ESSENTIAL PHRASES

At the Supermarket

At the Supermarket
How prepared are you feeling for your next trip to a German supermarket? Knowing key phrases and what
to ask employees if you need help, will ensure that your shopping trip is a success.

Below, we'll introduce you to phrases that you can use the next time you head to the grocery store. Let's
dive in and get ready for your next shopping trip!

Table of Contents
Questions From an Employee
Asking an Employee for Help
At Checkout

Questions From an Employee

Store employees are usually very busy in German supermarkets, but don't worry, they're still there to help
you with your shopping. We have gathered examples of what employees might say to you in the table
below. Check them out!

German English

Kann ich Ihnen helfen? Can I help you?

Womit kann ich Ihnen behilflich sein? How can I help you?
Suchen Sie etwas Bestimmtes? Are you looking for something in particular?
Kümmert sich schon jemand um Sie? Is someone looking after you?

Kann ich Ihnen helfen? (Can I help you?)

You'll often hear this question while in a German store. Alternatively, you might also hear: Womit kann ich
Ihnen behilflich sein? (How can I help you?) or Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? (How may I help you?). There
are lots of ways you could respond to any of these questions. Here is an example: Könnten Sie mir zeigen,
wo das Bio-Gemüse ist? (Could you show me where the organic vegetables are?).
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
At the Supermarket

Kümmert sich schon jemand um Sie? (Is someone looking after you?)
Here is a common question that you might hear an employee ask. It is used when an employee is trying to
be helpful and wants to know if you are already being helped by someone. Again, you could respond in a
number of ways. For example like this: Im Moment nicht, aber ich glaube nicht, dass ich Hilfe brauche,
danke (Not at the moment, but I don't think I need any help, thank you).

Asking an Employee for Help

Need to find out where items are in a store or how much something costs? Stores in Germany can
sometimes have a confusing layout, which means it's important to be able to ask employees for help. The
phrases we've collected for you below will help you get what you need!

German English

Entschuldigung, arbeiten Sie hier? Excuse me, do you work here?

Entschuldigung, können Sie mir helfen? Excuse me, could you help me?
Haben Sie Vollkornmüsli? Do you have any whole-grain cereals?
Verkaufen Sie Salz- und Essig-Chips? Do you sell salt and vinegar chips?
Können Sie mir sagen, wo ich Müsliriegel finde? Could you tell me where granola bars are?
Wo finde ich die internationale
Where can I find the international food section?
Lebensmittelabteilung?

Ich suche indische Gewürze. I need to find some Indian spices.

Ich suche Kartoffelchips. I'm looking for potato chips.
Ich hätte gerne eine Flasche Milch, bitte. I'd like a bottle of milk, please.
Haben Sie Käse? Have you got any cheese?
Wieviel kostet eine Flasche Milch? How much is a bottle of milk?
Ist dieses Produkt im Angebot? Is this item on sale?
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
At the Supermarket

Entschuldigung, arbeiten Sie hier? (Excuse me, do you work here?)

This question is a polite way to find out whether someone works at a store you're in. It might be a good
idea to ask someone this question first in order to avoid confusion. If the person works at the store they
might say: Ja, das tue ich (Yes, I do). You could then ask: Dürfte ich Sie etwas fragen? (Could I ask you
something?) or Könnten Sie mir helfen? (Could you help me?).

Haben Sie Vollkornmüsli? (Do you have any whole-grain cereals?)

Use the sentence pattern Haben Sie + GEGENSTAND ? (Do you have any + ITEM ?) to form questions in
order to find out if a store has an item that you are looking for. For example you could ask: Haben Sie
Kartoffelchips? (Do you have any potato chips?). Führen Sie + GEGENSTAND ? (Do you carry + ITEM ?) is
another sentence pattern that you can use to do the same thing. An example using this pattern is: Führen
Sie lokal produzierte Marmelade? (Do you carry local made jams?). There could be many answers to either
of these questions, such as: Ja, in Gang drei (Yes, in aisle three) or Nein, das ist uns leider ausgegangen (
No, unfortunately we ran out of that).

Wo finde ich die internationale Lebensmittelabteilung? (Where can I find the international food section?)
If you want to find out where something is in a store, use the sentence pattern Wo finde ich +
GEGENSTAND ? (Where can I find + ITEM ?). Here is an example: Wo finde ich Bio-Produkte? (Where can I
find organic products?). You might also use: In welchem Gang befinden sich + GEGENSTÄNDE ? (What
aisle are + ITEMS + in?) to do the same thing. For example: In welchem Gang befinden sich internationale
Lebensmittel? (What aisle are international foods in?). There are, of course, many ways to answer these
questions. Here is just one possibility: In Gang vier in der Nähe der Suppenabteilung (In aisle four near the
soup section).

Wieviel kostet eine Flasche Milch? (How much is a bottle of milk?)

Do you want to know how much an item costs? Then try asking a question using Wieviel kostet +
GEGENSTAND ? (How much is + ITEM ?) to find out a product's price. Here is another example question
using this sentence pattern: Wie viel kosten diese Blaubeeren? (How much are these blueberries?). There
are lots of answers that you might get, such as: Eine Packung Blaubeeren kostet 2,99 € (A package of
blueberries costs 2,99 €).
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
At the Supermarket

At Checkout
This is the final stop of your shopping trip! You have all your items and now just need to pay. Take a look
at the following phrases that will be useful when going through checkout.

