Are you going to Germany, Austria, Switzerland or even Luxembourg or Liechtenstein in the near future?
Just as in English, there are lots of new German phrases and words relating to COVID-19 that won’t be covered by your guidebook.
To make your life easier, we have put together some of these key phrases. We hope that they will help you feel safer during your visit to Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
Check out the phrases below and then download the free printable to take with you on your holiday.
Useful COVID-related phrases in German
| ENGLISH | GERMAN |
|---|---|
| Where can I buy a mask please? | Wo kann ich eine Maske kaufen? |
| Where would I find the hand sanitiser please? | Wo finde ich Handdesinfektionsmittel? |
| How many people are allowed in this shop? | Wie viele Personen dürfen sich in diesem Laden aufhalten? |
| Yes, I have received my COVID vaccination. | Ja, ich bin gegen COVID-19 geimpft. |
| Where is the nearest testing centre? | Wo ist das nächstgelegene Testzentrum? |
| Which tourist attractions are currently open to the public? | Welche Touristenattraktionen sind derzeit geöffnet? |
| What are the social distancing rules here? | Welche Kontaktbeschränkungen gelten hier? |
| Does your hotel/restaurant/bar have cleanliness standards in place? (e.g. are high touch areas such as the lobby/elevator/rooms/corridors/door handles/kitchens/tables/cutlery etc. cleaned more frequently?) | Welche Hygienemaßnahmen werden in Ihrem Hotel/Ihrem Restaurant/Ihrer Bar umgesetzt? (Werden z. B. Flächen, die häufig berührt werden, wie Lobby/Aufzug/Zimmer/Flure/ Türgriffe/Küchen/Tische/Besteck usw., häufiger gereinigt?) |
| Do my children need to wear masks? | Müssen meine Kinder einen Mund-Nasen-Schutz tragen? |
| I have forgotten my mask. What should I do? | Ich habe meine Maske vergessen. Was kann ich tun? |
German glossary of COVID-related terms
COVID-19 has changed almost everything in our lives and language is no exception. Words and phrases like lockdown, self-isolation and R-rate are now in common use in the English language. The same is true of other languages too. To illustrate the point and to provide you with a handy guide to some terms you come across during your travels, we have compiled a glossary of an A-Z of COVID terms.
| ENGLISH | GERMAN |
|---|---|
| Asymptomatic | Symptomfrei |
| Ban (travel, social gatherings etc.) | Verbot (Reise, Treffen, usw.) |
| Contact tracing | Kontaktverfolgung |
| Distancing | Abstandsregeln, Kontaktbeschränkungen, AHA-Formel |
| Elbow tap | Ellenbogengruß |
| Furlough | Kurzarbeit |
| Government guidelines | Behördliche Vorschriften |
| Home testing kits | Selbsttests |
| Incubation | Inkubationszeit |
| Job losses | Arbeitsplatzverluste |
| Keyworkers | Systemrelevante Arbeitskräfte |
| Lockdown (1.0, 2.0, 3.0) | Lockdown (1.0, 2.0, 3.0) |
| Masks | Masken, Mund-Nasen-Schutz, Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung, Gesichtsmaske |
| Nightingale hospitals | Temporäre Krankenhäuser |
| Outbreak | Ausbruch |
| Pandemic | Pandemie |
| Quarantine | Quarantäne |
| R rate | R-Wert (Reproduktionszahl) |
| Self-isolation | Selbstisolation |
| Track and trace | Kontaktverfolgung (Corona-App) |
| Underlying conditions | Vorerkankungen |
| Vaccination centres | Impfzentren |
| Working from home | Home Office |
| Xenophobia | Fremdenfeindlichkeit |
| Yoga | Yoga |
| Zoom | Zoom |
Head back to the COVID Language Hub for more free COVID-language resources in different languages.
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