German For Dummies by Paulina Christensen

Author:Paulina Christensen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2011-01-02T16:00:00+00:00

(A few minutes later Frau Schulte returns.)

Verkäuferin:

Passt die Bluse?

pâst dee blooh-ze?

Does the blouse fit?

Frau Schulte:

Ja. Ich nehme die Bluse.

yah. iH ney-me dee blooh-ze.

Yes. I’ll take the blouse.

Paying for Your Shopping Items

Most of the time, when you go shopping, every piece of merchandise has a tag that tells you exactly how much it costs. The price you see on a price tag is what you pay for the item at the cash register, including sales tax, called the VAT (or value added tax). German word for VAT is die Mehrwertsteuer (Mwst) (dee mêr-vêrt-shtoy-er).

If you don’t reside in a country of the European Union (EU), you usually can get a refund for the VAT tax when you leave the EU. The VAT refund is referred to as — take a deep breath — die Mehrwertsteuerrückerstattung (dee mêr-vêrt-shtoy-er-ruek-êr-shtât-oong). Although the German word for the VAT refund looks a bit daunting, the process for getting it back is usually simple. Just ask for a VAT refund form when you pay at the register. Collect all the receipts for merchandise you’re taking out of the European Union, as well as the forms, and then you can have the lot approved by a customs agent at the airport before you leave the EU to return home. (Because you must show the items, don’t pack them with your checked luggage!)

Occasionally, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to ask about the price (der Preis) (dêr prays) of an item. Price tags, being the devious little critters that they are, have a way of falling off or being indecipherable, especially when handwritten. Consider this case in point: The German number 1 can look a lot like the American number 7 when scrawled by hand. But not to worry. The following simple phrases take care of the price question should you need to ask it:

Was kostet . . .? (vâs kos-tet . . .?) (What does . . . cost?)

Wie viel kostet . . .? (vee feel kos-tet . . .?) (How much does . . . cost?)

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