common german words in english that tourist should know

Pretty much anyone who works in the service/tourist industry in the larger cities and attractions will be able to speak decent English for their particular area of expertise. In Tourist Areas You Will Be Fine With English Germans are much more rigorously schooled in English, most of them now learning as soon as they start primary school, so the younger generation of Germans under 50 have a pretty good theoretical grasp of English, though of course proficiency depends on how much they get to practice it in real life.

More than half the population speaks English to some extent, with the prevalence in popular tourist areas and younger people under 50 being even higher, so English is more common in Germany than other European countries.Īround 60% English proficiency is a decent percentage and much higher than other European countries like France, Italy and Spain which hover around 35-40 percent coverage of English, much of it not fluent. Recent figures estimate the proportion of English speakers in Germany at around 56% of the population. The short answer is that it is possible to get by in Germany using just English, since it is widely enough spoken for you to use it in most regions without too many problems. But how widely spoken is English in there, and is it possible to get by in Germany without knowing any German? Germany is another very popular tourist destination in Europe for English speakers, with beautiful cities like Hamburg and Berlin as well as festivals like the famous Oktoberfest attracting many Americans and Brits.

Common german words in english that tourist should know