German English

Haben Sie alles, was Sie wollten? Did you find everything you needed?
Das macht insgesamt 55 €. That's 55 € altogether.
Kann ich mit Kreditkarte bezahlen? Can I pay with a credit card?
Sie haben nicht zufällig Kleingeld, oder? You don't happen to have any change, do you?
Hier ist Ihr Wechselgeld. Here's your change.
Stimmt so. Keep the change.
Könnten Sie mir bitte mit der
Could you help me with the self-checkout please?
Selbstbedienungskasse helfen?

Möchten Sie eine Tüte? Would you like a bag?

Möchten Sie einen Beleg? Would you like a receipt?
Danke, schönen Tag noch! Thank you, have a nice day!

Haben Sie alles, was Sie wollten? (Did you find everything you needed?)
This is a sentence that you might hear when you go to check out from a store. It's a polite way to ask if
there is anything more that you need help with. Similar questions you might hear include: Haben Sie alles
gut gefunden? (Did you find everything okay?) or Haben Sie alles gefunden, wonach Sie gesucht haben? (
Did you find everything you were looking for?). There are several different ways to respond to questions
like these. For example, like this: Ja, das Personal war sehr hilfreich (Yes, the staff was very helpful).
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
At the Supermarket

Kann ich mit Kreditkarte bezahlen? (Can I pay with a credit card?)
In Germany it is often more common to pay with cash than with a credit card. You'll be able to pay using a
card in most supermarkets, but if you are in any smaller grocery stores or local shops then this won't be
possible. So make sure you always have some emergency cash on hand while out shopping. If you can't
pay with a credit card, then a cashier will probably say: Entschuldigung, wir nehmen nur Bargeld (Sorry, we
only take cash). There are two other ways to ask if you can pay with a credit card: Nehmen Sie
Kreditkarte? (Do you take credit?) or Akzeptieren Sie Kreditkarten? (Do you accept credit cards?).

Sie haben nicht zufällig Kleingeld, oder? (You don't happen to have any change, do you?)
Cashiers in Germany are usually told by their supervisors to not give out too much change so that they
don't run out of coins. This is why they will often ask you for more change so that they can give you back
bills. If you don't have any smaller change then you can say: Entschuldigung, ich habe kein Kleingeld (
Sorry, I don't have any change).

Könnten Sie mir bitte mit der Selbstbedienungskasse helfen? (Could you help me with the self-checkout
please?)
There are very few stores in Germany that have self-checkouts. You'll really only find them in very big
supermarkets or hardware stores. However, if you do find one and want to use it, this is a question that
you could use to get some help. An employee might say something like: Klar, ich bin gleich bei Ihnen (
Sure, I'll be with you in one moment) in return.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most essential German phrases that I should know when I go to a supermarket?
Womit kann ich Ihnen behilflich sein? How can I help you?
Entschuldigung, können Sie mir helfen? Excuse me, could you help me?
Können Sie mir sagen, wo ich Müsliriegel finde? Could you tell me where granola bars are?
Wo finde ich die internationale Where can I find the international food section?
Lebensmittelabteilung?
Ich suche Kartoffelchips. I'm looking for potato chips.
Haben Sie alles, was Sie wollten? Did you find everything you needed?
Möchten Sie einen Beleg? Would you like a receipt?
Danke, schönen Tag noch! Thank you, have a nice day!
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
At the Supermarket

How do I ask how much something costs?

Do you want to know how much an item costs? Then try asking a question using Wieviel kostet +
GEGENSTAND ? (How much is + ITEM ?) to find out a product's price.
Wieviel kostet eine Flasche Milch? (How much is a bottle of milk?)
Wieviel kostet eine Tüte Äpfel? (How much is a bag of apples?)
Wieviel kostet dieser Saft? (How much is this juice?)

How do I ask if a store has a specific item that I'm looking for?
Here are a couple of different ways to ask if a store has an item:

Haben Sie + GEGENSTAND ? (Do you have any + ITEM ?)

Haben Sie Vollkornmüsli? (Do you have any whole-grain cereals?)
Haben Sie internationale Schokolade? (Do you have any international chocolates?)
Haben Sie Bio-Erdbeeren? (Do you have any organic strawberries?)

Führen Sie + GEGENSTAND ? (Do you carry + ITEM ?)

Führen Sie lokal produzierte Marmelade? (Do you carry local made jams?)
Führen Sie Kartoffelchips? (Do you carry potato chips?)
Führen Sie internationale Lebensmittel? (Do you carry any international foods?)

How do I ask where something is in a store?

Here are a two ways to ask where something is:

Wo finde ich + GEGENSTAND ? (Where can I find + ITEM ?)

Wo finde ich die internationale Lebensmittelabteilung? (Where can I find the international food section?)
Wo finde ich die Tiefkühlkost? (Where can I find frozen section?)
Wo finde ich Reis? (Where can I find rice?)

In welchem Gang befinden sich + GEGENSTÄNDE ? (What aisle are + ITEMS + in?)
In welchem Gang befinden sich internationale Lebensmittel? (What aisle are international foods in?)
In welchem Gang befinden sich Suppen? (What aisle are soups in?)
In welchem Gang befinden sich Getränke? (What aisle are drinks in?)
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
At the Supermarket

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Phrases