As I am sitting here, planning my Germerican Wedding, helping friends and family navigate through booking their first trip to Germany for our upcoming wedding in October, I realize that there are some VITAL KEY PHRASES everyone should know by heart BEFORE they arrive in Germany!
But why should you bother learning any German at all? After all, you’re only going to be here for a few days, right?
- Even if you can’t have a fluent conversation with native German speakers, they will still appreciate the effort you’re making. After all, German is one of the most complicated languages to learn. It lets them know you want to connect with them.
- You’re less likely to make a fool of yourself
- While a good portion of Germans do speak VERY good English, the other half don’t. Therefore, you don’t want to be reaching for your translator or dictionary every five minutes for easy phrases.
- Germans are very formal people and therefore, knowing how to address them is important otherwise you risk the chance of offending them.
Therefore, most of the following phrases will be in the formal “Sie” conjugation rather than the “du” form. “Du” is used only in informal cases such as among friends and family.
Where is German spoken?
Some 95 million people speak German. German (Deutsch) is the official language of Germany, Austria and Lichtenstein as well as one of the four main languages spoken in Switzerland, which is known more commonly as Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German). German is also found in South Tyrol in Italy, Luxembourg as well as parts of Belgium!
German shares linguistic similarities to Afrikaans, Dutch and English as it is a West German language, and is therefore the second most widely spoken Germanic language after English. Dialects of German can also be found in the United States, especially in Texas!
German Pronunciation
Tips on vowel pronunciation:
- ai/ei/ay as in cry
- ie as in see
- ö as in worm (but without the r)
- ü as in lure
- ä as in say
- au as in loud
- äu/eu as in boy
Tips on consonant pronunciation:
- sch as in shoe
- sp and st as in shp and sht
- ß as in boss
- z as in cats
- w as in v
Greetings, Introductions and Goodbyes
(Gotta start at the beginning!)
Hallo! Grüß Gott / Servus! Guten Morgen! Guten Abend! Gute Nacht! Ich heiße… Wie heißen Sie? Wie geht’s Ihnen? Mir geht es gut! Ich komme aus … (den USA/Großbritannian/Kanada/Australien) Schön Sie kennenzulernen! Bis später! Auf wiedersehen! Wiederhören Tschüss!/Ciao! | Hello! Hello! (Bavarian) Good morning! Good evening! Good night! My name is… What’s your name? How are you? I’m great! I’m from… (the USA/Great Britain/Canada/Australia)
Nice to meet you! See you later! See you later! Talk to you soon! Bye! |
Giving & Asking for Directions
(Because you never know when you’re going to have a “Dude, Where’s My Car?” moment!)
Wo? Entschuldigung, wo ist/sind….? Wie weit ist es? Ist es in der Nähe? In welche Richtung ist es? Zum Bahnhof, bitte. Zum Stadtzentrum, bitte. Zum Flughafen, bitte. Halten Sie bitte hier an! Nach links/rechts. Geradeaus. Um die Ecke. Nord / Süd /Ost / West | Where? Excuse me, where is/are…? How far is it? Is it near? In which direction is it? To the train station, please. To the city center, please. To the airport, please. Please stop here. To the left / right. Straight ahead / Continue straight. Around the corner. North / South/ East / West |
Shopping & Spending Money
(We all need to let out inner Shopaholic run wild on vacation!)
Haben Sie…? Nehmen Sie Visa/Mastercard? Darf ich mit Bargeld zahlen? Wie viel kostest es? Wann öffnen/schließen Sie? Haben Sie das in einer kleiner/großeren Größe? Ich suche für… | Do you have…? Do you take Visa/Mastercard/ May I pay in cash? How much does this cost? When do you open/close? Do you have this in a smaller/larger size? I’m looking for… |
Ordering Food at a Restaurant
(“I’m just here for the foooood” – Ever After)
Haben Sie einen Tisch für einen/zwei…? Ich möchte eine Reservierung machen, bitte. Ich habe einen Tische reserviert. Ich bin Vegetarier. Die Rechnung, bitte. Kann ich eine Quittung haben, bitte? Kann ich die Speisekarte/Weinkarte haben, bitte? Ich hätte gern… Ein Glas Leitungswasser, bitte. Mit/Ohne Kohlensäure Frühstück Mittagessen Abendessen Prost!/Zum Wohl! Guten Appetite! Ein bier, bitte! Noch eins, bitte! Wo ist die Toilette? Herren/Männer Frauen/Damen
| Do you have a table for one/two…? I would like to make a reservation, please. I reserved a table. I’m a vegetarian. The bill, please. Can I have a receipt, please? May I have the menu / wine list, please? I would like… A glass of tap water, please. With/Without gas Breakfast Lunch Dinner Cheers! Bon Appetite! One beer, please! One more, please! Where is the bathroom? Men Women |
Hotel Check-In/Out & Room Service
(Even though at most hotels, they usually speak good English you don’t have to worry about this)
Haben Sie noch Zimmer frei? Ich habe eine Reservierung. Ich hätte gern ein Zimmer, bitte. Ich bleibe eine Nacht/zwei Nächte… Wann ist Check-out? Können Sie mir ein anderes Hotel empfehlen, bitte? Ist Frühstück inklusiv? Einzelzimmer Dopplezimmer Zimmerdienst Schlüssel | Do you still have rooms available? I have a reservation. I would like a room, please. I’m staying one night/two nights… When is Check-out? Can you recommend another hotel, please? Is breakfast included? Single room Double room Room Service Room key |
Public Transportation like a pro!
