German Phrase
Zeigt dir Schritt für Schritt, wie's geht.
Meaning
Literally, ‘Shows you step by step how it goes.’ In everyday German it is used to say that something will be explained or demonstrated in a clear, sequential manner.
When to use
Use this sentence when you want to reassure someone that a tutorial, video, guide, or any instructional material will walk them through a process one step at a time. It works well in both spoken and written instructions, especially in informal or semi‑formal contexts.
✦Grammar Breakdown
ZeigtdirSchrittfürSchrittwie'sgeht
Zeigt (3rd person singular)
Present tense of zeigen ‘to show’; the subject is often omitted because it is understood from context (e.g., das Video, das Handbuch).
dir (dative pronoun)
Dative form of ‘du’; used here because zeigen takes a dative object – it ‘shows you’.
Schritt für Schritt
Fixed idiom meaning ‘step by step’; each noun is repeated for emphasis.
wie's (wie es)
Colloquial contraction of ‘wie es’; common in spoken German and informal writing.
geht (3rd person singular)
Present tense of gehen ‘to go’; in this construction it means ‘how it works/what happens’.
🗨In Conversation
Kannst du mir das erklären?
Can you explain that to me?
Klar, das Video zeigt dir Schritt für Schritt, wie's geht.
Sure, the video shows you step by step how it works.
✕Common Mistakes
Zeigt du Schritt für Schritt, wie's geht.
‘Zeigt du’ is wrong because zeigen requires a dative object, not the nominative ‘du’. Use ‘dir’.
Zeigt dir Schritt für Schritt, wie geht.
Missing the pronoun ‘es’; the idiom is ‘wie es geht’ (or the contraction ‘wie's’).
Zeigt dir Schritte für Schritt, wie's geht.
The idiom is singular ‘Schritt für Schritt’, not the plural.
↔Alternatives
Erklärt dir Schritt für Schritt, wie es funktioniert.
Explains to you step by step how it works.
Führt dich Schritt für Schritt durch den Vorgang.
Guides you step by step through the process.
Zeigt dir genau, was du tun musst.
Shows you exactly what you have to do.
Cultural Tip
The contraction ‘wie's’ is perfectly natural in spoken German and informal writing (e.g., blog posts, social media). In formal documents or academic texts you should use the full form ‘wie es’. Also, German prefers the dative ‘dir’ after verbs like zeigen, erklären, or demonstrieren – using ‘du’ would be grammatically wrong.