Business vocabulary in German (work and negotiations)

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This chapter will teach you some of the most useful words for talking business in German. The chapter will discuss vocabulary related to job titles, small talk, which is important in the Dutch business culture, and meetings.

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1.General German vocabulary related to business
2.Job titles in German
3.Small Talk in German
4.Vocabulary related to meetings in German
5.Presentations in German
6.Exercises
6.1.Translate the business vocabulary into German
6.2.Complete the business small talk by matching the right phrases
6.3.Type in the correct German business vocabulary

General German vocabulary related to business

Let's start with some general Vocabulary necessary for business related talk

German	English
Arbeit	work
Chef	boss
Ergebnis	result
Fehler	mistake
Formular	form
Hilfe	help
Industrie	industry
Kollegen	colleagues
Konkurrenz	competition
Leistung	performance
Lieferant	supplier
Mitarbeiter	coworker
Möglichkeit	opportunity
Stelle	job
Termin	appointment
Unternehmen	company
Verhandlung	negotiation
Versicherung	insurance
Wirtschaft	economy

Der Chef erwartet Ergebnisse - The boss is expecting results
Unser Chef hat viele Termine - Our boss has many appointments
Ich habe sehr nette Kollegen - I have very nice colleagues

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Job titles in German

When applying for a job it is important to know what position there are in a company. Below you will find some examples of job titles in Dutch.

English	German
Head of Department	Abteilungsleiter
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)	Geschäftsführer
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)	Finanzleiter
Supervisory Board	Aufsichtsrat
Production Manager	Produktionsleiter
Managing Partner	Geschäftsführende Teilhaber
Partner Shareholder	Aktieninhaber
Division Manager	Bereichsleiter
Senior Executive	Leitender Angestellter / Senior executive

Small Talk in German

Once you got a job socializing with your colleagues is an important part of everyday life.

Depending on how well you know your conversation partner, the German form of politeness is appropriate. In General you should use the form of politness always when you meet someone for the first time and when talking to higher-ups.

English	German	German form of politeness
Nice to meet you.	Schön dich kennen zu lernen	Freut mich Sie kennen zu lernen
Please, take a seat.	Nimm platz bitte	Bitte, nehmen Sie Platz
May I introduce you to...	Darf ich dir Name vorstellen?	Dürfte ich Ihnen Name vorstellen?
How was your vacation?	Wie war dein Urlaub?	Wie war Ihr Urlaub?
Can I get you something to drink?	Kann ich dir etwas zu trinken anbieten?	Kann ich Ihnen etwas zu trinken anbieten?
Lovely day today, isn’t it?	Schöner Tag heute, nicht wahr?	/
Did you have a pleasant flight?	Hattest du einen angenehmen Flug?	Hatten Sie einen angenehmen Flug?

Vocabulary related to meetings in German

'Eine Besprechung' (which means 'a meeting' - however, just saying 'a meeting' is also very common) in German can be an important moment to discuss certain issues or agenda points. Below you will find a list of vocabulary related to meetings.

English	German
to hold a meeting	Eine Besprechung / Ein Meeting halten
to address an issue	Ein Problem ansprechen
to attend a meeting	An einer Besprechung teilnehmen
the agenda	Die Agenda
the minutes	Die Minuten
to record the minutes	Die Minuten zählen
at short notice	kurzfristig
to take notes	Notizen machen
the negotiation	Die Verhandlung
to chair	vorsitzen / den Vorsitz haben
to collaborate	zusammen arbeiten
the absentee	Der Abwesende

Heute hatten die Angestellten schon 3 Besprechungen. - Today the staff hat 3 meetings already.
Es gab fast keine Abwesenden. - There were almost no absentees.
Jedes mal hatte der Chef den Vorsitz. - Everytime the boss chaired the meeting.

Presentations in German

The German business vocabulary includes terms to describe and explain diagrams and graphs.

English	Dutch
the numbers / figures	Die Zahlen / Ziffern
the table	Die Tabelle
the pie chart	Das Tortendiagramm
the row	Die Reihe
the column	Die Spalte
the bar chart	Das Säulendiagramm
the line chart	Das Liniendiagramm
the graph	Die Grafik
the vertical / horizontal axis	Die vertikale / horizontale Achse
the curve	Die Kurve
to peak	gipfeln
to drop	fallen
annual / yearly	jährlich
year-on-year	Jahr für Jahr
to fluctuate	fluktuieren / schwanken
to remain stable	stabil bleiben
to increase	zunehmen
to decrease	abnehmen
to flatten out	abflachen

Diese Zahlen gipfeln jährlich zur Sommerzeit - These numbers peak annually at summer time
Wie Sie in diesem Säulendiagramm sehen können - As you can see in this bar chart
Unsere Verkäufe schwanken von Jahr zu Jahr - Our sales fluctuate year-on-year