German phrasebook

German is a main language of Germany, Austria, parts of Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Almost similar languages are also spoken in the French region of Alsace (German: Elsass), in the Italian province of Alto Adige (German: Südtirol), parts of Luxembourg, and a small part of Belgium.

Grammar

In common with many other European languages, German has two "you" verb forms which denote the relationship the speaker has to someone else. To express familiarity, one uses the du form; for formality, the Sie form. As a general rule the Sie form is used when one might address someone as "Madam" or "Sir". If on first name terms, one uses the du form. Grammatically, the Sie form takes the 3rd person plural ending.

There are 3 different noun genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. The article of a noun depends on the gender: der (m), die (f) and das (n).

Furthermore, German nouns are declined. There are four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), genitive (posessive), and dative (indirect object.) Each varies depending on the noun's gender and whether it is singular or plural.

An orthographic peculiarity is that all nouns, even those in the middle of a sentence, begin with a capital letter.

There are very strong accentual and dialectic differences in German-speaking countries. A German from the north and one from the south can have great difficulty understanding each other's dialects. Standard German, or "Hochdeutsch", is universally known, although not everyone speaks it well. Generally, the further south, the broader the dialect.

Along the coastline in the north of Germany, many people speak a related language called Plattdüütsch ("Plattdeutsch" in German). It is strongly related to Dutch or Danish and German; most Platt speakers will understand standard German.

The German spoken in Switzerland is referred to as Schwyyzerdüütsch. There are various varieties of Swiss German depending on the region.

Pronunciation guide

German pronunciation is relatively straightforward, although spelling is somewhat more involved.

Vowels

a: like 'u' in "cup", 'a' in "target"
e: like 'e' in "ten", 'a' in "bake"
i: like 'i' in "bingo"
o: like 'oo' in "door", like 'o' in "top"
u: like 'ou' in "you"
ä: (Umlaut, transcribed as 'ae') like 'e' in "ten", 'a' in "band"
ö: (Umlaut, transcribed as 'oe') like 'i' in "Sir"
ü: (Umlaut, transcribed as 'ue') like 'y' in 'Tyrell'
y: same as 'ü', but also consonant "j" in words of foreign origin ("Yacht")

Length of Vowels

A vowel is shortened when followed by a double consonant.

A vowel is lengthened by a subsequent 'h', or by a double vowel, depending on the word. An exception is 'i', which is lengthened by a following 'e' or 'eh'.

Examples: the h in Hahn makes the a long; the aa in Haar is also long, the e in Tier makes the i long. (See below for "Diphthongs".)

Consonants

Consonants are pronounced quite strongly (except perhaps the 'r').

b: like 'b' in "bed"
c: like 'ts' in "bits" before 'i' and 'e'; like 'k' in "kid" else
d: like 'd' in "dog"
f: like 'ph' in "phone"
g: like 'g' in "go" (never as in "giraffe")
h: like 'h' in "help"
j: like 'y' in "yoga"
k: like 'c' in "cat"
l: like 'l' in "love"
m: like 'm' in "mother"
n: like 'n' in "nice"
p: like 'p' in "pig"
q: like 'q' in "quest" (always with "u")
r: like 'r' in "arm", like 'r' in "feather" (often like silent "h")
s: like 'z' in "haze"
t: like 't' in "top"
v: like 'f' in "father", or like "v" in "victory"
w: like 'v' in "victory", never like 'wh' in "whisky"
x: like 'cks' in "kicks"
z: like 'ts' in "bits"
ß: like 'ss' in "hiss"

Common diphthongs and ligatures

Note: these combinations are not always used as diphthongs. At syllable boundaries and sometimes even in a syllable, they are spoken as separate vowels (e.g. soeben — zoh-AY-ben)

au: like 'ow' in "how"
ae: transcription for 'ä' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs
ah: like 'a' in "bar", longer than 'a'.
äu: like 'oy' in "boy"

ei: like 'i' in "wine"
eu: like 'oy' in "boy"
eh: long 'e'

ie: like 'ee' in "week", longer than 'i'.
ieh: like 'ee' in "week", longer than 'i', fundamentally no difference to 'ie'.

oe: transcription for 'ö' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs
oh: like 'oo' in "door", longer than 'o'.

