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There is no separate Austrian language. Austria’s official language is German, and what people call “Austrian” is Austrian German: the same grammar and spelling as in Germany, with its own everyday vocabulary, pronunciation and set phrases. It is one of the recognised standard varieties of German, alongside the German of Germany and of Switzerland. Beneath the standard, many Austrians speak a regional dialect at home – Bavarian-type dialects in most of the country, Alemannic in Vorarlberg in the far west. Croatian, Slovene and Hungarian are recognised minority languages in parts of Burgenland and Carinthia. What you learn here is the standard Austrians use with anyone from outside their village, and it is understood across the whole country.

Most of Austria’s distinctive words are about food, the calendar and daily errands – exactly what you meet in your first week. Germans understand the Austrian words and Austrians understand the German ones, but using the local word sounds natural and shows you have paid attention. Twenty-three Austrian food terms, among them Erdäpfel, Paradeiser, Marillen, Topfen and Schlagobers, are even listed in Protocol No. 10 of Austria’s EU accession treaty, so they stay on menus and packaging across the country.

Greetings are where Austrian German is most audible. Grüß Gott is the polite all-purpose hello in shops, offices and with strangers. Servus works as both hello and goodbye among friends and colleagues on first-name terms, and Baba is a casual goodbye you will hear a lot in Vienna. The informal phrases in this table are friendly but casual: use them once someone uses them with you, which is a safe rule anywhere German is spoken.

Austrian German rewards short, steady practice more than long sessions. Fifteen to twenty minutes a day, reviewing your flashcards before you add new words, keeps the vocabulary pairs from blurring together. Pair the lessons with real Austrian input: ORF news and radio, Austrian films, or menus and signs if you are already there. If you are a complete beginner, remember that the hard part is German grammar itself – cases, genders and adjective endings – so give it time; the Austrian layer comes along with it.