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Meeting Someone New – Essential German Vocabulary List

Despite a reputation of being quite reserved and serious, many German people are very open and interested in other cultures. Many Germans also speak English quite well and are looking for opportunities to practice, so if you can't express yourself perfectly in German, don't worry! However, especially with the older generation, it helps to know some German in order to get a conversation started.

Du and Sie: In German, if you don't know someone, it is safer to address him or her using the formal Sie. If you know somebody well or if he or she is a kid (under 16) you would use the informal Du. Lately, Du has become more acceptable, so if you and your new German acquaintance are under 35 and in a non-business setting it is likely that you will both agree to use Du and first names.

Note that if you are addressing someone using Sie, you would also call him or her by the last name, so it's Herr (Mr.) Schmidt or Frau (Ms.) Schmidt. Addressing a woman as Fräulein (Miss) is completely outdated and in some cases might even offend the lady. For formally addressing a woman it is irrelevant whether or not she is married—it is always "Frau."

Here are some preliminary phrases in German for you:

Slang/Commonly Used Expressions