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This chapter is all about equipping you with practical phrases and questions that you can use in everyday situations. Learning these will help you communicate your needs, ask for information, and start simple conversations.

Polite Phrases: The Essentials

It’s always important to be polite, so let’s start with some essential phrases:

Bitte (bi-te) – Please / You’re welcome

Note: «Bitte» is a versatile word that can mean «please» when asking for something, or «you’re welcome» in response to «Danke.»

Danke (dan-ke) – Thank you

Vielen Dank (fee-len dank) – Thank you very much

Entschuldigung (ent-shul-di-gung) – Excuse me / Sorry

Note: «Entschuldigung» can be used to apologize or to get someone’s attention.

Kein Problem (kain pro-blehm) – No problem

Gern geschehen (gern ge-she-hen) – You’re welcome (more formal than «Kein Problem»)

Asking Questions: Getting Information

Here are some useful questions you can use to get information:

Wie viel kostet das? (vee feel kos-tet das) – How much does that cost?

Wo ist…? (vo ist…) – Where is…?

Example: Wo ist die Toilette? (vo ist dee twah-le-te) – Where is the toilet?

Wie komme ich zu…? (vee ko-me ihh tsoo…) – How do I get to…?

Example: Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? (vee ko-me ihh tsoom bahn-hof) – How do I get to the train station?

Sprechen Sie Englisch? (shpre-hen zee eng-lish) – Do you speak English? (Formal)

Sprichst du Englisch? (shprihst doo eng-lish) – Do you speak English? (Informal)

Was ist das? (vas ist das) – What is that?

Wie heißt das? (vee haist das) – What is that called?

Wie bitte? (vee bi-te) – Pardon me? / What did you say? (Use when you didn’t hear or understand something)

Können Sie das bitte wiederholen? (kö-nen zee das bi-te vee-der-ho-len) – Can you please repeat that? (Formal)

Kannst du das bitte wiederholen? (kanst doo das bi-te vee-der-ho-len) – Can you please repeat that? (Informal)

Common Phrases for Basic Needs

Ich brauche… (ihh brau-he…) – I need…

Example: Ich brauche Hilfe. (ihh brau-he hil-fe) – I need help.

Ich möchte… (ihh möh-te…) – I would like…

Example: Ich möchte einen Kaffee. (ihh möh-te ai-nen kah-fay) – I would like a coffee.

Ich verstehe nicht. (ihh fer-shtay-e niht) – I don’t understand.

Ich weiß nicht. (ihh vais niht) – I don’t know.

Hilfe! (hil-fe) – Help!

Simple Conversations: Putting It All Together

Let’s create a couple of short dialogues to see how these phrases and questions can be used:

Dialogue 1: Asking for Directions

You: Entschuldigung, wie komme ich zum Museum? (ent-shul-di-gung, vee ko-me ihh tsoom moo-zay-um) – Excuse me, how do I get to the museum?

Local: Gehen Sie geradeaus und dann links. (gay-en zee ge-rah-de-aus oont dan links) – Go straight ahead and then left.

You: Vielen Dank! (fee-len dank) – Thank you very much!

Local: Gern geschehen! (gern ge-she-hen) – You’re welcome!

Dialogue 2: Ordering a Coffee

You: Ich möchte einen Kaffee, bitte. (ihh möh-te ai-nen kah-fay, bi-te) – I would like a coffee, please.

Barista: Gerne. Was kostet der Kaffee? (ger-ne. vas kos-tet dare kah-fay) – Gladly. How much does the coffee cost?

Barista: Zwei Euro, bitte. (tsvai oi-ro, bi-te) – Two Euros, please.

You: Danke! (dan-ke) – Thank you!

Word Bank

Bitte (bi-te) – Please / You’re welcome

Danke (dan-ke) – Thank you

Vielen Dank (fee-len dank) – Thank you very much

Entschuldigung (ent-shul-di-gung) – Excuse me / Sorry

Kein Problem (kain pro-blehm) – No problem

Gern geschehen (gern ge-she-hen) – You’re welcome

Wie viel kostet das? (vee feel kos-tet das) – How much does that cost?

Wo ist…? (vo ist…) – Where is…?

Sprechen Sie Englisch? (shpre-hen zee eng-lish) – Do you speak English? (Formal)

Ich brauche… (ihh brau-he…) – I need…

Ich möchte… (ihh möh-te…) – I would like…

Ich verstehe nicht (ihh fer-shtay-e niht) – I don’t understand.

Hilfe! (hil-fe) – Help!

Exercises

How would you ask for the price of a book in a store?

How would you ask where the train station is?

How would you respond to someone who says «Danke»?

Practice saying the polite phrases and questions out loud.

Create your own short dialogues using the phrases and questions you’ve learned.

Congratulations! You’ve completed Chapter 5 and now have a toolkit of essential phrases and questions for basic communication. You’re ready to move on to Part 2 and start building your German!