🇩🇪 Stuff Every Traveler Should Say in German: Training Guide

Polite and casual greetings

Guten Tag is the standard polite hello during the day. In the morning, use Guten Morgen. In the evening, switch to Guten Abend.

Auf Wiedersehen is the polite goodbye for strangers and officials. Tschüss is the casual bye for friends. In Bavaria and Austria, people may also say Servus for hello or bye.

In Austria and southern Germany, you will hear Grüß Gott as a polite hello. In Zürich and eastern Switzerland, the polite hello is Grüezi.

Meeting people

Freut mich means nice to meet you. It is short for Es freut mich, and a longer polite version is Freut mich, Sie kennenzulernen.

To say your name, use Ich heiße followed by your name. Ich heiße Anna means my name is Anna. You can also say Mein Name ist Anna.

To ask a stranger how they are, say Wie geht es Ihnen? This uses the polite you. A common answer is Gut, danke, und Ihnen?

To ask where a stranger is from, say Woher kommen Sie? To answer, say Ich komme aus and add your country.

Choosing the right you

Use Sie with adults you do not know well, like a shop clerk. Always write Sie with a capital S. Use du with family, friends, and children.

Sie shows distance between two people. It is not exactly the same as showing respect, but it is the polite form for new adults.

In polite questions like Wie geht es Ihnen? and Woher kommen Sie?, the word Sie is the same polite form. Use it with strangers.

Please and thank you

Bitte means please when you ask for something. It also means you're welcome after someone thanks you.

Bitte can also mean here you are when you hand something to someone. Other ways to say you're welcome are bitte schön and gern geschehen.

Danke schön and Danke sehr both mean thank you very much. A plain Nein, danke politely turns down an offer.

Getting attention and saying sorry

Entschuldigung means excuse me when you want attention. It also means sorry after bumping someone.

Use Entschuldigung before asking a stranger a question. In casual speech, people often shorten it to Tschuldigung.

Wie bitte? asks someone to repeat what they said. It is not the same as Wie geht's?, which asks how are you.

When you do not understand

Ich verstehe nicht means I don't understand the words. Ich weiß nicht means I don't know, which is a different problem.

If you did not hear or understand, combine phrases. Ask Wie bitte? first, then say Sprechen Sie Englisch? for backup.

Sprechen Sie Englisch? is a polite way to ask do you speak English? Use Sie with strangers and swap in any language name.

Building numbers

German numbers from 21 to 99 put the ones digit before the tens. Einundzwanzig means one and twenty, or 21. Zweiundzwanzig is 22.

The word for 30 is dreißig, with a sharp s letter called Eszett. Most tens end in -zig, but thirty uses ß.

The pattern continues. Einunddreißig is 31 and zweiundzwanzig is 22. All numbers from 21 to 99 work the same way.

Asking the time

Wie spät ist es? literally asks how late is it, but it means what time is it? It is a common time question.

Wie viel Uhr ist es? also asks what time is it? You can use either question.

To say you are late, do not say Ich bin spät. The correct phrase is Ich bin zu spät.

Days

Mittwoch is the German word for Wednesday.

The word comes from an old term that means middle of the week.

It sits in the middle of the week, which matches its name.

Asking where things are

Wo ist der Bahnhof? means where is the train station? A Flughafen is an airport and a Haltestelle is a bus or tram stop.

Wo ist die Toilette? asks where the bathroom is. Toilette is the normal word, and WC and Klo are other names.

Wo ist means where is. You can use it before many places, like der Bahnhof for train station or die Toilette for bathroom.

Following directions

Links means left and rechts means right. You might hear An der nächsten Ampel links abbiegen, turn left at the next traffic light.

Geradeaus means straight ahead. People may say Gehen Sie geradeaus to tell you to keep walking forward.

Geradeaus is one word, made from gerade meaning straight and aus meaning out.

Tickets and tracks

Eine Fahrkarte nach Berlin, bitte means a ticket to Berlin please. Fahrkarte is a travel ticket and nach means to.

Gleis 7 means track 7. A train station announces the track number, and a platform, called Bahnsteig, serves one or two tracks.

Fahrkarte has synonyms Fahrschein and Ticket. In Switzerland, people often say Billett.

Signs

Ausgang means exit and Eingang means entrance. Look for these words on doors to leave or enter.

Notausgang means emergency exit. It combines Not, meaning emergency, and Ausgang. Never block a Notausgang.

Geschlossen on a shop door means closed. Geöffnet means open. You may also see the short word zu for closed.

A door sign that says Ziehen tells you to pull it. Drücken means push. Check both words before pushing or pulling.

Rauchen verboten means smoking is forbidden. Do not smoke where you see this sign.

A restroom door that says Herren is for men. Damen is for women. Herrentoilette is the full word for men's room.

Dining

Einen Tisch für zwei, bitte means a table for two please. Tisch means table and für zwei means for two.

Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee is a polite way to order, like I would like a coffee. It uses gern.

Die Speisekarte is the menu. Many people just say die Karte. A Fahrkarte is a travel ticket and die Rechnung is the bill.

To ask for the check, say Die Rechnung, bitte. You can also say Bringen Sie mir bitte die Rechnung.

Before a meal, Germans often say Guten Appetit. It means enjoy your meal.

Shopping and money

Was kostet das? asks how much does this cost? It literally asks what costs that?

If a waiter says Das macht zwanzig Euro, it means that comes to twenty euros. Macht is used for totals.

Kann ich mit Karte zahlen? asks can I pay by card? Zahlen means to pay and mit Karte means by card.

If you hand over 20 euros for a 17 euro bill and say Stimmt so, it means keep the change. The extra money is Trinkgeld, a tip.

In a store, Sonderangebot means special bargain. It combines Sonder, meaning special, and Angebot, meaning offer.

Hotels

Haben Sie ein Zimmer frei? asks do you have a room available? Zimmer means room and frei means free.

Frühstück inklusive means breakfast included. Frühstück is breakfast and inklusive means included.

Schlüssel means key. Ask for the Schlüssel at the hotel desk. A bill is die Rechnung and a suitcase is der Koffer.

Health and emergencies

Shout Hilfe! to get help in an emergency. In Germany, 110 is police and 112 is fire or ambulance.

Ich brauche einen Arzt means I need a doctor. A female doctor is called Ärztin.

Apotheke means pharmacy. In Germany, only an Apotheke may sell prescription drugs, not a Drogerie.

Die Polizei means police. Die Feuerwehr is the fire department and der Krankenwagen is the ambulance.