Greetings
Ei gude, wie?
eye GOO-deh vee
The Hessian greeting — roughly 'well hello, how's things?'. Local, warm, and a reliable way to make someone smile.
Daily life
Anmeldung
AN-mel-doong
Registering your address, legally required within two weeks of moving in, and the gateway to your tax ID, bank account and everything else.
Mainhattan
mine-HAT-tn
The local nickname for the skyline — Frankfurt is the only German city with genuine high-rises, because of the banks.
Bahnhofsviertel
BAHN-hofs-feer-tl
The station quarter — simultaneously the red-light district, the drug scene, and the best restaurant strip in the city. All on the same streets.
Kaltmiete / Warmmiete
KALT-mee-teh
Cold rent versus warm rent — base rent versus rent plus heating and service charges. Listings quote cold; your bill is warm.
Schufa
SHOO-fah
The credit scoring agency. Every landlord asks for a Schufa-Auskunft, and a newcomer has no record — the central difficulty of finding a flat.
Food
Äppelwoi
EP-ul-voy
Apple wine, the regional drink, served in a ribbed glass called a Geripptes from a Bembel jug. Sour, cloudy, and taken very seriously in Sachsenhausen.
Grüne Soße
GROO-neh ZOH-seh
Green sauce — seven specific herbs, served cold with potatoes and eggs. Frankfurt's signature dish, with a festival and a monument to it.
Bembel
BEM-bul
The grey and blue ceramic jug apple wine is served from. Ordering a Bembel rather than a glass is the social move.
Culture
Ebbelwei-Expressd
EB-ul-vy ex-press
The painted tram that loops the city serving apple wine and pretzels. Genuinely a public tram, and a local institution rather than a tourist trap.
Social
Feierabend
FY-er-ah-bnt
The end of the working day, treated as an institution. Germans leave on time; do not read it as disengagement.
Emergency
112 / 110
—
112 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police. 112 works across the EU.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.