Katter.Germany: 50 German Words I Should’ve Known

Katter.[Country] is a travel column based on KC’s adventures around the world.

Landing in Munich or Frankfurt can be a bit intimidating for those who do not know the German language — like myself for example. I am in part German-American, however being raised in the United States is the quickest way to lose the language your ancestors once knew. I would like to reconnect to the world where my German family lived before they moved overseas, and my wishes to depart from English as my Lingua Franca are becoming only stronger the more I travel. This edition of Katter.Germany is about the vocabulary words I needed to know when I first got to Germany, and a little guide for what they mean so you don’t look as stupid as I did.

The topics and words below I have added for my first article about Germany and the German Language may be a little varied, however this is a simple collection of over 50 words and their meaning I encountered in my first couple of days in Germany, and hopefully this may help someone else out too.

I know this all sounds silly, but maybe someone may get use from this!

KC’s First Words in German

• Bitte - Please!

• Danke - Thank you!

• Hallo - Hello!

• Ausgang - Entry/exit from a building. Example, if you see Ausgang in the train station — you’re getting close to the exits.

• Ausfahrt - Entry/exit for a vehicle. Such as, if you see an Ausfahrt on the Autobahn, that is an exit!

• Bahn - Railway. So, example the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Is a Railway in Germany you can use for transportation.

• Straße - Street. For example, Schubertstraße is “Schubert Street”.

• Hauptbahnhof (HBF) - Central Station, example Berlin Hauptbahnhof or Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.

• Links - Left

• Rechts - Right

• Haus - House

Some Food Words I Encountered in Germany Day 1:

• Milch - Milk

  • Vollmilch - Whole Milk

  • Magermilch - Skim Milk

  • Frischmilch - Fresh Milk

  • Laktosefreie Milch - Lactose-Free Milk

• Wasser - Water

• Brötchen - Buns or Bread Rolls

• Brot - Bread

• Tomaten - Tomatoes

  • Kirschtomaten - Cherry Tomatoes

  • Filetierten Tomaten - Filleted/Sliced Tomatoes

  • Gehackte Tomaten - Chopped Tomatoes

  • Passierte Tomaten - Pureed or Strained Tomatoes (or Tomato Passata in English)

• Kaffee - Coffee

  • Filterkaffee - Filter coffee or drip coffee

  • Milchkaffee - Coffee with milk

• Tee - Tea

  • Schwarzer Tee - Black Tea

  • Grüner Tee - Green Tea

  • Kamillentee - Chamomile Tea

  • Beeren Tee - Berry Tea

  • Kräutertee - Herbal Tea

• Schinken - Ham.

  • Parmaschinken - Prosciutto di Parma (or, Dry cured Smoked ham, specifically from Italy’s Parma Region)

  • Bauernschinken - Dry Cured Smoked Farmers Ham from Germany, less salty than Prosciutto however looks similar.

  • Kochschinken - Cooked ham! Usually what you will see at a United States Deli.

• Pute - Turkey

• Käse - Cheese

• Eier - Eggs

• Nudeln - Noodle or Pasta.

  • Schinkennudeln - A German Pasta dish with the three main components including Cooked Ham, Pasta, and Eggs.

• Basilikum - Basil

• Rucola - Arugula or Rocket

• Spinat - Spinach

• Pilzen - Mushrooms

• Kapern - Capers

• Sardellen - Anchovies

• Knoblauch - Garlic

• Kurkuma - Tumeric

• Salz - Salt

• Pfeffer - Black Pepper

Words that are the same in both English and German

Butter = Butter

Hotel = Hotel

Croissant = Croissant

I hope this little guide helps you with some German vocabulary! Enjoy your adventures in Germany!

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