Restaurant reservations Part 4 (Advanced): Asking about accessibility features for disabled guests.

💬 German says someone "sits in the wheelchair" (sitzt im Rollstuhl). im is short for in dem "in the".

🇩🇪 Mentioning the wheelchair up front when you book is normal and expected. Many older German buildings have steps at the door, so staff appreciate knowing in advance.

💬 man means a general "one" or "you" and takes the same verb form as er: kommt. It's the natural way to ask how things work for anyone.

💬 bei Ihnen means "at your place" in the sense of "at your business", not your home. Asking Geht das bei Ihnen? "Is that possible with you?" works for any restaurant or shop.

💬 hineinkommen "get in" splits, and hinein goes to the very end of the question. bei Ihnen means "at your place", a handy way to refer to someone's restaurant or home.

💬 Long words are built by stacking: Haupt "main" + Eingang "entrance". The last part decides the gender, so it's der because of der Eingang.

💬 ebenerdig literally means "at ground level". After ein, it takes -er for a der word: ein ebenerdiger Eingang.

🇩🇪 In German cities, many buildings have a Hof "courtyard" behind them. Side or step-free entrances are often there, through a passage from the street.

💬 The verb aussehen splits, so aus goes to the very end. Reusable for any date: Wie sieht es am Samstag aus?

💬 After mit, eine barrierefreie becomes einer barrierefreien. Both the small word and the describing word change their endings.

💬 Wie sieht es mit ... aus? is a reusable way to ask about anything. Try Wie sieht es mit Parkplätzen aus? "What about parking?"

💬 die here means "that one" and points back to die Toilette. Germans often use der/die/das instead of er/sie/es, and put it first for emphasis.

🇩🇪 Erdgeschoss is the street-level floor. The erster Stock "first floor" is one floor up, as in British usage, so it's not American-style numbering.

💬 neben turns der Wintergarten into dem Wintergarten when it says where something is. Same with im Hof and am Eingang.

💬 Ihnen is formal "to you", the form used for the person receiving something. Same with geben: Ich gebe Ihnen "I'll give you".

💬 ein Tisch becomes einen Tisch as the thing being reserved. Only der words change like this: eine Toilette stays the same.

💬 könnte "could" with the verb at the end makes an offer sound polite. In Ihnen, the capital I means "for you" (formal).

💬 wäre "would be" is the polite way to accept an offer. Das wäre nett "That would be kind" works the same way.

💬 wegnehmen splits in a sentence: Können Sie einen Stuhl wegnehmen?, but Sie nehmen einen Stuhl weg.

🇩🇪 Selbstverständlich is more emphatic and service-minded than natürlich, with a sense of "it goes without saying". It's typical of staff reassuring a guest.

💬 vorbereiten splits, with vor at the end. Starting with das is common German word order, and the verb still comes second: das bereiten wir.

💬 Ask um wie viel Uhr? for a clock time, not wann? "when" alone. The answer uses um too: um 19 Uhr.

🇩🇪 Restaurants and businesses use the 24-hour clock for bookings, out loud too: you'll hear neunzehn Uhr, not "seven". Saying sieben Uhr abends "seven in the evening" is understood but sounds casual.

🇩🇪 Restaurants and businesses routinely use the 24-hour clock, even in speech. neunzehn Uhr is exactly what staff will say for 7 pm.

🇩🇪 Germans use the 24-hour clock for bookings, so 19 Uhr is 7 pm. Saying sieben Uhr could leave the time unclear.

💬 einfach usually means "simple", but here it means "just". Ich klingle einfach means "I'll just ring".

🇩🇪 Germans say genau constantly to mean "yes, that's right". It's a natural way to confirm what someone just said.

💬 After dann, the verb jumps ahead of the person: dann kommt jemand, not dann jemand kommt. The verb always stays in second place.

💬 öffnen needs no word for "door" here. Ihnen "for you" is enough, and the door is understood.

🇩🇪 Step-free side doors at German restaurants are often kept locked and opened on request. Ringing and waiting a moment is the normal routine, not an inconvenience to staff.

💬 eintragen "to enter, write down" splits around ge in the past: ein-ge-tragen, with the finished verb going to the very end. Same pattern: anrufen becomes ich habe angerufen.

💬 habe and eingetragen act like a frame, and the details (day, time) slot in between them. Swap in your own: Ich habe Sie für Freitag, 20 Uhr, eingetragen.

💬 bis plus a time is the standard way to say "see you then". Reuse it: bis morgen "see you tomorrow", bis gleich "see you shortly".

💬 After für, Ihre stays unchanged, unlike after mit, where it becomes Ihrer. So it's für Ihre Hilfe but mit Ihrer Hilfe "with your help".

💬 Wiederhören swaps the "see" in Auf Wiedersehen for hören "hear", since you can't see each other on the phone.