ue: transcription for 'ü' if not available on a keyboard or in URLs
uh: like 'ou' in "youth", longer than 'u'.

ch after 'a', 'o' and 'u': like 'ch' in Scottish "loch", spoken in the throat, like 'j' in Spanish
ch after 'i' and 'e': like 'h' in "huge"

ch at the beginning of a word: like 'ch' in "character"
ck: like 'ck' in "blocking"
ng: like both 'ng' in "singing", never like 'ng' in "finger"
ph: like 'f' in "fish"
sch: like 'sh' in "sheep"
sp at the beginning of a word: like 'shp' in "fish pool"
ss: like 'ss' in "hiss", in contrast to 'ß', makes the preceding vowel shorter. Also used as transcription for 'ß' in URL or on foreign keyboards.
st at the beginning of a word: like 'sht' in "ashtray"

Phrase list

Basics

Hello.: Guten Tag. (GOO-ten tahk) better: Hallo
Hello. (In Austria and Bavaria only): Grüß Gott! (gruus got) (formal, literally: "salute to god")
Hello. (In Austria and Bavaria only): Servus! (SEHR-voos) (to a friend / informal but polite)
Hello. (coastline in the north of Germany only, to 12 o'clock): Moin, Moin! (moin moin)
Hello. (coastline in the north of Germany only, after 12 o'clock): Moin! (moin)
Hello. (informal): Hallo. (hah-LOH)
How are you?: Wie geht's? (vee gayts?) ''used as a real question, not a form of greeting."
Fine, thank you.: Danke, gut. (DAN-kuh, goot)
What is your name?: Wie heißt du? / Wie heißen Sie? (vee highst doo? / vee HIGH-sen zee?)

; My name is ________________________________________________________________________________________________ verkaufen? (VUUR-den zee as fyr _____ vayr-COW-fan?)

expensive: teuer (TOY-er)
cheap: billig / günstig (BILL-ikh/GUUN-stikh)
I can't afford it.: Ich kann es mir nicht leisten. (ikh kahn ess meer nikth LIGH-sten)
I don't want it.: Ich will es nicht. (ikh vill ess nikht)
I know that this is not the regular price.: Ich weiß, dass das nicht der normale Preis ist. (ikh vighss, dahss dahss nikht dayr nor-MAH-luh PRIGHSS ist)
You're cheating me.: Sie wollen mich abzocken. (zee VOLL-en mikh AHP-tsock-en)
Note: Actually, the translation would be: Sie betrügen mich. But that sounds too hard. The word abzocken is a rather familar use of language.
I'm not interested.: Ich habe kein Interesse. (ikh hah-buh kighn in-ter-ES-se)
OK, I'll take it.: OK, ich nehme es. (oh-kay, ikh NAY-muh ess)
Can I have a bag?: Kann ich eine Tüte haben? (kahn ikh IGH-nuh TUU-tuh HAH-ben?)
Do you ship (overseas)?: Versenden Sie auch (nach Übersee)? (fayr-ZEN-den zee owkh [nahkh UU-ber-zay]?)
I need...: Ich brauche... (ikh BROW-khuh...) (BROW rhymes with cow)
...toothpaste.: ...Zahnpaste. (TSAHN-pahs-teh)
...a toothbrush.: ...eine Zahnbürste. (IGH-nuh TSAHN-buur-stuh)
...tampons.: ...Tampons. (TAHM-pohns)
...soap.: ...Seife. (ZIGH-fuh)
...shampoo.: ...Shampoo. (SHAHM-poo)
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen): ...Schmerzmittel. (SHMAYRTS-mit-tel)
Note: You will get medicine in pharmacies ("Apotheke" , with big red A-Sign) only, not in normal drugstores
...cold medicine.: ...etwas gegen Erkältung. (ET-vahs GAY-gen ayr-KELT-oong)
...stomach medicine.: ....Magentabletten (MAH-gen-tah-BLET-ten)
...a razor.: ...einen Rasierer. (IGH-nen rah-ZEER-er)
...a razor (blade): ...eine Rasierklinge. (IGH-ne rah-ZEER-kling-uh)
...an umbrella.: ...einen Regenschirm. (IGH-nen RAY-gen-sheerm)
...sunblock lotion.: ...Sonnencreme. (ZON-nen-kraym)
...a postcard.: ...eine Postkarte. (IGH-nuh POST-kahr-tuh)
...postage stamps.: ...Briefmarken. (BREEF-mahr-ken)
...batteries.: ...Batterien. (baht-uh-REE-en)
...writing paper.: ...Schreibpapier. (SHRIGHP-pah-peer)
...a pen.: ...einen Stift. (igh-nen SHTIFT)
...English-language books.: ...englischsprachige Bücher. (ENG-lish-shprahkh-ig-uh BUUKH-er)
...English-language magazines.: ...englischsprachige Zeitschriften. (ENG-lish-shprahkh-ig-uh TSIGHT-shrift-en)
...an English-language newspaper.: ...eine englischsprachige Zeitung. (IGH-nuh ENG-lish-shprahkh-ig-uh TSIGH-toong)
...an English-German dictionary.: ...ein Englisch-Deutsch-Wörterbuch. (ighn ENG-lish-DOYTCH woor-ter-bookh)

