Berlin City Guide - Language

German is the official language and is spoken as a first language by almost the entire population. There is some variation between Hochdeutsch (standard German) and the Berliner dialect, as well as between East and West Berlin. English is the most common second language, and is widely understood and spoken by those in tourism-related fields.

The dialect spoken in Berlin owes many of its hallmarks to the Prussian empire and the French-speaking Huguenots who sought refuge here. The most common word that stands out is kieken (sometimes pronounced more like gücken), which means 'look'. Berliners also have a tendency to pronounce the German ch as ck, ie 'lock' rather than 'loch', and particularly 'ick' rather than 'ich' (which means 'I' in English) as they do elsewhere in Germany.

It is important to pay attention to the times of performances in Germany – halb-acht (half-eight) means 0730 and not 0830 as it would in English. Similarly, viertel-acht (quarter-eight) means 0715, a quarter of the way to eight o'clock, and drei-viertel-acht (three-quarters-eight) is 0745.

When speaking to strangers, one should use the formal forms of address (Sie rather than du). The following characters are used in German, but not in English: ä (=ae), ö (=oe), ü (=ue) and ß (=ss).

Phrases
Yes - Ja
No - Nein
Hello - Guten Tag
Goodbye - Auf Wiedersehen / Tschüs (informal)
Please - Bitte
Thank you - Danke
My name is … - Mein Name ist …
How are you? - Wie geht es Ihnen?
(polite) / - Wie geht es dir? (informal)
I'm very well - Mir es gut geht
I feel ill - Ich fühle mich unwohl
How much does it cost? - Wieviel kostet das?
Do you speak - Sprechen Sie English? Englisch? (polite) /
Sprichst du Englisch? (informal)
I don't understand - Ich verstehe nicht
Where is …? - Wo befindet sich …?
Entrance - Eingang /
Einfahrt (vehicles)
Exit - Ausgang / Ausfahrt (vehicles)
Danger - Gefahr / Vorsicht
Open - Geöffnet
Closed - Geschlossen
Toilets - Toiletten / WC
Doctor - Arzt / Ärztin (female)
Hotel - Hotel
Restaurant - Restaurant
Beer - Bier
Wine - Wein
Menu - Speisekarte
Today - Heute
Tomorrow - Morgen
Monday - Montag
Tuesday - Dienstag
Wednesday - Mittwoch
Thursday - Donnerstag
Friday - Freitag
Saturday - Samstag
Sunday - Sonntag
One - Eins
Two - Zwei
Three - Drei
Four - Vier
Five - Fünf
Six - Sechs
Seven - Sieben
Eight - Acht
Nine - Neun
Ten - Zehn
Twenty - Zwanzig
Thirty - Dreissig
Forty - Vierzig
Fifty - Fünfzig
Sixty - Sechzig
Seventy - Siebzig
Eighty - Achtzig
Ninety - Neunzig
One Hundred - Hundert
One Thousand - Tausend

View Our Airport Guides for Berlin:

     Berlin-Tegel Airport
     Berlin-Schönefeld Airport
     Berlin-Tempelhof Airport