The Basics - Travel Phrasebook

PART OF GERMAN FOR BEGINNERS

You hear it all the time. Don't worry, everybody in Germany (Austria/Switzerland) speaks English. You'll get along just fine without any German.Well, since you're here at the German Language site, you know better. First of all, not everyone in German Europe does speak English. And even if they did, how rude of anyone going there not to bother learning at least the basics of the language.

If you're going to be in a German-speaking country for a long period of time, it's obvious you'll need to know some German. But often travelers or tourists going for a brief visit forget one of the most important elements in planning their trip: Deutsch. If I'm going to Mexico, I want to know at least "un pocito del español." If I'm headed for Paris, "un peu de français" would be nice. Germany-bound travelers need "ein bisschen Deutsch" (a little German). So what's the minimum for a traveler bound for Austria, Germany, or German Switzerland?

Well, courtesy and politeness are a valuable asset in any language. The basics should include "please," "excuse me," "sorry," "thank you," and "you're welcome." But that's not all. Below, we have prepared a short phrasebook with the most important basic German phrases for a traveler or tourist. They are listed in approximate order of importance, but that is somewhat subjective.

I just happen to think that "Wo ist die Toilette?" is more important than "Ich heisse..."

In parentheses (pah-REN-thuh-cees) you'll find a rudimentary pronunciation guide for each expression.

Mixing any of the above phrases-for example, "Haben Sie..." plus "ein Zimmer?" (Do you have a room?)-may work, but requires a bit more grammar knowledge than a real beginner is likely to possess. For instance, if you wanted to say, "Do you have a rental car?" you would have to add an -en to "ein" ("Haben Sie einen Mietwagen?"). But leaving it off would not prevent you from being understood-assuming you are pronouncing the basic German correctly.

You won't find too many questions in our guide. Questions require answers. If you ask a question in fairly decent German, the next thing you're about to hear is a torrent of German in the answer. On the other hand, if the restroom is left, right, upstairs, or downstairs, you can usually figure that out-especially with a few hand signals.

Of course, it's a good idea to go beyond the bare minimum if you can. Several important areas of vocabulary are relatively easy to learn: colors, days, months, numbers, time, food and drink, question words, and basic descriptive words (narrow, tall, small, round, etc.). All of these topics are covered in our free German for Beginners course.

You'll need to set your own priorities, but don't forget to learn at least some essential German before your trip.

You'll have "eine bessere Reise" (a better trip) if you do. Gute Reise! (Have a good trip!)