• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Lingo Press Books

Quality Graded Readers For Learning Languages

  • Spanish Books
  • English books
  • Blog
  • EnglishFrenchGermanItalianPortugueseRussianSpanish

Useful Phrases To Get You Started In German

February 8, 2019 by Ana Martín Leave a Comment

German phrases

Being fluent in German may be the end goal but if you’re heading off to Germany soon and you’re not quite there with your conversational skills then you may want to consider taking a look at some of these useful German words and phrases to get you started. Even if you can’t speak the language yet it always goes a long way if you make an effort with the locals and try to use some words in their language. You may find that they smile and reply to you in English but at least you’re making the effort and you’ll probably set yourself up for better service in the process.

Greeting people

The best way to start you off with some useful German phrases is to learn how to greet people. That way you can open up the possibility of making some German friends and you will seem polite when you’re getting someone’s attention to ask for their help. In Germany when you meet someone for the first time it’s common to shake their hand. If you’re from northern Europe or the USA this may seem like a relief compared to the confusion you feel when someone from southern Europe tries to kiss you.

Hello – hallo

Good morning – Guten Morgen

Good afternoon – Guten Tag

Good evening – Guten Abend

Goodbye – Auf Wiedersehn

What is your name? – Wie heißen Sie?

My name is… – Ich heiße

How are you? – Wie geht es dir?

I’m fine thank you – es geht mir gut, danke

I’m not so good – ich bin nicht so gut

Nice to meet you – Schön, Sie kennen zu lernen.

Being polite

Being polite is important in everywhere you go and this is no different in Germany. Each country has it’s own etiquette that it expects people to follow and you’ll be forgiven if you make some errors but it’s definitely going to help you out if you make the effort to learn your pleases and thank yous.

Please – Bitte

Thanks – Danke

Thank you very much – Vielen Dank

No thank you – Nein danke

I would like… – Ich würde gern

Yes – ja

No – nein

Excuse me – Entschuldigung

I am sorry – Es tut mir Leid

Out and about

Hopefully this section will be useful for those of you who are going to Germany on holiday soon and need some key phrases to get you around. Anyone can get lost and learning these phrases will help you out a lot. We’ve included some common places you might be trying to find and some phrases you can use in a restaurant or a shop.

Where is the….. –  Wo ist…..?

Hospital – das Krankenhaus

School – die Schule

Bank – die Bank

Bakery – die Bäckerei

Supermarket – der Supermarkt

Hotel – das Hotel

Park – der Park

How much is this? – Wieviel kostet das?

The bill – Die Rechnung

A table for two please – Ein Tisch für zwei, bitte

Numbers

Numbers are one of the most useful things to learn but can be quite time consuming. You’ll need numbers for lots of different things, for bus numbers, train numbers, telling the time, asking how much something is. The quicker you learn your numbers the easier your time in Germany will be.

A good way to learn your numbers quickly is to try and learn them through song. It might feel a bit silly but it will help them stick in your head a lot quicker.

One – eins

Two – zwei

Three – drei

Four – vier

Five -fünf

Six – sechs

Seven – sieben

Eight – acht

Nine – neun

Ten – zehn

Eleven – elf

Twelve – zwölf

Thirteen – dreizehn

Fourteen – vierzehn

Fifteen – fünfzehn

Sixteen – sechzehn

Seventeen – siebzehn

Eighteen – achtzehn

 Nineteen – neunzehn

Twenty – zwanzig

Twenty one – einundzwanzig

Twenty two – zweiundzwanzig

Thirty – dreißig

Forty – vierzig

Fifty – fünfzig

Sixty – sechzig

Seventy – siebzig

Eighty – achtzig

Ninety – neunzig

One hundred – (ein) hundert

Two hundred – zweihundert

Three hundred – dreihundert

Four hundred – vierhundert

Five hundred – fünfhundert

Six hundred – sechshundert

Seven hundred – siebenhundert

Eight hundred – achthundert

Nine hundred – neunhundert

One thousand – eintausend

At the doctors

Hopefully you won’t have to use the doctors while your in Germany, but if you do it’s always best to be prepared. Although I would be surprised if the doctor didn’t have a decent level of English, pharmacy workers may not, so it’s a good idea to brush up on your medical vocabulary to help you out in case of emergencies while you’re abroad. (And make sure you’re travel insurance is up to date!)

I’m sick – Ich bin krank

Help – Hilfe

I need an appointment – Ich brauche bitte einen Termin

It’s urgent – Es ist dringend

Call an ambulance – Rufen Sie einen Krankenwagen

I have a stomachache – Ich habe Bauchschmerzen

I have toothache – Ich habe Zahnschmerzen

I have a headache – Ich habe Kopfschmerzen

My back aches – Ich habe Rückenschmerzen

I have a cold – Ich habe eine Erkältung

I have a fever – Ich habe Fieber

I’m having a heart attack – Ich habe einen Herzinfarkt

Final thoughts

We hope you’re found our German phrases to get you started useful. If you think there are any phrases or topics that we’ve missed out then please let us know in the comments below. Or if you would like us to go useful phrases for another language then let us know that too. Here you can find our useful phrases for French and Spanish to get you started.

These should be enough to start you out with a holiday to Germany but if you’re on the fence about learning German then read our why to learn German article here, our check out some of our best films to learn German.

German is a fantastic language with some very complex with very logical grammar. We would highly recommend learning it but for now you should try and learn some of these useful phrases in German to get you started. That way you won’t be at a loss when you arrive in Germany and someone tries to talk to you. Though saying that, the Germans are usually pretty good at English so we’re sure you’ll be able to manage with some Gerglish mix.

Good luck and enjoy your trip to Germany!

Filed Under: German

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Amazing Electronic Translator On Amazon!

Book Of The Week!

spanish words that start with an a

Spanish Words That Start With An A

italian boy names that start with l

Italian Boy Names That Start With L

french names that start with e

French Names That Start With E

do people speak english in Germany

Do People Speak English In Germany?

words that rhyme with europe

Words That Rhyme With Europe

is korean a language isolate

Is Korean A Language Isolate?

what is an isolated language

What Is An Isolated Language?

can reading novels improve your english

Can Reading Novels Improve Your English?

english beginner crime short stories

Very Short English Stories – To Improve Your English!

best HSK textbooks

10 Best Textbooks For The HSK – Ace The Exam!

Books

Our favourite Chinese Graded Readers

Spanish textbooks

Best Spanish Textbooks For DELE Exam! – A1 – C2

English short stories for beginners

English books for beginners – Latest releases!

Spanish Graded Readers – Improve Your Spanish!

Language Answers

Copyright © 2022 Lingo Press Books on the Foodie Pro Theme