Yes, they speak English. But as a foreign language, not as native speakers. Here the details…
- German is the national language
- Schools teach English to a high level
- So expect no language trouble, especially in tourism areas
- Almost all exhibitions & ticket machines, for example, have bilingual info
- Book an English guided tour* in Vienna
- See also:
The Austrian language?
(The hills are alive with the sound of German)
The national language in Austria is actually German. (For the record, there is no such thing as an “Austrian” language.)
However, the standard of education in the country is high, and pretty well all schoolchildren should get a solid grounding in English.
The younger generation, in particular, also improve their use of the language through Netflix and other streaming services, as well as through social media and online interactions.
EF Education First actually ranked Austria ninth on their 2024 EF English proficiency index, which they based on test results in 116 countries and regions. The country ranked above the likes of Finland, Germany or South Africa.
So you should have no trouble at all getting by using English, especially in hotels, stores, restaurants and other places in Vienna used to dealing with foreign tourists.
Nearly all museums and exhibitions I visit, for example, feature German-English display boards and exhibit labels, and/or make English information available through booklets, audio guides or an app.
Many cinemas show movies in English or with English subtitles, and even non-English plays, operas, and musicals may come with subtitles or translations on a screen by your seat.
Ticket machines, such as those for public transport tickets, also seem to always have an English option.
Speaking to locals
The locals are naturally aware that most foreign visitors, for example, cannot speak German. As a result, you’re unlikely to offend anyone by addressing them in English as long as you’re not arrogant about it.
Indeed, you’ll find people eager to practice their English on you. After almost 30 years here, I speak excellent German. But now and then I’ll still get an enthusiastic reply in English simply because of my accent.
(Which means you may have some trouble if you’re actually trying to practice your German.)
My sister spent a few days here once. When I explained (in German) down my local pub that I’d order for her as she’s from England, the waitress broke out into spontaneous and excellent English. Same at a local pharmacy. And neither were in tourism areas.
Nevertheless, like everyone, the Austrians appreciate it if you make an attempt to learn a few words in their native language. Here some simple ones (pronunciation tips based on standard British English)…
| Please | Bitte (pronounced bitter) | |
| Thank you | Danke (like anchor with a d in front) | |
| Hello | Grüßgott (formal, pronounced groose-got) Servus (informal, pronounced sair-vuss) Hallo (semi-informal, pronounced as written) | |
| Goodbye | Formal: Auf Wiedersehen (owf-vee-duh-zane) Informal: Tschüss (chuce; Austrogerman) Baba (bah-bah; Viennese) Ciao (surprisingly common) |
Austrian German?
For the record, the German used by Austrians is more or less the same as the German used by the neighbouring Germans. The differences are in the broader intonation of speech, word pronunciation and some vocabulary. We say tomato, the Germans say Tomate, and the Austrians say Paradeiser.
Think of those differences much like the case with British and American English, though Germany and Austria use the same spelling for the formal version of their language.
As you might expect, Austria also has its regional dialects. Even locals can struggle with the dialect from the westernmost province, Vorarlberg.
Vienna is full of people from other parts of Austria or the wider world, so you may not hear our local Viennese dialect (called wienerisch) too much. Anecdotally, the younger folk in Vienna also seem to be migrating toward a more internationalised form of German through digital influences.
Wienerisch can also veer towards the unintelligible. The pronunciation and many words bear no resemblance to anything you might have learnt in German lessons.
Fortunately, Austrians happily switch from dialect to standard German if need be, in case you’re having trouble understanding.
You’ll find answers to other common questions about visiting Vienna here.