Language Tips!
Although it is easy to get around Berlin without learning any German, as most official offices speak English and most Germans will want to practice their English on you, it goes a long way if you know a little. The German language can prove a little tough at times: for one thing, you can't be 100 percent sure whether you will be kicked or kissed until the end of the sentence; for another, the German's quirky habit of joining words together, or even splitting them, can be hard to keep up with.
Another tricky aspect is that everything has a gender: male, female or neutral i.e the cat = die Katze (feminine), the dog = der Hund (masculine) the girl = das M?dchen (neutral?) but the boy = der Junge (masculine), and all hell lets loose if you need to order a knife, fork and spoon as they are all different sexes!
There are a whole range of German words which look pretty similar to their English equivalents, so signs such as POLIZEI, RESTAURANT, HOTEL and TAXI are hardly going to tax most travellers, but here are a handful of others that may be useful: Kneipe - Pub
Der Kaffebecher - Coffee Pot
Die Buchhandlung - Book Shop
Das Krankenhaus - Hospital
Die Bushaltstelle - Bus stop
Der Laden - Shop
Der Zeitungsh?ndler or die Zeitungsh?ndlerin if female- Newsagent
Der Bahnhof - Station
Der Flughafen - Airport
If you are staying in Berlin for a longer period of time then it would be worthwhile to enroll in one of the many language schools.
Comments
I am from Malta and I am studying German... One thing I really Love to say.. Ich Liebe Deutsch
Replynot a review! Frenchy and Ving, shut the fu[K up, you guys are completely retarded! frenchy is just pissed off because the germans kicked their @$$! and ving is jealous because the germans have a variation in their food groups, all he/she eats is rice and noodle! grow up you two, move out of your moms basement and get a life!!!
Replyomg VING your the funnyest asian ever! Are you a comedian? you should be but i think that the germans dont know what you talking about they only speak german! maybe you should go to germany and teach them a thing or two!
Replyi totaly agree with frenchy and fuzz this is stupid! i felt like ripping my ears out so i didnt have to hear this crap! what idiot whats to speak german anyway. i think u should do something more productive with ur time like rub ur face in the dirt.
Replythis is stupid and a waste of space on this site! Although my friends and i enjoyed laughing at you stupid language i recommend you take this off the website!
Replyso cool but u need to have more words like what is ur name and what age are u but it is still so COOL LOL
ReplyWell I think that learning languages is very important, because that way you can communicate with people from other countrys. I had to learn German because one of my friends was from German and I couldn't communicate with her only by doing sign languages. So, I got tired of and decided about learning German and she learned Spanish and English. It was easy to learn German and it was also fun!!!!So German is a very nice Language!!German ROCK!!!!!!Danke for everything!!!!!
Replythere is a mistake. the text says "germans want to practice their english". hardly anyone wanna do this coz in berlin many students learn french as first language (historical reasons). so dont expect everybody will be able to speak english
Replyhaha thats funny xD i like the sentence with beer :P how happy I am that our schools teach both languages(engl/germ ;) aaaa ich freue mich sehr auf die n?chste loveparaaade!! endlich komme ich auch!!^^
ReplyI think there are many useful sentences missing. I add some: "Wo finde ich das Brandenburger Tor?" or "Wo ist das Brandenburger Tor?" (both mean: Where is the Brandenburg Gate);"Gibt es hier in der N?he ein gutes Lokal?"(Is there any good restaurant near by here?);"Sprechen sie etwas langsamer, mein Deutsch ist noch nicht so gut"(Don't speak so fast, my German is not that good yet)"Lassen sie mich in Ruhe!"(Leave me alone!). I hope these sentences will help you to get around in Berlin. Ich freue mich auf jeden, der nach Deutschland kommt. Vielleicht sehen wir uns ja bald in Berlin. Auf Wiedersehen!"
ReplyWhy am I seeing so many derogatory comments on these pages. I see so many negative references to gay people as well. Why? Are these people jealous they are not gay? Or perhaps they have not yet been able to accept their own gay orientation. In either case who cares. Gay people don't pose a danger to anyone, no more than a heterosexual person. SO what's up with all the stupid comments? Now can we keep the comments within the context of these pages, and stop with the sexual remarks. They really show One's low level of intelligence. Cheers
ReplyCouldn't we get a few more phrases on there? Come on, you didn't have room for 'nein' (no) or 'bitte' (please/your welcome)? Pathetic. Also, Tyson's right: 'Entschuldigung' means excuse me. "Es tut mir leid" is how you apologize.
Replyhmmm how do you say "I'm really really sorry for sleeping with your wife." signifying pure apology
Replythe apologetic expression for saying "I'm Sorry"/"excuse me", which i think is meant. should be "Entschuldigen Sie bitte"(formal) or more simply "Entschuldigung"(the noun and less formal)
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