Nobody arrives in Germany needing the subjunctive. What you need in the first month is a specific, rather dull vocabulary: the words on the registration form, the rental contract, the health insurance letter and the doctor’s answering machine. Most of it is never in a beginner’s course, because beginner’s courses are written for tourists, and you are not a tourist. You have fourteen days to register your address.
This article is the German for those fourteen days and the weeks after them. Each word comes with a translation and a sentence you can say, and each section is ordered the way the first month actually happens: registration, flat, insurance, doctor, and the words that arrive in your letterbox.
Week one: registering your address
Everyone who moves to Germany must register their address at the local citizens‘ office within two weeks of moving in. The word for this is die Anmeldung (registration), and the verb is sich anmelden. The office is das Bürgeramt in most cities, das Einwohnermeldeamt in older signage, das Kreisverwaltungsreferat in Munich, because Munich.
- der Termin – appointment. You will need one, often booked online weeks ahead. Ich habe einen Termin um zehn Uhr. I have an appointment at ten.
- die Wohnungsgeberbestätigung – landlord’s confirmation that you live there. The office will not register you without it. Your landlord knows the word; you only need to ask for it: Ich brauche die Wohnungsgeberbestätigung für die Anmeldung.
- der Reisepass / der Personalausweis – passport / ID card
- die Meldebescheinigung – the registration certificate you receive. Every bank, employer and insurer will ask for it. Keep it.
- die Steuer-ID – tax identification number, sent by post a few weeks after registration. Your employer needs it.
- das Formular – form. Können Sie mir mit dem Formular helfen? Can you help me with the form?
The sentence to open with: Guten Tag, ich möchte mich anmelden. Good day, I would like to register. Then hand over passport and confirmation. Most clerks speak some English, many prefer not to, and the sentence Ich lerne noch Deutsch, sprechen Sie bitte langsam (I am still learning German, please speak slowly) gets you patience where Do you speak English? gets you a sigh.
The flat: contract words you will sign
If you are still looking, the listings use a vocabulary of their own. If you have found one, the contract uses the same words.
- die Wohnung – flat, apartment. 2-Zimmer-Wohnung: two rooms in total, not two bedrooms. Germans count all rooms except kitchen and bathroom.
- die Miete – rent. die Kaltmiete is the rent without bills, die Warmmiete includes heating and service charges. Listings quote the cold rent; you pay the warm one.
- die Nebenkosten – service charges: heating, water, rubbish, stairwell cleaning. Electricity is usually separate.
- die Kaution – deposit, up to three months‘ cold rent, paid into a separate account and returned when you leave.
- der Mietvertrag – rental contract. der Vermieter – landlord. der Mieter – tenant.
- die SCHUFA – the credit record every landlord asks for. New arrivals do not have one; an employment contract and a letter from your employer often replace it.
- die Kündigungsfrist – notice period, usually three months.
- die Einbauküche – fitted kitchen. Its absence is normal; German tenants often take their kitchen with them.
Useful sentence at a viewing: Ist die Küche dabei? Is the kitchen included? And when you have decided: Ich möchte die Wohnung nehmen. I would like to take the flat.
Health insurance and the doctor
Health insurance is compulsory and comes in two systems: die gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (statutory, the default for employees) and die private Krankenversicherung (private, for higher earners and the self-employed). Your employer registers you with a Krankenkasse (health insurance fund), and you receive die Versichertenkarte or Gesundheitskarte, the card you show at every appointment.
- der Hausarzt / die Hausärztin – GP, family doctor. You choose one and register as a patient. Nehmen Sie neue Patienten auf? Are you taking new patients?
- der Termin again. Ich hätte gern einen Termin. I would like an appointment. Ist es dringend? Is it urgent? is the receptionist’s question; Ja, ich habe seit drei Tagen Fieber gets you in today.
- die Praxis – doctor’s surgery. die Sprechstunde – consultation hours. die Apotheke – pharmacy, where all medicines are sold, including the ones you buy in a supermarket at home.
- das Rezept – prescription. Also the word for a recipe, which is confusing exactly once.
- die Krankschreibung – sick note, which your employer needs from the first or third day of illness depending on the contract.
Describing the problem: Ich habe Kopfschmerzen / Halsschmerzen / Bauchschmerzen. I have a headache / sore throat / stomach ache. Schmerzen is pain and attaches to any body part. Mir ist schlecht, I feel sick. Ich bin allergisch gegen …, I am allergic to.
The letters in your letterbox
Within a month, official post begins. Learn to recognise these words on an envelope, because some of them have deadlines:
- der Rundfunkbeitrag – the broadcasting fee, about 18 euros a month per household, charged whether or not you own a TV. The letter comes from the Beitragsservice; it is not a scam, and if a flatmate already pays, you reply with their contributor number.
- die Steuer-ID – see above. das Finanzamt is the tax office; die Steuererklärung is the tax return, which many employees never have to file.
- der Stromanbieter – electricity supplier. Unless you sign up, you are on the default local tariff, die Grundversorgung, which works but costs more.
- die Mahnung – payment reminder. Take it seriously; the second one has a fee.
- der Bescheid – an official decision or notice. der Steuerbescheid, der Rentenbescheid. If it contains Widerspruch (objection) and a date, that is your deadline to appeal.
- die Frist – deadline. bis spätestens – by no later than. These two are the phrases to scan every letter for.
Also on your first month’s list: die Mülltrennung, waste separation, with bins for paper, packaging (gelbe Tonne or gelber Sack), organic waste and the rest. Your neighbours will notice if you get it wrong, and one of them will tell you. Read 25 German false friends every English speaker falls for before you sign anything; Kaution, Provision and Rente all mean something other than they look.
Say it like this
Guten Tag, ich möchte mich anmelden. Hier ist mein Pass. – Good day, I would like to register. Here is my passport.
Ich hätte gern einen Termin, so bald wie möglich. – I would like an appointment, as soon as possible.
Ist das die Kaltmiete oder die Warmmiete? – Is that the rent with or without bills?
Ich verstehe den Brief nicht. Können Sie mir das erklären? – I don’t understand the letter. Can you explain it to me?
How to learn this vocabulary in a month
You do not need to learn all of it at once; you need the registration words in week one and the doctor words before you get ill. Learn each noun with its article and in the sentence you will say, and say the sentence aloud before the appointment. The clerks have heard every accent in the world and are on your side if you try.
The provider of the course on our page How to start learning German from zero also offers a dedicated course for emigrating to Germany, which covers exactly this ground, authorities, housing, work and everyday life, with the English interface of the main course. If you have already booked the flight, that is the course to start with, and the beginner’s course can follow.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to register my address in Germany?
Two weeks from moving in. You register at the local citizens‘ office (Bürgeramt) with your passport and the landlord’s confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung), and you receive a Meldebescheinigung that banks and employers will ask for.
Do I need German to deal with German authorities?
Officially, German is the language of the authorities, and forms and letters are in German. In practice many clerks speak English, but the sentences in this article, and the willingness to try, make every appointment faster and friendlier.
What is the difference between Kaltmiete and Warmmiete?
Kaltmiete is the basic rent without any bills. Warmmiete adds the Nebenkosten, mainly heating, water and building costs. Listings show the cold rent; the monthly amount you pay is the warm rent, and electricity is usually on top.
The German course for emigrating to Germany
The provider offers a special course for moving to Germany alongside the beginner’s course, both with an English interface, native audio and the long-term memory method. Two days free, one-off payment, 31-day money-back guarantee. Details on our page Learn German with an English interface.
Try the German course free for two days*
* Affiliate link: if you buy the course after the trial, we receive a commission from the provider. The price stays the same for you.