If you need the waiter’s or the waitress’ attention, usually signing with your hand or your finger (by simply lifting it up in the air) is enough to get somebody’s attention. In most cities you will find both U-Bahn (“Untergrundbahn”, ‘underground train’) as well as S-Bahn (“Stadtschnellbahn”, basically an inner-city fast train), as well as regional trains commuting between larger cities (so-called ICE Zug or simply ICE, “Intercity Express”) or trains commuting between different cities which aren’t as fast as the ICE trains. — Where is the train station? If you are driving by car and you are lost, you could say: Ich habe mich verfahren. What does ___ mean?Was bedeutet/heißt ___? For beginners, use of a phonetic German Alphabet can help with pronunciation, as this guidance is not included here. — Is there a hospital close by? Haben Sie das auch in einer kleineren/größeren Größe? — I’d like a table for one, please. — Is this the way to the Rathausplatz (city hall square)? Was kostet ein Ticket nach Stuttgart? → Note: When using “Ich habe mich verlaufen” it refers to being lost when walking on foot. — I am American/Canadian/Spanish. Could you please repeat that? → “Pommes” (short for pommes frites, which is French for “french fries”) is the casual term for fries in Germany. → FYI: In this case, “Mitte” — center — refers to a district in Berlin. → If you want to be a bit more specific, you can also say: Welches Gericht können Sie empfehlen? — Which platform is the train leaving from? Ich brauche/wir brauchen einen Arzt. Below you can find the most important German expressions that you might need when dealing with an emergency. You are probably familiar with the difference between “Sie” and “du” in German — formal ‘you’ vs. the informal, more familial ‘you’. Your fellow students should be addressed as du (one) or ihr (more than one). Your teacher might give you some keywords or pictures and ask you to create a story around it. Ist dies der Zug/Bus nach Esslingen? Haben Sie auch Spezialitäten aus der Region? Could I go out/leave for a minute?Darf ich kurz mal hinausgehen? Kennen Sie einen guten Hausarzt? — Are you open yet? Note that this expression pertains to the guys. Here are a few notes about the most common kinds of essays in German. — I am just looking, thank you. Forms of Address: Mrs./Ms. Wo ist der Bahnhof? In this case, however, I think the rule “better safe than sorry” applies all too well. — I don’t feel well. Schmidt, Mr. Schmidt. Wie lange lebst du schon in Stuttgart? Ich schaue mich nur um, danke. May I go to the restroom?Darf ich auf die Toilette?/aufs Klo? — I was mugged. Especially when in an unfamiliar area it is important to know some basics in case you need to ask for directions. → This is a way to ask for confirmation after you’ve already asked for directions, such as to make sure you’re actually going in the right direction. Gibt es hier in der Gegend interessante Sehenswürdigkeiten? Usually you’d start saying “Guten Abend” around six o’clock in the evening, but some people might use it sooner than that. It could literally be translated by “I mis-walked”. Ich/wir hätten gerne einen Tisch für zwei/drei/vier Personen bitte. — Are there any interesting sights here in the area? After your initial introduction, you could simply say: Freut mich, Sie kennen zu lernen. — Excuse me please, is this train/bus going to …? One advantage of German cities and smaller towns is that a lot of landmarks and sights can be explored by foot. Ich bin auf der Suche nach einer Apotheke. There are various types of trains in Germany. I need an ambulance. Jump to phrases. With features such as Grammar Challenges, Cloze-Listening, and Cloze-Reading, the app will let you emphasize all the competencies necessary to become fluent in German. — Do you accept credit cards as well? How can I get there best? Other than that, I hope these examples will come in handy when traveling through Germany and communicating with native speakers of German!