Joe Warnimont Last updated: May 1, 2023

The Ultimate List of Handy German Resources for Travelers

Your big trip to Germany is fast approaching.

Are you worried about sounding silly or even insulting Germans as you try to speak their language?

We’ve outlined hundred of German phrases for travel, but to avoid any catastrophes, you’ve gotta check out the ultimate list of German resources for travelers.

From guidebooks to apps, cheat sheets to handheld translators, keep reading to ensure a smooth trip—your German fairy tale.

Why It’s Important to Learn German for Traveling
Guides for Practicing German Before a Trip (or Referencing During a Trip)
German Apps for Travelers
Websites and Printable Sheets with German Travel Lingo
Handheld Devices for Quick Translations
- Nyrius LT12 12 Language Global Digital Talking Translator
- How to Turn Your Mobile Device into a Universal Translator

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Why It’s Important to Learn German for Traveling

Many folks speak English throughout Europe, so what’s the point of learning German? To start, you may need to conduct business while in a German speaking country. If not official business, it’s wise to understand the language so you don’t get taken advantage of or spend too much money while traveling.

Travelers also get to enjoy trying the best local cuisines and checking out the coolest landmarks, but it becomes a little tricky if you can’t at least ask where the good stuff is located.

German is spoken as the first language in various countries throughout Europe, making it essential even if you plan on venturing out of Germany. Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland all use forms of German as the first language. Not to mention, some people speak German in Belgium, Poland, Romania and Russia.

Enjoy music, movies, shows and even tour guides who speak the language and share cultural tidbits.

It’s also nice to meet other people who are also traveling. This could lead to a German-speaking penpal or Skype buddy, with whom you can speak with and practice German in the future.

Guides for Practicing German Before a Trip (or Referencing During a Trip)

A trusty guide fits in your backpack or purse, and it serves as a way to reference words and phrases that don’t sound familiar to you during your travels. Physical guides work well because you generally only need one, and they provide that tangible feeling, always reminding you to brush up on vocab while in a cab or to pull it out of your pocket when ordering lunch.

Guides are most useful when they keep up with modern phrases, so I recommend the following books to communicate comfortably while traveling to German.

“Rick Steves’ German Phrase Book and Dictionary”

You can’t go wrong with Rick Steves, since the man has traveled all over Europe (numerous times), hosted his own travel show and written dozens of bestselling guides for European travel.

From ordering a bratwurst in Munich to introducing yourself to new people in the Rhine Valley, “Rick Steves’ German Phrase Book and Dictionary” outlines the most common everyday phrases to further improve your travel lingo. It also comes with phonetic spellings, currency information, rail transportation guides and a cheat sheet that you can tear out and slide in your pocket.

“German Survival Guide”

The idea behind the “German Survival Guide” is to give you confidence to speak with people while traveling through Germany and Austria. The book excels by talking about cultural points such as the Autobahn, grocery stores, ice cream parlors and more.

The guide shows you how to interact with people at these locations, with vocabulary and basic German instruction. Travel and study tips are scattered throughout the entire guide, making it a rather helpful book for your travels if staying in Germany or Austria for quite some time.

“Lonely Planet German Phrasebook and Dictionary”

This is one of my favorite German phrasebooks because it has a huge section for decoding restaurant menus and ordering food properly. The 3,500-word two-way German-English dictionary is always handy for looking up the right words.

Another area to help you feel at ease while traveling is the cultural manners section, which prevents you from embarrassing other people or making them feel uncomfortable.

Lonely Planet at large has tons of German phrasebook and travel guide options available on their site. Read these ahead of time to know what to expect wherever you go. Read them during your travels and keep them in your backpack to whip out at a moment’s notice. Whenever there’s German around you, you can pick up the language.

“Perfect Phrases in German for Confident Travel”

Context and manners are extremely important when going to Germany, just like they are in every country. If you insult a person’s language, why would they talk to you in return?

