Learn Phrases At the Supermarket

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?).

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).

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?).

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).

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).

Do you want to know how much an item costs? Then try asking a question using Wie viel 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 €).

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).

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?).

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).

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.