Essential German for England fans

Brits travelling abroad are notoriously bad at learning even a few phrases of their destination country's native language.

But for the 100,000 English fans travelling to the World Cup in Germany, there are no longer any excuses for failing to pick up at least some of the lingo.

Lastminute.com has launched an online phrase book, containing 750 words and phrases, which can be downloaded straight to your MP3 player.

Along with the run-of-the mill useful phrases – including: Where is the stadium? Can I have a beer please? - the audio word list also contains football chants, allowing fans to back their team in German and hurl abuse at the referee and opposition fans alike.

Wo ist nun Euer Ballack? - Where's your Ballack gone? – is a particularly appropriate example one as the hosts prepare for the opening game without their injured captain.

Du singst nicht mehr - You're not singing anymore – is another handy phrase, as are Fallsucht, meaning dive, and Abseits, meaning offside.

The guides can be downloaded straight onto your iPod for free by visiting Lastminute.com and signing up to one of its newsletters.

In the next few weeks downloadable phrase books will also be available in French, Spanish and Greek.

"These phrase books are inspiring people to use their MP3 player in a different way and at the same time helping to get into the spirit of the World Cup whether at home or away," said Lastminute.com's Mark McCulloch.

Key phrases for England fans

English	German
Goal	Tor!
You're not singing anymore	Du singst nicht mehr
That's a dive	Fallsuch
Referee	Schwarze
Offside	Abseits
Hand ball	Handspiel
Which way to the stadium?	In welcher richtung ist das stadion?
My seat number is …	Meine Sitznummer ist …
5-1, 5-1, 5-1	Funf-Eins, Funf-Eins, Funf-Eins
Where's your Ballack gone	Wo ist nun Euer Ballack?
They think it's all over … it is now	Sie denken, es ist aus … und sie haben Recht!

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