Driving

I want to rent a car.: Ich möchte ein Auto mieten. (ikh MOOKH-tuh ighn OW-toh mee-ten)
Can I get insurance?: Kann ich es versichern lassen? (kahn ikh es fayr-ZIKH-ern LAH-sen?)
stop (on a street sign): stop (SHTOP)
one way: Einbahnstraße (IGHN-bahn-shtrah-suh)
yield: Vorfahrt gewähren (FOR-fahrt guh-VEHR-ren)
no parking: Parkverbot (PAHRK-fayr-boht)
speed limit: Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkung (guh-SHVIN-dikh-kights-buh-SHRENG-koong)
gas (petrol) station: Tankstelle (TAHNK-shtel-luh)
petrol: Benzin (ben-TSEEN)
diesel: Diesel (DEE-zel)

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.: Ich habe nichts getan. (ish HAH-buh nikhts ge-TAHN)
It was a misunderstanding.: Das war ein Missverständnis. (dahs vahr ighn MISS-fayr-shtand-niss)
Where are you taking me?: Wohin bringen Sie mich? (VOH-hin BRING-en zee mikh?)
Am I under arrest?: Bin ich verhaftet? (bin ikh fayr-HAHF-tet?)
I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.: Ich bin amerikanischer/australischer/britischer/kanadischer Staatsbürger. (ikh bin ah-mayr-ih-KAH-nish-er / owss-TRAH-lish-er / BRIT-ish-er / kah-NAH-dish-er SHTAHTS-buur-ger) or, if female, amerikanische/australische/britische/kanadische Staatsbürgerin (ah-MAYR-ih-KAH-nish-uh / owss-TRAH-lish-uh / BRIT-ish-uh / kah-NAH-dish-uh SHTAHTS-buur-ger-in))
I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.: Ich will mit der/dem amerikanischen/australischen/britischen/kanadischen Botschaft/Konsulat sprechen. (ikh vill mit dayr/daym ah-may-ih-KAHn-ish-en / ows-TRAH-lish-en / BRIT-ish-en / kah-NAH-dish-en BOHT-shahft / kohn-zoo-LAHT SHPREKH-en)
I want to talk to a lawyer.: Ich will mit einem Anwalt sprechen. (ikh vill mit IGH-nem AHN-vahlt SHPREKH-en)
Can I just pay a fine now?: Kann ich jetzt nicht einfach eine Strafe zahlen? (kahn ikh yetst nikht IGHN-fakh igh-nuh SHTRAH-fe TSAH-len?)
Fuck You!: Arschloch! (Arsh-lokh) (literally:asshole)

:Note: Say this to an official and you are in for a hefty fine.

Learning more

The authors of this document are Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel, Antoine, Evan Prodromou, Karl Kreiner, Wikitravel user Nikai, Wikitravel user Sebid and the following WikiTravel users: Branddobbe, Brendio, Dhum_Dhum, Guaka, Hansm, Huttite, Jpatokal, Mnd, Nojer2, Onebackpack, PatrickAwart, PierreAbbat, Pz-engl, Wonderfool. The original version of this article can be seen at http://wikitravel.org/en/German_phrasebook.