Chapter 14

Making Sense of Euros and Cents

In This Chapter

Exchanging money

Getting money from an ATM

Understanding Euroland

Money does indeed make the world go ’round. And Euroland revolves around its multinational currency, the euro. So what about the good old greenback? In this chapter, we get you up to speed on exchanging your bucks for multicolored, multi-sized euros. Oh, and there’s also the matter of those countries such as Switzerland that still have their own respective currencies. Whether you’re dealing with a personable teller or an impersonal ATM, a pocketful of the right expressions can get you, well, a pocketful of euros.

Changing Currency

Obtaining local currency in Europe is generally a hassle-free experience. Practically every bank is willing to accept your dollars and provide you with the local cash. And you can easily withdraw cash in the local currency from an ATM machine, provided you’re using a major credit card (preferably Visa or Mastercard) and know your PIN.

You usually find a notice posted in or outside the bank with the current exchange rates (Wechselkurse) (vêk-sel-koorz-e). Look for the column marked Ankauf (ân-kouf) (purchase/buy). Then saunter up to the teller window, der Schalter (dêr shâl-ter). The Bankangestellter (bânk-an-ge-stêl-ter) (bank teller) at the counter will either complete your transaction on the spot or send you on to the Kasse (kâs-e) (cashier).

In airports and major train stations, you often find businesses that specialize in exchanging currencies, called Wechselstube (vêk-sel-stooh-be) in German. No matter where you decide to change your money, the whole process is simple. All you need are the following phrases:

Ich möchte . . . Dollar in Euro wechseln/tauschen. (iH merH-te . . . dol-âr in oy-roh vêk-seln/toush-en.) (I would like to change . . . dollars into euros.) Note: Both wechseln and tauschen can mean change or exchange — in this case, money.

Wie ist der Wechselkurs? (vee ist dêr vêk-sel-koors?) (What’s the exchange rate?)

Wie hoch sind die Gebühren? (vee hohH zint dee ge-buer-en?) (How much are the transaction fees?)

Nehmen Sie Reiseschecks? (ney-men zee ray-ze-shêks?) (Do you take traveler’s checks?)

When you exchange money, you’ll probably be asked for your passport (Reisepass) (ray-ze-pâs). The teller will ask you

Haben Sie ihren Reisepass? (hah-ben zee eer-en ray-ze-pâs?) (Do you have your passport?)

After you show your official mug shot — and assuming it appears to be you — the teller may ask you how you want the money:

Welche Scheine hätten Sie gern? (vêlH-e shayn-e hêt-en zee gêrn?) (What size denominations would you like?)

You can respond

In Zehnern/in Zwanzigern/in Fünfzigern/in Hundertern, bitte. (in tseyn-ern/in tsvân-zig-ern/in fuenf-tsig-ern/in hoon-dert-ern, bi-te.) (In bills of 10/20/50/100, please.)

Talkin’ the Talk

Heading to the ATM

Instead of changing money at the teller window of a bank, you can use a Geldautomat (gêlt-ou-toh-maht) (ATM machine). Just look for your card symbol on the machine to make sure that the machine takes your kind of card.

Many ATM machines give you a choice of languages to communicate in, but just in case German is your only option, you want to be prepared. ATMs use phrases that are direct and to the point — infinitives are the order of the day (see the following section for an explanation). A typical run-through of prompts may look like this:

Karte einführen (kâr-te ayn-fuer-en) (Insert card)

Sprache wählen (shprahH-e vai-len) (Choose a language)

Geheimzahl eingeben (ge-haym-tsahl ayn-gey-ben) (Enter PIN)

Betrag eingeben (be-trahk ayn-gey-ben) (Enter amount)

Betrag bestätigen (be-trahk be-shtê-ti-gen) (Confirm amount)

Karte entnehmen (kâr-te ênt-ney-men) (Remove card)

Geld entnehmen (gêlt ênt-ney-men) (Take cash)

Transaction completed. Your wallet should now be bulging with local currency — that is, unless something went wrong. The ATM machine may be out of order, in which case, you see the following message:

Geldautomat außer Betrieb. (gêlt-ou-toh-maht ous-er be-treep.) (ATM out of service.)

Or the ATM may spit out your card without parting with any of its largesse. In that case, you may receive this message:

Die Karte ist ungültig./Die Karte wird nicht akzeptiert. (dee kâr-te ist oon-guel-tiH./dee kâr-te virt niHt âk-tsep-teert.) (The card is not valid/can’t be accepted.)

The worst case scenario? The ATM machine may swallow your card whole, leaving you with only this message for consolation:

Die Karte wurde eingezogen. Bitte gehen Sie zum Bankschalter. (dee kâr-te voor-de ayn-ge-tsoh-gen. bi-te gey-en zee tsoom bânk-shâl-ter.) (The card was confiscated. Please go to the counter in the bank.)

Getting Imperative

ATMs and other machines often use terse-sounding phrases, like Geheimzahl eingeben (ge-haym-tsahl ayn-gey-ben) (Enter PIN). Although these phrases may not sound very polite, they’re used quite a bit as a way to save space. For example, a more polite way to say Geheimzahl eingeben would be

Bitte geben Sie Ihre Geheimzahl ein. (bi-te gey-ben zee eer-e ge-haym-tsahl ayn.) (Please enter your PIN.)

Grammatically speaking, such terse phrases are infinitives posing as imperatives (commands). You encounter these forms wherever language efficiency is of utmost importance to the writer or speaker, or instructions are being given.

When you enter a building, such as a bank, you often find the word ziehen (tsee-hen) (Pull) on the door as you go in and the word drücken (druek-en) (Push) as you leave. Speaking of doors, you may notice a sign asking you to close the doors behind you — Türen schließen (tuer-en shlees-en) (Close doors) — when you’re entering a building or a train. When you’re on a subway, you may hear a similar command that goes something like this: Vorsicht, die Türen werden geschlossen (for-ziHt, dee tuer-en vêr-den ge-shlos-en) (Be careful; the doors are closing).

Talkin’ the Talk

Understanding the Euro and Other Currencies

With the introduction of the European Monetary Union in 2002, the euro became the currency for 12 countries, including Germany and Austria. Euroland, the term coined (no pun intended) for countries that have adopted the euro, currently comprises 16 nations, and the numbers are still growing. Switzerland, the UK, Denmark, and Poland are among those countries that still use their respective currencies.

When referring to the plural of der Euro (dêr oy-roh) (euro), you have two choices, die Euro or die Euros, yet both are pronounced the same, (dee oy-roh) (euros). Each Euro has 100 Cent(s) (sênt) (cents). The official abbreviation for the euro is EUR. When using the symbol for the euro, €, it appears after the number like this: 47€.

The currencies of other countries are as follows:

Czechoslovakia: die tschechische Krone (dee chêH-ish-e kroh-ne) (Czech crown)

Denmark: die dänische Krone (dee deyn-ish-e kroh-ne) (Danish crown)

Poland: der polnische Zloty (dêr poln-ish-e slo-tee) (Polish zloty)

Switzerland: der schweizer Franken (dêr shvayts-er frân-ken) (Swiss franc)

U.K.: das Pfund (dâs pfoont) (pound)

United States: der Dollar (dêr dol-âr) (dollar)

Fun & Games

Who doesn’t like to count money — especially when it’s their own? Count up how much money is represented in the following problems and write the correct amount in German words on the blank lines provided.