SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

GERMAN LANGUAGE

How to speak Austrian: These are the major differences between Austrian and High German

Austrians and Germans speak the same language - in theory. But there are a number of small differences which you need to master if you want to truly feel at home in Germany's neighbouring Alpine state. 

The Opera Ball in Vienna, Austria
JOE KLAMAR / AFP

There is a famous saying that what separates Austrians and Germans is their common tongue. Or in German: “Was Deutschland und Österreich trennt, ist die gemeinsame Sprache.” 

We’ve summarised the key differences for any German speakers who plan to visit Austria. 

Austrians are more formal

Austrian German is often more polite and indirect than German spoken in Germany. 

For example while in Germany, people say Guten Tag (good day) or simply Hallo, in Austria Grüß Gott (God bless you) is a more standard way to greet someone.

Younger people in Austria and Bavaria may use the greeting Servus, which is common throughout central Europe. It comes from the Latin servus, and means “I am your servant” or “at your service”.

In Austria it is not considered polite to say succinctly to your waiter in a cafe: “Noch einen Kaffee, bitte!“ (Another coffee please!).

One should use  subjunctive forms, modal verbs and questions, asking instead “Entschuldigen Sie, könnte ich bitte noch einen Kaffee haben?“  (Excuse me, could I have another coffee, please?)

Some see this formality as charming, others find it a bit of a waste of time. 

Most common differences

The best known differences in vocabulary between Austrian German and German German are the following. 

  • Tüte (German) vs Sackerl (Austrian)

If you ask for a Tüte (shopping bag)  to take your goods home from the supermarket in Austria, you will be met with a blank stare. In Austria a Tüte is an ice cream cone. What you want is a Sackerl. 

  •  Treppe (German) instead of Stiege (Austrian)

When taking the stairs, Germans use the word Treppe, while Austrians say Stiege.

  • Kissen or Polster

Germans call a cushion a Kissen, Austrians go for a Polster

Food 

In addition, there are lots of different words for food in Austria compared to Germany. When Austria joined the EU in 1995, a list of 23 typical Austrian expressions for food were registered.

These included cauliflower, which is Karfiol in Austria and  Blumenkohl in Germany; apricots, which are Marille in Austria and Aprikose in Germany; and mince which is Faschiertes in Austria and Hackfleisch in Germany. 

Poetically, rather than the humble Kartoffel (potato), Austria has the Erdapfel (earth apple). And the prosaic Tomaten (tomatoes) become romantic Paradeiser in Austria. 

There are so many words for bread in Austria, that would require another article.

Beer

In Austria, you are more likely to be drinking a beer down your local Beisl (a Yiddish word for pub) than in the German Kneipe. If someone offers you a Jause in Austria, they are offering you a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

When you stagger home on the Straßenbahn (tram) in Vienna, remember to call it a Bim (a word which recalls the sound the tram makes as it winds its way through the city).

What to avoid saying in Austria

You will not be popular if you ask for Sahne (cream) in your coffee in an Austrian cafe, the correct term is Obers or Schlagobers (whipped cream). 

Likewise, when you finish eating in Austria, please do not describe the food as lecker (tasty). Many Austrians do not like this word. The Austrian way is to say Es hat mir gut geschmeckt (it tasted good to me)

Goodbye

If you feel like a change from the German Auf Wiedersehen or Tschüss (goodbye), try the Austrian Bussi Baba, which translates to “kisses, bye”. Maybe not one to try out on your boss. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

GERMAN LANGUAGE

Gendern: Why German speakers get fired up over gender-neutral language

This word has all to do with how to use German sensitively - but that doesn't always mean it doesn't rub people the wrong way. So what do both sides of the argument have to say about 'gendern', and why is it so controversial?

Gendern: Why German speakers get fired up over gender-neutral language

Why do I need to know gendern?

Because you’re bound to see this discussion crop up fairly often in German-speaking countries like Austria, and it’s useful to know where you stand in the debate so that you make decisions about how you use the German language. 

What does it mean?

As you might have recognised, gendern is a verb built out of the English word “gender”. To gender someone – or gendern in German – is to make an assessment of their gender identity, usually by defining them as either male or female.

As in English, this creates a bit of a linguistic issue when it comes to describing people in various professions. Traditionally, people often referred to a male actor as an actor and a female actor as an actress, and if they didn’t know the gender or were speaking generally, the male version (actor) was used as the default. Over time, however, it’s become standard practice to simply use gender neutral terms like police officer, firefighter, and so on, and it’s also perfectly possible to talk about a “judge”, “teacher” or “painter” without specifying a gender. 

In German, however, the issue isn’t quite so simple. Generally, although some gender-neutral forms to describe certain groups exists (i.e. Studierende rather than Student/-in), these are far from the norm, and due to the gendered nature of definite articles, it can be very difficult to speak in a gender-neutral way. In recent years, this has led to a debate on how best to talk about the world around us without creating the impression that certain jobs, professions or groups of people only consist of men. 

When used in German, therefore, gendern describes the practice of trying to make both genders visible in your speech – which will often involve adding the female form or female plural form (i.e. -in or -innen) in some way alongside the male one. However, even when it comes to finding the supposedly right way to gendern, even academics and linguists can’t quite agree on what that is.

What are my options when it comes to gendern?

There are many options in German for trying to speak in a gender neutral way – and even Duden, a standard High German dictionary, says people should be free to pick the one that suits them best.

One option is to use a pause while speaking and an asterisk, colon or underscore while writing, i.e. Schauspieler:innen (actors), Bauer*innen, (farmers) or Forscher_innen (researchers). The idea here is not only to consider both male and female genders, but also acknowledge people with a less clear-cut gender identity by adding the asterisk or space of some kind. However, it’s worth pointing out that this practice – and particularly the so-called Gendersternchen, or gender star / asterisk – does have its critics.

In fact, current Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) intends to ban using the gender star in public administration in Austria, an announcement made ahead of the 2024 election campaign. Even if enacted though, private businesses would be free to use it.

So it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it if you want to, but there are other options, such as:

  • Finding an alternative, gender-neutral formulation (i.e. Reinigungskräften instead of Putzfrauen)
  • Using a simple dash and/or a forward-slash (i.e. Polizist/-in)
  • Mentioning both genders alongside each other (i.e. Freunden und Freundinnen) 
  • Swapping between the genders while speaking 
  • Using either the male or female form as a generic term (a little like in English) 

If you want to simplify your speech or writing while still being politically correct, another option is to use an abbreviation in brackets after spelling something out the first time. For example, if you’re talking about lawyers you could say Anwalte und Anwältinnen and then add (AuA) to make it clear you’ll be using that abbreviation from now on.  

Others, meanwhile, simply say it makes speech clunky and doesn’t usually follow correct grammatic rules of the German language.

However, proponents of gendern argue that language has a profound impact on the way we think and see the world, and that making a small change to how we speak is a major step to a more inclusive and socially just world. For example, if a young girl grows up only hearing the male form of GP (Hausarzt), they argue, she may get the impression that this profession is only appropriate for men. If, on the hand, both genders are made visible, this can boost her self-esteem and her vision of what can be possible. 

READ ALSO: Austrian court moves to recognise third gender

Use it like this:

Es herrscht mal wieder eine Debatte über das Gendern in den Medien. 

There’s one again a debate about gendering in the media.

Meine Meinung nach ist gendern mehr sozial gerecht. 

In my opinion, gendering is more socially just.

SHOW COMMENTS