

My role on the team was very technical.

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