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Language German is the official language and is spoken as a first language by almost the entire population. There is some variation between Hochdeutsch (standard German) and the Berliner dialect, as well as between East and West Berlin. English is the most common second language, and is widely understood and spoken by those in tourism-related fields. The dialect spoken in Berlin owes many of its hallmarks to the Prussian empire and the French-speaking Huguenots who sought refuge here. The most common word that stands out is kieken (sometimes pronounced more like gücken), which means 'look'. Berliners also have a tendency to pronounce the German ch as ck, ie 'lock' rather than 'loch', and particularly 'ick' rather than 'ich' (which means 'I' in English) as they do elsewhere in Germany. It is important to pay attention to the times of performances in Germany - halb-acht (half-eight) means 0730 and not 0830 as it would in English. Similarly, viertel-acht (quarter-eight) means 0715, a quarter of the way to eight o'clock, and drei-viertel-acht (three-quarters-eight) is 0745. When speaking to strangers, one should use the formal forms of address (Sie rather than du). The following characters are used in German, but not in English: ä (=ae), ö (=oe), ü (=ue) and ß (=ss). Phrases Yes - Ja No - Nein Hello - Guten Tag Goodbye - Auf Wiedersehen / Tschüs (informal) Please - Bitte Thank you - Danke My name is ... - Mein Name ist ... How are you? - Wie geht es Ihnen? (polite) / - Wie geht es dir? (informal) I'm very well - Mir es gut geht I feel ill - Ich fühle mich unwohl How much does it cost? - Wieviel kostet das? Do you speak - Sprechen Sie English? Englisch? (polite) / Sprichst du Englisch? (informal) I don't understand - Ich verstehe nicht Where is ...? - Wo befindet sich ...? Entrance - Eingang / Einfahrt (vehicles) Exit - Ausgang / Ausfahrt (vehicles) Danger - Gefahr / Vorsicht Open - Geöffnet Closed - Geschlossen Toilets - Toiletten / WC Doctor - Arzt / Ärztin (female) Hotel - Hotel Restaurant - Restaurant Beer - Bier Wine - Wein Menu - Speisekarte Today - Heute Tomorrow - Morgen Monday - Montag Tuesday - Dienstag Wednesday - Mittwoch Thursday - Donnerstag Friday - Freitag Saturday - Samstag Sunday - Sonntag One - Eins Two - Zwei Three - Drei Four - Vier Five - Fünf Six - Sechs Seven - Sieben Eight - Acht Nine - Neun Ten - Zehn Twenty - Zwanzig Thirty - Dreissig Forty - Vierzig Fifty - Fünfzig Sixty - Sechzig Seventy - Siebzig Eighty - Achtzig Ninety - Neunzig One Hundred - Hundert One Thousand - Tausend |