The “Perfect Phrases” book details the proper words and phrases to use while traveling, while also discussing faux pas and how they can hurt your conversation.

“Point It: Traveller’s Language Kit”

This guide may not help you much with your pronunciation, but it’s an essential tool to bring with you while traveling in German speaking countries. The “Point It” book has 1,300 images and words, so you can point at the images when your speaking abilities fail.

For example, point to the picture of a chicken when ordering at a restaurant.

German Apps for Travelers

I love a good tangible travel and language guide, but an app serves as a viable replacement, because it’s almost always in your pocket and you don’t have to weigh down your bag with multiple books. Not to mention, the apps generally offer audio to hear how to pronounce certain words and phrases.

Here is a wonderful list of German travel reference apps.

Learn German Free: Phrases & Vocabulary Words for Travel, Study & Live in Germany

Some of the more advanced German learning apps are best for advancing your skills before travel. Therefore, the options on this list have a strong focus on assisting you while in German-speaking countries. The Learn German Free app is designed to boost your speaking capabilities while traveling.

The visual guide has carefully categorized section like greetings, eating, romance and health. The app has over 800 common German phrases, and the German-speaking parrot pronounces everything for you.

Learn German – Phrasebook for Travel

As you’ll notice in the full app name, this gem is best for use in cities like Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Weimar. The phrasebook is free, but you can upgrade to receive all of the phrases and words for your travels.

I like this app because it works as a quick reference. The main page shows categories like numbers, general conversation and transportation. Once you select a category and phrase, it gives you the option to hear a spoken version and slow down the audio for better understanding.

Wie Geht‘s German

The Wie Geht‘s app provides a few lessons with audio tracks, each of them useful while moving around the world. It has a travel section, filled with options like directions, talking about languages, meeting people, weather, shopping, money and more.

Membership is required to get most of the content. The app is formatted like a class, but feel free to skip around and use the examples when you come across a moment when they are needed.

Germany Travel Guide

The German Travel Guide app is not going to help you much with your German learning, but it may prevent you from getting lost.

The app works online and offline, with detailed maps for navigating cities like Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. Check out weather, time and fun suggestions while moving around the cities.

FluentU

With this app, you can immerse yourself in the German language and culture before stepping foot in Germany. FluentU takes authentic German videos and turns them into lessons through interactive subtitles and personalized quizzes.

By having material presented to you in visual, audio and written form, you’re able to target all of your language skills in one shot. Plus, you can hear proper pronunciation from native speakers, then practice your own skills by using the speaking exercises. If you want to target certain words or phrases to learn, you can create flashcards on the app, as well.

Websites and Printable Sheets with German Travel Lingo

Want a free list of common phrases that you can print out and stuff in your pocket? Maybe you’re already in Germany and don’t have the time to order or find a guidebook. Use the following webpages and printable sheets for free and compact travel phrases and words.

Handheld Devices for Quick Translations

The final resource for communicating in German while traveling is the handheld translation device. These aren’t always that helpful in improving your German (therefore I recommend using other resources first), but a handheld device may just get you out of an emergency.

Nyrius LT12 12 Language Global Digital Talking Translator

The Nyrius LT12 translates 12 languages, and German is one of them. The volume selection and auto-off features help with overall control, and the device speaks phrases aloud.

I like this device because it saves your favorites while traveling, and it uses a password so no one else can delete things.

How to Turn Your Mobile Device into a Universal Translator

I know that not everyone wants to fork over the cash to buy a brand new handheld translator—especially considering many of them are way too expensive. Therefore, I recommend checking out this Gizmodo article to see if you have the hardware required to turn your phone into a translator.

And that’s it! With the help of a pocket guidebook, a few handy apps, some websites and even a handheld translator, you shouldn’t have any problems speaking to Germans during your travels. Keep in mind that I would always recommend going with a guidebook or app as you primary German word/phrase reference tool. Consider a handheld translator only for emergencies.

That said, have fun with it all, and really try to remember the words and phrases you look up—to strengthen your German knowledge further.