Questions and answers to help you find the train/bus stations in Germany, buying tickets and getting on and off public transportation. Learn more about the German train system with the Complete Guide to the DeutscheBahn and find more train vocabulary for Germany.
Wo ist der Hauptbahnhof? Wo ist die Bushaltestlle? Wie viel kostest eine Fahrkarte nach….? Fährt dieser Zug/Bus nach…? Kann ich bitte einen Stadtplan haben? einsteigen / aussteigen Ihr Fahrschein/Fahrkarte, bitte. Nächste Haltestelle Wann kommt der nächste Zug/Bus? | Where is the Main Train Station? Where is the Bus Station? How much is a ticket to…? Does this train/Bus go to…? Can I please have a city map? To get on / to get off Your ticket, please. Next stop. When does the next train/bus come? |
Expressing Your Lack of Language Skills
(Mein Deutsch ist unter aller sau – My German is really terrible)
Ich verstehe nicht. Können Sie langsamer sprechen, bitte? Sprechen Sie Englisch? Können Sie das wiederholen, bitte? Können Sie übersetzen, bitte? Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch. Wie heißt das auf Deutsch? | I don’t understand. Can you speak slower, please? Do you speak English? Can you repeat that, please? Can you translate, please? I speak only a little bit of German. What’s that called in German? |
Showing Your Politeness
(You don’t want to look like a complete snob!)
Entschuldigung, bitte. Es tut mir leid! Nein, danke! Ja, bitte! Vielen Dank/Danke! Willkommen! | Excuse me / Sorry Sorry! No, thank you! Yes, please! Thank you very much! / Thanks! Welcome! |
In Case of Emergency!
(But don’t cry wolf!)
Hilfe! Halt! Können Sie mir helfen, bitte? Bitte rufen Sie einen Artz! Bitte rufen Sie die Polizei! Ich habe meine Tasche/Geldbeutel verloren! Jemand hat meine Tasche/Geldbeutel genommen! Ich bin Krank geworden! Wo ist das Krankenhaus? Wo ist das Apoteke? Es ist ein Notfall! Ich habe mich verlaufen! | Help! Stop! Can you help me, please? Please call the doctor! Please call the police! I lost my wallet/purse! Someone stole my wallet/purse! I’m sick! Where is the hospital? Where is the pharmacy? It’s an emergency! I’m lost! |
Wow, that was a lot of German! But these are certainly the most common phrases used when visiting Germany! Hopefully many of them you won’t need, but it’s better to be safe than sorry and know the vocabulary! You never know when you might need it!
Don’t worry so much about your pronunciation, many Germans will understand what you’re trying to say even though there’s always a chance you might find someone who doesn’t understand either German or English (even when they’re German!)
If you are serious about learning more than just some of the basics, consider buying any of these German language learning books, which I myself have used to brush up my German, or that time my family tried to learn German for my wedding!
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I might make a little extra spending money, at no extra cost to you. As always, all opinions are my own and these products/services have been found useful during our travels and come highly recommended to you from yours truly!
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Hi!
I have nominated you for Liebster award. If you choose to accept it, check out the post about it on my blog for the details. Your blog is fun, resourceful and great! Happy blogging 🙂
Oh wow thank you! I will check it out when I get home!
Very interesting post as i have learned German ?
By the way i discovered your blog through lostinprettyeurope… i love it ❤
Do you mind me reblogging this to my blog for people to use? It looks like a great guide. Thanks!
Ya sure! Just be sure to link back to me! Thank you! 🙂