German Translation Services

Where German is spoken and where your translation is accepted

German is an official language in six countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Belgium, and a regional language in South Tyrol, in northern Italy. It has more than 100 million speakers, it is the native language most spoken in the European Union and one of its official languages, and German-speaking communities live in the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. A German document can be needed in many places, and the destination decides the type of translation.

German translation services for Germany, Austria and Switzerland

German is one language, but the German of Germany, of Austria and of Switzerland differ in spelling, in vocabulary and in the way numbers and documents are written. A good translation follows the variant of the country where the document was issued and keeps every noun, name and number exactly as it should be.

• Spelling: Germany and Austria write the letter ß, as in Straße (street), while Switzerland and Liechtenstein write ss, as in Strasse. Every noun starts with a capital letter, so the translator always tells common nouns from names by context.
• Vocabulary: January is Januar in Germany and Jänner in Austria, potatoes are Kartoffeln in Germany and Erdäpfel in Austria, and a bicycle is a Fahrrad in Germany and a Velo in Switzerland.
• Names: the umlauts in names such as Müller or Schröder can appear as Mueller or Schroeder in passports and foreign records, a married woman’s birth name comes after geb. (geborene), and the translation keeps every name exactly as in the original.
• Dates and numbers: dates are written day, month and year with dots, so 03.10.2026 is October 3, and Germany and Austria use a comma for decimals and a dot for thousands (1.500,00), while Switzerland often writes 1’500.00.
• Documents: the birth certificate (Geburtsurkunde) and the marriage certificate (Heiratsurkunde) come from the civil registry office (Standesamt), the proof of address is the Meldebescheinigung in Germany and the Meldezettel in Austria, and the police certificate is the Führungszeugnis. The translation reproduces every stamp, seal and note.