German is a part of the West Germanic family of languages, and is closely related toDutch , English, Frisian and Yiddish. It has approximately 121,000,000 speakers.
German is the official language in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland and has official status in Belgium and Luxembourg. Home speakers can be found in France, The Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and other republics of former USSR. German dialects are divided into Low German, spoken in the flat northern areas, Upper German, spoken in the mountainous south and Austria, and Central German. These 3 categories are also all divided into west and east. On top of that, there’s a separate designation of the German spoken in Switzerland, Swiss German or Schwyzertüütsch.
Pronunciation
Vowels Consonants
a: short as in the ‘u’ in ‘cut’ ch: as in ‘loch’
au: as in the ‘ow’ in ‘vow’ j: as the ‘y’ in ‘yet’
ä: as in ‘hat’ or long as in ‘hare’ ng: like ‘strong’
äu: as the ‘oy’ in ‘boy’ qu: as ‘kv’
e: as in ‘bet’ or long as in ‘obey’ r: triled or guttural
ei: as the ‘ai’ in ‘aisle’ s: as in ‘see’ os the ‘z’ in ‘zoo’
eu: as in the ‘oy’ in ‘boy’ sch: as the ‘sh’ in ‘shore’
i: as in ‘inn’ or long as in ‘marine’ st: pronounced ‘sht’
ie: as in ‘siege’ sp: pronounced ‘shp’
o: as in ‘pot’ or long as in ‘note’ v: like English ‘f’
ö: as the the ‘er’ in ‘fern’ w: as in English ‘v’
u: as in ‘pull’ z: as in the ‘ts’ in ‘tsar’
ü: similar to the ‘u’ in ‘pull’
Greetings and Small Talk
Hello: Hallo
Good Morning: Guten Morgen
Good Day: Guten Tag
Good Evening: Giten Abend
Goodbye: Auf Wiedersehen
Bye: Tschüss
Yes: Ja
No: Nein
Where?: Wo?
Why?: Warum?
How?: Wie?
Please: Bitte
You’re welcome: Bitte
Excuse me: Entschuldigung
I understand: Ich verstehe
I don’t understand: Ich verstehe nicht
Do you speak English?: Sprechen Sie Englisch?
What does . mean?: Was bedeutet .?
What’s your name?: Wie heissen Sie?
My name is .: Ich heisse.
How are you? Wie geht es Ihnen?
I’m fine thanks: Es geht mir gut, danke
Where are you from?: Woher kommen Sie?
I’m from . : Ich komme aus .
Directions
Where is .?: Wo ist .?
How do I get to .?: Wie erreicht man.?
Is it far?: Ist es weit vin heir?
Street: die Strasse
Town: die Stadt
Behind: hinter
In front of: vor
Opposite: gegenüber
Left: links
Right: rechts
North: Nord
South: Süd
East: Ost
West: West
Transport
I want to go to. : Ich möchte nach.fahren
Where is the.?: Wo ist .?
Bus Stop: die Bushaltestelle
Metro Station: die U-Bahnstation
Train station: der Bahnhof
Airport: der Fulghafen
The next: der/die/das nächste
The last: der/die/das letzte
Ticket office: Fahrkartenschalter
One-way ticket: einfache Fahrkarte
Return ticket: Rückfahrkarte
Accommodation
I’m looking for..: Ich suche.
A hotel: ein Hotel
A Guesthouse: ein Pension
Where is a cheap hotel?: Wo findet man ein preiswertes Hotel?
How much is it per night? Wieviel kostet es pro Nacht?
May I see it? Darf ich es sehen?
Single room: ein Einzelzimmer
Double room: ein Doppelzimmer
For one night: für eine Nacht
For two nights: für zwei Nächte
Time
What time is it? Wie spat ist es?
It’s ten o’clock: Es ist zehn Uhr
In the morning: morgens
In the afternoon: nachmittags
In the evening: abends
When? Wann?
Today: heute
Tomorrow: morgen
Yesterday: gestern
Food
Breakfast: Frühstück
Lunch: Mittagessen
Dinner: Abendessen
Menu: Speisekarte
Restaurant: Gaststätte
Pub: Kneipe
Supermarket: Supermarkt
I’m vegetarian: Ich bin Vegetarier(in)
The bill please: Die Rechnung, bitte
Soup: suppe
Chicken: huhn
Veal: Kalbfleisch
Lamb: Lammfleisch
Beef: Rindfleisch
Ham: Schinken
Fish: Fisch
Salad: salat
Beer: bier
Coffee: Kaffee
Milk: Milch
Juice: Saft
Tea: tee
Wine: wein
Numbers
1: eins
2: zwei/zwo
3: drei
4: veir
5: fünf
6: sechs
7: seiben
8: acht
9: neun
10: zehn