Getting around in German
Left, right, the station, one ticket, where is the toilet. Play the ten German words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 German phrases in this lesson
- Wo ist die Toilette?voh IST dee toy-LET-eh
- Where is the toilet?
- Wie komme ich zum...?vee KOM-eh ikh tsoom
- How do I get to...?
- Nach linksnakh LINKS
- To the left
- Nach rechtsnakh REKHTS
- To the right
- Geradeausge-RAH-deh-ows
- Straight ahead
- HierHEER
- Here
- BahnhofBAHN-hohf
- Train station
- BusBOOS
- Bus
- FlughafenFLOOK-hah-fen
- Airport
- Eine Fahrkarte, bitteEYE-neh FAR-kar-teh, BIT-teh
- One ticket, please
"Toilette" is the standard word. In restaurants it is often marked "WC" or "Damen/Herren" (ladies/gents). Asking "Wo sind die Toiletten?" covers multiple cubicles.
Before a feminine place it is "zur": "zur Post".
A compound of "gerade" (straight) and "aus" (out/onward). One of those satisfying German words that does exactly what it says.
A compound of "Bahn" (railway) and "Hof" (yard/court). "Hauptbahnhof" (Hbf) is the main station in any city. German rail is operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB).
Literally "flight harbor".
"Fahrkarte" (travel card) is the standard word for a transit ticket. At DB stations you may also hear "Ticket." Validate your ticket before boarding where required.