Essential German Phrases for Travelers

German is the official language of Germany and Austria, and one of Switzerland's official languages, making it useful across a substantial part of central Europe. A focused set of travel phrases goes further than trying to memorise a large generic vocabulary list.

Greetings and politeness

Hallo (hello) or the more formal Guten Tag (good day), bitte (please), danke (thank you), entschuldigung (excuse me/sorry) — small courtesies genuinely appreciated when travelling.

Formal vs casual address while travelling

Default to formal address (Sie, and correspondingly formal phrasing) with strangers, service staff, and in professional contexts, as covered in more detail in our common mistakes article — using casual du by default with people you don't know can come across as overly familiar.

Getting around

Wo ist...? (where is...?), wie viel kostet das? (how much does that cost?), links / rechts (left / right), ich suche... (I'm looking for...) — practical navigation phrases.

Dining

Einen Tisch für zwei, bitte (a table for two, please), die Rechnung, bitte (the bill, please), das schmeckt gut (that tastes good) — useful, appreciated phrases in restaurants and cafés.

Emergencies and help

Können Sie mir helfen? (can you help me?), ich verstehe nicht (I don't understand), sprechen Sie Englisch? (do you speak English?) — practical fallback phrases.

A note on regional variation

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland all use German as an official or primary language, but with real differences in accent, some vocabulary, and even a few grammatical conventions (Swiss German in particular can differ significantly from Standard German in casual speech) — a standard dictionary gives a strong foundation broadly understood across all three, with regional specifics to pick up once you know your destination.

A practical pre-trip habit

Look up and practice the phrases you'll actually need — check-in, dining, directions — rather than a generic phrasebook, and download your dictionary app before travelling so it works offline once you land.

Look up any German word or phrase instantly, offline, with English German Dictionary →