| English – German | A – C |
| D – F | |
| G – I | |
| J – L | |
| M – O | |
| P – R | |
| S – U | |
| V – Z | |
| German – English | A – C |
| D – F | |
| G – I | |
| J – L | |
| M – O | |
| P – R | |
| S – U | |
| V – Z |
In this book you are given the pronunciation of the phrases so that you will soon be able to recognize the different sounds. (The stressed syllable is marked in bold.) Here are a few rules you should know:
| German | sounds like | example | pronunciation |
| a | cup/father | das/Abend | das/ahbent |
| e | bed/hair | Bett/Meer | bet/mehr |
| o | not/road | oft/rot | oft/roht |
| u | put/boot | Nummer/gut | noommer/goot |
| ai/ay | pie | Mai/Mayer | my/my-er |
| au | now | Auto | owtoh |
| ei/ey | pie | eine/Meyer | yn-e/my-er |
| eu | toy | neun | noyn |
| ie | keep | sie | zee |
| ch | loch | wach | vakh |
| j | yes | jagen | yahgen |
| qu | dark violet | Quittung | kvittoong |
| s | dress dizzy ship | es sie sprechen | es zee shprekh-en |
| ß | juice | Fuß | foos |
| th | tea | Theater | teh-ahter |
| v | fan | von | fon |
| w | van | wir | veer |
| z | pets | Zimmer | tsimmer |
Umlauts
| German | sounds like | example | pronunciation |
| ä | bed/hair | hätte/spät | het-e/shpeht |
| äu | boy | läutet | loytet |
| ö | Arthur/fur | können/Höhe | kur’nen/hur’-e* |
| ü | duke/due | dürfen/Mühe | duerfen/mue-e |
* ur’ as in hurt without the r pronounced
A final e is always pronounced, but weakly like the e in the: Seide (zy-de), bitte (bit-e).
An underline indicates a short vowel, e.g. Mutter (mootter), Mörder (murder), Küste (kueste).
If an h is added after the vowel, the sound is longer, e.g. Tag (tahk), Mädchen (meht-khen), Leben (lehben), hoch (hohkh).
1 Germans may close doors more often than you are used to, but a closed door does not necessarily mean that the person cannot be disturbed. They are probably happy to receive you if you knock before entering.
2 If someone holds an academic title it’s always polite to use it.
3 When introduced to an adult, address them by their title and surname until they suggest using first names.
4 If the person you are talking to sneezes, say ‘Gesundheit’ (bless you!).
5 Shake hands when you get introduced to an adult.
6 In restaurants in general, wait until everyone is served before you dig in, and say ‘Guten Appetit!’ before you start. The latter is not entirely necessary, but considered good form.
7 Always use the polite ‘Sie’ form, except with friends and colleagues of your own age.
8 When asked ‘Wie geht es Ihnen?’ you should respond by first thanking them, saying ‘Danke, gut’.
9 Answer the phone by using your surname: ‘Bader, hallo’; if you’re at work, then follow this with the name of your company.
10 Sundays are sacred. It’s the ‘Ruhetag’ so you should be aware that noise is kept to a minimum.
When Germans meet they generally shake hands. The words for Mr and Mrs are Herr and Frau. Note that Fräulein (Miss) is no longer used, as it sounds rather patronizing.
| Please/Don’t mention it | Bittebit-e |
| Thanks (very much) | Danke schön dang-ke shur’n |
| Yes | Ja yah |
| No | Nein
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