Essential German Phrases

I know that several of you speak German, so I'm here for help please!  I'm going to spend a grand total of nearly 9 hours at Frankfurt airport over the next week.  I'm patently going to need some important phrases.

Could anyone be so kind as to provide the phonetic German translation of these bitte?

1,  Where is the smoking area?

2,  Can you smoke here?

3,  Have you got any vegetarian food on this menu please?

4, I am a vegetarian.

5,  I would like a caramel latte/cinnamon latte/cup of tea please.

6, I would like a black coffee please.

7,  Where is the ladies toilet?

8, Lufthansa Flight: 1368  Departure

9, Lufthansa Flight: 956 Departure

10, Where is the check in desk for...?   (I'll insert the above flights then!)

Danke!

Off the top of my really zombiefied head, 2. should be referring to oneself 'Kann ich hier rauchen?' (Can I smoke here?), or 'Kann man hier rauchen?' (Can people smoke here?).

But then again German has changed as much as English in the last few years so it may be wrong now. And in any case, my dad speaks no German but has managed to journey there to various car factories to pick up his new sports cars in the last few years without issue.

I've been through Frankfurt enough times. When I have half a min I'll dig into my subconscious and see if I can locate you any useful pieces of information to help out.

But now I'm going to pay for my ebay postage and stumble back to bed because I am the wrong side of knackered and about as useful.

In my experience most of Germans speak pretty good English and you can have less problems in communicating in your native language than in German.

Please, don't forget you will be spending time in one of the two most famous beer drinking countries (the more expensive, unfortunately), so invest few Euros in this lovely tradition.

Cheers!

Just my two cents;)

Frankfurt Airport is a major international hub. Everything should be labeled in English, and as Tolovaj said, most people speak a bit of English. It might be easier than asking a question in perfectly rehearsed German, and then having to decipher the German answer you will receive (possibly even with a 'Hesse' accent...).

I would first try to ask your questions in English, nice and slow. In the unlikely case that you're met with blank stares, just have a few single words handy (combined with gestures). For pronunciation, I'd give Google Translate a try. The have a button to listen to each word - and it's usually pretty accurate.

e.g. http://translate.google.com/#de/en/vegetarisch

wo (where), wo ist ...? (where is ...?)

bitte (please)

vegetarisch (vegetarian food) 

Vegetarier (vegetarian person)

Essen (food, also 'to eat')

Lattes used to be mainly called Cappuccinos. Don't know if that's changed due to global starbucksification.

Kaffee, schwarz (coffee, black)

Zimt (cinnamon)

Karamel (caramel)

Tee (tea), eine Tasse Tee (one cup of tea) 

Toilette, Damentoilette (ladies toilette)

rauchen (smoking, to smoke)

Raucher (smoker), Raucher-Ecke (smoker's corner)

Aschenbecher (ash tray)

verboten (forbidden, prohibited)

Jo, you have forgotten the all-important statement I once found in a French phrase book: "My postilion has been struck by lightning." No, I have no idea.

In Germany all you need is "Ein Bier Bitte." Almost everywhere I've been in Germany they speak better English than the English do. As Prof Higgins asked "Why can't the English Teacher their Children How to Speak?"

Thank you all very, very much.  I'm going to print this out and shove it in my bag. 

Rupert - It's not the Germans whose English is in question.  I'm Black Country.  I barely speak the language. :p

The friend who is accompanying me once learned how to say 'My toothbrush has been struck by lightning' in about 20 different languages.  I'm pretty sure that the main one was German.  We should be fine for all meteorological dental disasters.

Tolovaj - We'll be unable to leave the airport.  Do they sell this beer in the airport?  *hopeful face*

*studies the words and phrases laid out by Paula and Anne*  So 'Rauchen ist Verboten' is a sign designed to make me cry?

I once learnt how to say "where is my pillowcase" and described it in full in German. That was almost 20 years ago now though so I can't remember it.

I learnt German in school and we were taught important phrases like "Please could I have a piece of Black Forest Gateau" and how to order cups of tea. I was confused for being from Sweden by a German in Austria once because apparently my accent and some phrases I'd picked up in Austria sounded like the Swiss dialect. But, I can't remember most of the phrases anymore.

I think "Can I" is "Kohnen ich" (although my spelling is now probably way off) and the polite way of saying "have you" is "Haben Sie".

Where is the toilet is "Wo ist die toilette".

I know that most people in mainland Europe can speak some English but I always prefer to go armed with some of the language. It's helped me in the past when we ended up stranded by a port with nobody who spoke English. The coach driver didn't know a word of England and I managed to get him to the right place. I think they also have some respect when you try to speak their language--if they can speak English, they'll start speaking it to make it easier for you.

Jo, they sell beer everywhere in Germany. You will have a lot of choices but general rule is: go as much local as possible. Famous brands are not best available. Best stuff is used by locals. This is the reason why they are looking so healthy and happy.

Only need two phrases...

Einstein bitter!

Wilst du mit mir schlaffen?

Can't go wrong!  Especially with Bavarians.

Jo.... don't worry too much about the German, anyone under 60 probably speaks better English than I do. 

I don't believe there is a spot in Germany where beer is not sold.... but you won't get it in a Stein in Frankfurt. Order a Pils. It comes in a glass. (Those crazy Bavarians use Steins... grin)

Fair warning... Frankfurt Airport is MASSIVE and confusing. Find out where you need to be in advance so you aren't running at the last moment. Some places can only be reached by train.

Have fun with it!

Hey Fargy - proper spelling (and pronunciation) is very important here:

"schlaffen" means "going flaccid"

"schlafen" (only one 'f'!) means "sleep"

"Willst du mit mir schlafen?" (Do you want to sleep with me?)

chefkeem: 10/01/2013 - 11:22 AM

"Willst du mit mir schlafen?" (Do you want to sleep with me?)

Chef, really, that's a bit forward of you! You'll make her blush!

Jo, safe journeys, and enjoy the local beers, that's all I got...

@nightowl actually last time I was through Frankfurt they had NO English announcements at all. I put this down to the major building works at the time, and hope for the international travellers that their delivery has improved since!

@chefkeem where IS that LIKE button when I need it?! *grin* (and no off color jokes now, youse...vielenherzlichenDANKE!)

Also Jo, in all seriousness, Frankfurt Airport has (at least) two terminals. If your flight lands at a satellite terminal, you need to leave at least 30 minutes to reach the main terminal where the trains go from before thinking you will be able to meet a pre-booked train. Been there and done that game. Good test of my German was rebooking the *whistles like a Clanger* train ticket!

Chaz - what's wrong with a little nap together? 

Paula - definitely no joking matter, just some sincere translation work.  

Chef, m'dear. I can think of six gazillion ways that a nap together would be wrong...

And yes, Jo, more or less anything involving 'nicht' and 'rauchen' will make you cry. A former contact of mine, a smoker of some repute and a lover of weed to boot, once undertook a flight from Ohio to Heathrow to meet me. Fortunately, she had the foresight to book a layover, or I would have been dealing with even more chain-smoking withdrawal than I was.

JoHarrington: 10/01/2013 - 04:19 AM

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 So 'Rauchen ist Verboten' is a sign designed to make me cry?

I would highly recommend having an e-cigarette handy to avoid potentially embarrassing situations.

;)

I've giggled my way through this thread.  Thanks all!

Having now completed two long stretches sitting in Frankfurt Airport, I can report that there were plenty of smoking places and everyone did speak English.