Do People Speak English In Germany?

Do People Speak English In Germany?

The official language of the country may be German but do people speak English in Germany? The short answer to this would be yes. Not every person speaks English and not everyone who does speak English does so to the same level, however enough people speak it to a high enough level that you should be able to get by in Germany only using English. Especially within the tourist industry, if you visit museums, tourist sites, restaurants and hotels in popular areas, then people should speak enough English for you to get by without Germany.

Saying this, it is still important to make an effort to speak the language of the country you’re in, even if everyone can speak English. For a start it shows respect if you make the effort to learn the language of the country you’re visiting. Of course it’s not realistic to learn every language of every country you visit but learning the basics and how to say please and thank you will go a long way. If you want to learn some German to get you started then take a look at our article of useful German phrases.

Do People Speak English In Germany Outside The Tourist Industry?

Yes they do. It’s not just the tourist industry where you’ll hear English spoken. Throughout Europe scientific papers tend to be written in English so many people in scientific roles will have had to learn English in order to access academic papers. The finance industry also use English to communicate across countries. Another cool industry that needs English is aviation. English is the language of the skies so anyone living in Germany who works as a pilot or in air traffic control will also speak English.

Do People Speak English In Germany Socially?

So we’ve spoken about English being spoken in different industries but do they speak it socially? In groups of friends that are all German, you’re probably going to hear German spoken. However, there are many cities in Germany with international populations such as Berlin and it’s in these cities that you’ll hear English being spoken socially as the common language to communicate with people from all over the world. Even German people will speak English to socialise with their international friends. This doesn’t mean that non Germans aren’t also learning German, just that English is a useful common language for people to speak.

So to summarise: do people speak English in Germany? Although not everyone in the country does, enough people speak it for it to be considered a common language spoken in Germany and for tourists to survive in the country without having to learn German. (Though that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an effort to learn some useful phrases!)