You do not need a hundred hours of German to have your first real exchange with a German. You need about thirty phrases, the right form of „you“, and the confidence to say ich hätte gern to a stranger behind a counter. This article gives you all three, in the order you will use them: greeting someone, keeping a short conversation going, and ordering and paying in a café, which is where most learners say their first full German sentence.
Every phrase comes with a translation and, where it matters, a note on when Germans actually use it. Because the phrasebook version, Guten Tag, wie geht es Ihnen?, is correct and almost never what you will hear at the bakery.
Du or Sie: the first decision
German has two words for „you“. Du is for friends, family, children, students among themselves and increasingly for colleagues. Sie (always capitalised) is for strangers, officials, shop staff, anyone older, and anyone you would address by their surname. The verb changes with it: du hast, Sie haben.
The rule for a learner: use Sie with adults you do not know, and let them offer du. In a café, at the doctor, at the registration office: Sie. At a party, in a sports club, with anyone under 30 in Berlin: du is usually fine and they will say so. If a German says Wir können uns duzen („we can use du“), that is the offer, and it is a small compliment.
Greetings, and what people actually say
The textbook greetings work everywhere: Guten Morgen (until about 10), Guten Tag (until about 6), Guten Abend (evening). In practice Germans shorten them to Morgen, Tag, ’n Abend, and the universal all-day greeting is simply Hallo.
Then it depends where you are. The regional greetings are used all day and mark you as someone who knows the place:
- Bavaria and Austria: Grüß Gott (formal) and Servus (informal, also for goodbye). Saying Guten Tag in a Munich bakery is correct and slightly northern.
- Northern Germany: Moin, at any hour of the day, to anyone. Moin moin is the chatty version.
- Switzerland: Grüezi (formal), Hoi (informal).
- Everywhere south of the Main river: Grüß Gott will not surprise anyone.
Goodbye: Auf Wiedersehen is formal and always right. Tschüss is the everyday version, now used even with Sie in shops. Bis bald (see you soon), Bis morgen (see you tomorrow), Schönen Tag noch (have a nice day) are what a shop assistant says as you leave, and Danke, gleichfalls (thanks, you too) is the answer.
Small talk: the six exchanges that keep going
Wie geht’s? (informal) or Wie geht es Ihnen? (formal) means „how are you“, but unlike in English it is a real question, and Germans answer it. The standard reply is Gut, danke. Und dir? / Und Ihnen? A German colleague may also say Muss ja („has to be“) or Geht so („so-so“), which are honest and normal.
Ich heiße Anna. My name is Anna. / Wie heißen Sie? What is your name?
Ich komme aus England. I come from England. / aus den USA, aus Irland, aus Australien, aus Kanada
Ich lerne Deutsch. I am learning German. This sentence changes the tone of every conversation, because the German will slow down and stop switching to English.
Ich wohne in Köln. I live in Cologne. / Seit zwei Monaten. For two months.
Ich arbeite bei Siemens. I work at Siemens. / Ich studiere hier. I study here.
Schönes Wetter heute. Nice weather today. Weather is safe small talk in German too, and the answer is usually a complaint.
When you get stuck: Wie bitte? (pardon?), Langsamer, bitte (slower, please), Was heißt das auf Englisch? (what is that in English?), Ich verstehe nicht (I don’t understand). Germans respect the attempt. What they do not respect is silence followed by English.
In the café: ordering
You walk in. In a café with table service you sit down and wait; in a bakery or a coffee chain you order at the counter. The staff will say Was darf’s sein? or Was möchten Sie? (what would you like?) or simply Bitte?, which in this context means „yes, what can I get you?“
Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee. I would like a coffee. This is the polite standard, and it works for everything: Ich hätte gern ein Wasser, ein Brötchen, ein Stück Kuchen.
Einen Cappuccino, bitte. A cappuccino, please. Equally polite, shorter. Note the accusative: einen for masculine Kaffee and Cappuccino, ein for neuter Wasser, eine for feminine Cola.
Zum Mitnehmen oder zum Hier-Trinken? To take away or to drink here? Answer: Zum Mitnehmen / Hier, bitte.
Mit Milch? With milk? / Ohne Zucker. Without sugar.
Sonst noch etwas? Anything else? / Nein, danke, das ist alles. No thanks, that’s all.
Two things to know. A Kaffee is a filter coffee, not an espresso; ask for einen Espresso if that is what you want. And tap water is not served automatically; ein Wasser gets you a bottle, usually sparkling. For still water ask for stilles Wasser or ohne Kohlensäure.
In the café: paying
With table service, you catch the waiter’s eye and say Zahlen, bitte or Die Rechnung, bitte (the bill, please). The waiter comes to the table with the card machine or the purse and asks:
Zusammen oder getrennt? Together or separately? Germans very often pay separately, even on a date, and the waiter will happily split the bill by item.
Bar oder mit Karte? Cash or card? Cards are accepted more widely than ten years ago, but small cafés and bakeries may still be cash only, and a sign saying Nur Barzahlung means exactly that.
Tipping is done aloud, when you pay, not left on the table. The waiter says the amount, Sieben achtzig (7.80), and you say the total you want to pay including the tip: Acht fünfzig, bitte or, if you hand over a ten and want no change, Stimmt so („that’s right as it is“). Five to ten per cent, rounded to a convenient number, is normal. If you are paying by card, say the tip amount before they type it in.
Say it like this
Hallo, ich hätte gern einen Cappuccino zum Mitnehmen. – Hello, I’d like a cappuccino to take away.
Zahlen, bitte. Zusammen. – The bill, please. Together.
Neun Euro, bitte. Stimmt so. – Nine euros, please. Keep the change. (the bill was 8.30)
Danke, schönen Tag noch! – Thanks, have a nice day!
Practise the sounds before you practise the phrases
The phrases above contain every sound that marks an English accent: the ch in ich and möchte, the ü in Tschüss, the z in Zahlen and zusammen. A café is a forgiving place to get them wrong, but if you want to be understood the first time, read German pronunciation for English speakers: the seven sounds that give you away first. Ten minutes with those sounds and ich hätte gern comes out as German rather than as an English guess.
The phrases themselves are the first lessons of the course we describe on our page Learn German with an English interface: greetings, numbers, ordering and paying, spoken by native speakers so you hear the rhythm before you say it. And our free e-mail tips for English speakers pick up where this article stops, one short tip at a time; sign-up opens shortly on that page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I say du or Sie to a waiter?
Sie. Shop and café staff are addressed formally unless you are in a very casual student place where the staff use du first. Sie is never wrong with a stranger; du can be.
Do you tip in German cafés?
Yes, five to ten per cent, rounded up to a convenient sum, and you say the total when you pay rather than leaving coins on the table. „Stimmt so“ means keep the change.
Is „Hallo“ too informal in German?
No. Hallo is used all day, to strangers and officials alike, and is the most common greeting in Germany today. Guten Tag is slightly more formal; regional greetings such as Moin, Servus and Grüß Gott are equally welcome in their areas.
Hear these phrases spoken by Germans
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