Unless you’re venturing outside of major touristy cities in Germany, where many people understand/speak English, you can likely get away with not learning German. But from my personal experience, people tend to appreciate that you put in a little effort to try and learn their language! (Even if the conversation switches immediately to English because your pronunciation is so bad.) With that in mind I’ve compiled a list of some useful German travel phrases, along with phonetic spellings.

Now I’ve broken down these phrases into two categories: the basics and a bit more complex. I’ll preface the second section by saying that some of the phrases will only really be helpful if you’re confident you’ll understand the response you receive (like if you’re asking for directions). So if you don’t have any experience with German already, just stick to the basic travel phrases!

Interested in how we spent our time in Germany? You can find all of my Germany content here!

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The Basics

Greetings

Hello = Hallo [hah-low].
Bye (informal) = Tschüss [chus].
Goodbye (formal) = auf Wiedersehen [owf vee-der-zay-n].
Good Day = Guten tag [goo-ten tah-g].
– …Morning = Guten morgen [goo-ten mor-gen].
– …Evening = Guten abend [goo-ten ah-bend].

Niceties

Please = Bitte [bit-uh].
Thank you = Danke [dan-kuh].
You’re welcome = Bitte schön [bit-uh shoon].
Excuse me/Pardon = Entschuldigung [Ent-schul-di-gung].
I’m sorry = Es tut mir leid [Es tut meer lied].
No problem = Kein problem [kine problem].
Cheers! = Prost! [Proast!].

Language

I don’t speak German = Ich spreche kein Deutsch [eech sh-preh-ka kine doy-tch].
Do you speak English? = Sprechen sie Englisch? [sh-preh-ken zee English].
I don’t understand = Ich verstehen nicht [eech fer-sh-teen nikht].

Miscellaneous

Yes = Ja [yah].
No = Nein [nine].
How much is this? = Was kostet das? [vas cos-tet dah-s].

Numbers
1 = eins [ines].
2 = zwei [sv-eye].
3 = drei [dry].
4 = vier [fear].
If you need higher numbers, Lingopie has a pretty comprehensive post on counting in German.

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A Bit More Complex

Ordering Food/Drinks

I have a reservation. = Ich habe eine reservierung [eech hah-beh eye-neh reh-zer-vee-rung].
A table for (x), please. = Einen tisch für (#), bitte [Eye-nen tish f-yur (#), bit-uh].

The menu, please = Die speisekarte, bitte [Dee spei-ze-car-teh, bit-uh].
I’d like… = Ich hätte gerne… [eech hey-tuh ger-nuh].
May I have… = Darf ich haben… [Dah-f eech hah-ben].

Common Menu Items:
Beer = Bier [same pronunciation].
Apple spritzer (non-alcoholic) = Apfelschorle [app-fel-shore-le].
Sausage = bratwurst [braht-vurst].
Cheesy dumplings/pasta = Spätzle [sch-pehtz-luh].
Fried potatoes = Bratkartoffeln [brat-car-toff-len].
Pork knuckle = schweinshaxe [sch-vine-sax-uh].
Pretzel = Brezel [bret-zel].

Sample sentence:
I’d like two wheat beers please. = Ich hätte gerne zwei Hefeweizen, bitte. [eech hey-tuh ger-nuh sv-eye hef-eh-vie-zen, bit-uh].
– If ordering at a bar, you can shorten the sentence to “ein bier, bitte” or “zwei (type of beer), bitte”.

The check, please = Die rechnung, bitte [Dee rey-k-nung, bit-uh].

Getting Around

Where is…. = Wo ist… [voh ist].
– …the bathroom = die toilette [dee tow-ah-let-tuh].
– …the central train station = der Hauptbahnhof (HBF) [der howpt-baan-haaf].
– …the airport = der Flughafen [der floo-g-hah-fen].
– …the pharmacy = die Apotheke [dee ah-poh-tay-kuh].
– …the hospital = das Krankenhaus [dah-s krah-kuhn-house].
– …add whichever tourist attraction you may be looking for!

Road = Strasse [strass-uh].
Place/Square = Platz [plah-tz].
One Way = Ein weg [eye-n veg].
Round Trip = Rundfahrt [roond-fart].
Departures = Abfahrt [ab-fart].
Arrivals = Ankunft [an-kun-ft].
Destination = Ziel [seel].
Track/Platform = Gleis [gl-ice].
Ticket = Fahrkarte [far-car-tah].

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Did I miss any German travel phrases that you’ve found useful? Let me know in the comments!