Are you planning a trip to Germany or a German-speaking country? A simple please and thank you can go a long way in a foreign country. Get to grips with these 60 essential German phrases every traveler needs.
Learn Some Basic German Phrases
Did you know that German is spoken by 95 million people worldwide? German is the official language of Germany, Austria, and Lichtenstein. German is also part of the four languages spoken in Switzerland. The quality of your trip will be improved and you will have so much fun if you already know some of the basic language phrases!
Basic Greetings
German
English
Pronunciation
Hallo
Hello
ha-llo
Guten Tag
Good day
goo-ten targ
Guten Morgen
Good morning
goo-ten morg-en
Guten Abend
Good evening
goo-ten ah-bent
Auf Wiedersehen
Goodbye
owf veeder-sehn
Tschüss
Bye
ch-oo-s
ich heiße…
I am called…
ichh hye-se
Wie heißen Sie?
What is your name?
vee hye-sen zee
Danke
Thanks
dan-ke
Bitte
Please
bi-uh
Vielen Dank
Thank you very much
feelen dank
Wie gehts?
How are you? (informal)
vee gates
Mir geht es gut
I am well
meer gate es goot
Getting Around
German
English
Pronunciation
Entschuldigung
Excuse me
ent-shuld-i-gung
Wo ist…
Where is…
vo ist
…das Hotel
…the hotel
da-s ho
…die Toilette
…the toilet
dee toy-lette
…die Bank
…the bank
dee b-ank
…der Bahnhof
…the train station
dare bahn-hof
Links
left
links
Rechts
right
rechhts
Geradeaus
straight ahead
gerader-aus
Um die Ecke
around the corner
um dee Eke
Nord
North
nor-d
Süd
South
sued
Ost
East
o-st
West
West
vest
Halten Sie bitte hier an
please stop here
halten zee bit-uh here an
Travel Emergencies
German
English
Pronunciation
Hilfe!
Help!
hil-fe
Rufen Sie einen Krankenwagen!
Call an ambulance!
roofen zee eye-nen krank-en-vagen
Ich brauche die Polizei
I need the police
ich brow-ke dee pol-its-eye
Ich habe … verloren
I have lost my…
ich ha-be… fer-lo-ren
…mein Handy…
…phone…
mine handie
…mein Portemonnaie…
…wallet…
mine porte-monnay
…meinen Pass…
…passport…
mine-n pass
Lassen Sie mich in Ruhe
Leave me alone
lassen zee mi-ch in roo-he
Es ist ein Notfall
It is an emergency
es ist eye-n note-fal
Ich bin verloren
I am lost
ich bin fer-loren
Days of the Week
German
English
Pronunciation
Montag
Monday
mon-targ
Dienstag
Tuesday
deans-targ
Mittwoch
Wednesday
mit-voch
Donnerstag
Thursday
donners-targ
Freitag
Friday
fry-targ
Samstag
Saturday
sams-targ
Sonntag
Sunday
sonn-targ
Heute
Today
hoy-te
Morgen
Tomorrow
morgen
Übermorgen
Day after tomorrow
ueber morgen
Gestern
Yesterday
guest-ern
Vorgestern
Day before yesterday
for-guest-ern
Die Wochenende
The weekend
dee voken-end-e
Key German Words
German
English
Pronunciation
Wer?
Who?
ver
Was?
What?
vas
Wann?
When?
vann
Zu welcher Zeit?
At what time?
tsu velcher ts-eye-t
Wo?
Where?
vo
Wie?
How?
vee
Wie viele?
How many?
vee feel-e
Wie viel?
How much?
vee feel
Wie oft?
How often?
vee oft
You’re all set!
I hope these 60 essential German travel phrases help you to navigate your way around the German speaking countries. Gute Reise! (have a good trip).
