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German · Starter pack
German is a Germanic language, so much of it is already familiar to an English speaker — but every noun is capitalised and every noun takes an article.
Hear how German says its own name
First words
The middle column is an approximation built from English sounds — close enough to be understood, not a strict transcription.
| German | Say it like | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallo | HA-lo | Hello | |
| Guten Morgen | GOO-ten MOR-gen | Good morning | |
| Guten Tag | GOO-ten TAHK | Good day (the everyday formal hello) | |
| Guten Abend | GOO-ten AH-bent | Good evening | |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? | vee GAYT es EE-nen | How are you? (polite) | |
| Mir geht es gut, danke | meer gayt es GOOT, DAN-kuh | I am well, thank you | |
| Auf Wiedersehen | owf VEE-der-zayn | Goodbye | |
| Gute Nacht | GOO-tuh NAHKHT | Good night |
The polite basics
Ten phrases that carry a beginner through a shop, a station and an introduction.
| German | Say it like | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitte | BIT-tuh | Please (and "you are welcome") | |
| Danke schön | DAN-kuh SHURN | Thank you very much | |
| Entschuldigung | ent-SHOOL-di-goong | Excuse me / sorry | |
| Ich heiße… | ikh HYE-suh | My name is… | |
| Sprechen Sie Englisch? | SHPREH-khen zee ENG-lish | Do you speak English? | |
| Ich verstehe das nicht | ikh fair-SHTAY-uh das nikht | I do not understand that | |
| Wie viel kostet das? | vee FEEL KOS-tet das | How much does that cost? | |
| Wo ist der Bahnhof? | vo ist dair BAHN-hofe | Where is the station? | |
| Ich möchte das Wasser, bitte | ikh MURSH-tuh das VA-ser, BIT-tuh | I would like the water, please | |
| Können Sie mir helfen? | KUR-nen zee meer HEL-fen | Can you help me? |
Counting
Prices, platforms, dates and phone numbers all start here.
Good to know
This is the ten-minute version: the greetings, phrases and numbers a beginner can use this afternoon, held on the page rather than fetched. The full German tutorial — a thousand words, three hundred phrases and five hundred conversations, with your progress kept — is the language’s main page.