Travel phrases

Essential German travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 German phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Hallo to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a German speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful German travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Hallo (hello), Bitte (please, here you go, you're welcome), Danke schön (thank you), and Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 German phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases German speakers really use, not an English list translated into German, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 German phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 Hallo Hello HAH-loh Works at any hour and with anyone; Guten Tag is the more formal choice in an office
  2. 2 Guten Tag Hello (formal, daytime) GOO-ten TAHK Mid morning to about six; Guten Morgen before that, Guten Abend after
  3. 3 Grüß Gott Hello (Bavaria and Austria) grewss GOT What you hear and say in the south; Guten Tag there marks you as a visitor. Among friends it is Servus, for hello and for bye
  4. 4 Moin Hi (northern Germany) MOYN Hamburg and the north, at any hour of the day; often doubled as Moin moin
  5. 5 Tschüss Bye CHEWSS Everyday goodbye, in shops too; Auf Wiedersehen is the formal version
  6. 6 Bitte Please, here you go, you're welcome BIT-uh One word for please, here you are, after you, and the answer to Danke
  7. 7 Danke schön Thank you DAHN-kuh SHERN Careful: a bare Danke when something is offered to you can mean no thanks
  8. 8 Ja / Nein Yes / No YAH / nine
  9. 9 Entschuldigung Excuse me, sorry ent-SHOOL-dee-goong Both for getting attention and for apologising; shortened to Tschuldigung
  10. 10 Ich verstehe nicht I don't understand ikh fair-SHTAY-uh nikht
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Hallo Hello HAH-loh Works at any hour and with anyone; Guten Tag is the more formal choice in an office
Guten Tag Hello (formal, daytime) GOO-ten TAHK Mid morning to about six; Guten Morgen before that, Guten Abend after
Grüß Gott Hello (Bavaria and Austria) grewss GOT What you hear and say in the south; Guten Tag there marks you as a visitor. Among friends it is Servus, for hello and for bye
Moin Hi (northern Germany) MOYN Hamburg and the north, at any hour of the day; often doubled as Moin moin
Tschüss Bye CHEWSS Everyday goodbye, in shops too; Auf Wiedersehen is the formal version

Basics

Bitte Please, here you go, you're welcome BIT-uh One word for please, here you are, after you, and the answer to Danke
Danke schön Thank you DAHN-kuh SHERN Careful: a bare Danke when something is offered to you can mean no thanks
Ja / Nein Yes / No YAH / nine
Entschuldigung Excuse me, sorry ent-SHOOL-dee-goong Both for getting attention and for apologising; shortened to Tschuldigung
Ich verstehe nicht I don't understand ikh fair-SHTAY-uh nikht
Sprechen Sie Englisch? Do you speak English? SHPREH-khen zee ENG-lish Asking first is politer than opening in English, and usually answered yes

Getting around

Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? Where is the toilet? voh ist dee twah-LET-uh BIT-uh Ask the staff in a cafe; main station toilets cost about a euro, by coin or card
Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? How do I get to the station? vee KOM-uh ikh tsoom BAHN-hohf Zum for most places, zur for feminine ones: zur Post, zur Altstadt
Einmal hin und zurück, bitte A return ticket, please INE-mahl hin oont tsoo-REWK BIT-uh At the ticket counter; einfach is one way, einmal means one of them
Ist hier noch frei? Is this seat free? ist heer nokh FRY Asked before taking a seat on a train or at a shared table
Entschuldigung, ich muss hier raus Excuse me, I need to get off here ent-SHOOL-dee-goong ikh mooss heer ROWSS How you get to the door of a full U-Bahn or tram

Eating out

Ich nehme das Tagesgericht I'll have the dish of the day ikh NAY-muh das TAH-ges-guh-rikht The cheap daily special, usually chalked up by the door at lunchtime
Ein stilles Wasser, bitte A still water, please ine SHTIL-es VAS-ser BIT-uh Tap water is rarely served, and without stilles you get sparkling water
Zusammen oder getrennt? Together or separately? tsoo-ZAH-men OH-der guh-TRENT The waiter's question when you pay; answer Zusammen or Getrennt, bitte
Zahlen, bitte The bill, please TSAH-len BIT-uh You pay the waiter at the table, not at a till; catch their eye and say it
Stimmt so Keep the change SHTIMT zoh How you tip: hand over a rounded up sum and say it as you do

Shopping

Was kostet das? How much is this? vas KOS-tet das
Kann ich mit Karte zahlen? Can I pay by card? kahn ikh mit KAR-tuh TSAH-len Many bakeries, kiosks and small restaurants are still cash only, so carry some euros
Ich schaue nur, danke I'm just looking, thanks ikh SHOW-uh noor DAHN-kuh The answer to a shop assistant's Kann ich Ihnen helfen?
Eine Tüte, bitte A bag, please EYE-nuh TEW-tuh BIT-uh Bags cost extra and are never handed over automatically

Emergencies

Hilfe! Help! HIL-fuh
Rufen Sie einen Krankenwagen! Call an ambulance! ROO-fen zee EYE-nen KRAHN-ken-vah-gen The emergency number is 112, free from any phone in Germany and Austria
Ich brauche einen Arzt I need a doctor ikh BROW-khuh EYE-nen artst Outside surgery hours the on-call doctor service answers on 116117
Ich habe mich verlaufen I'm lost ikh HAH-buh mikh fair-LOW-fen

Locals say

Prost! Cheers! PROHST Toast with beer or wine, clinking and looking each person in the eye
Mahlzeit Enjoy your meal, and hello at lunchtime MAHL-tsite Midday greeting in offices and canteens, answered with Mahlzeit; at a table, Guten Appetit
Alles klar Fine, got it AH-les KLAR Filler for understood or no problem; as a question it means everything OK?
Schönen Tag noch Have a nice day SHER-nen TAHK nokh Said as you leave a shop; answer Danke, ebenfalls or Ihnen auch
Schönen Feierabend! Enjoy your evening off SHER-nen FY-er-ah-bent Said to a cashier or a driver near the end of their day, and to colleagues as you leave work; answer Danke, gleichfalls

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Hallo next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Bitte and Danke schön feel automatic, the next step is a real German sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important German phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Hallo (hello), Bitte (please, here you go, you're welcome), Danke schön (thank you), Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (where is the toilet?), and Hilfe! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do German locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the German for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Prost! (cheers!), Mahlzeit (enjoy your meal, and hello at lunchtime), Alles klar (fine, got it). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these German phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Hallo and Danke schön a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in German?

In German, hello is Hallo (pronounced HAH-loh) and thank you is Danke schön (DAHN-kuh SHERN). Add Bitte (please, here you go, you're welcome) and Tschüss (bye), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in German?

Ask Wo ist die Toilette, bitte? (pronounced voh ist dee twah-LET-uh BIT-uh), which means "where is the toilet?" in German. If you only catch part of the reply, Ich verstehe nicht (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn German before traveling?

No, but a dozen German phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Hallo and Danke schön instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real German is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.