German · Panne / ADAC
Your car broke down on the road and you phone for help: what to say in German
The car broke down on the road and you phone for help.
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How it's done. In a breakdown on the motorway you switch on the hazard lights, set the warning triangle (Warndreieck), put on the vest (Warnweste) and call roadside help (Pannenhilfe), for example ADAC.Prepared by the Movko team, November 2026. This is language help, not legal or medical advice: check the rules with the office itself.
Cheat sheet for your visit
The first phrase is open: tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show it to the other person. The rest of the dialogue is in the course in the app.
1
THEY SPEAK FIRST
THEY SAY
ADAC Pannenhilfe, guten Tag!Uh-deh-uh-tseh PAH-nayn-kheel-feh, GOO-tayn tahk!
ADAC breakdown service, good day!
YOU REPLY
Guten Tag, ich habe eine Panne. Mein Auto springt nicht an.
GOO-tayn tahk, eekh KHAH-beh IGH-neh PAH-neh. Mighn OW-toh shpreengt neekht ahn.
Good day, I have a breakdown. My car won't start.
THEY SAY
Wo genau befinden Sie sich?Voh geh-NOW beh-FEEN-dayn zee zeekh?
Where exactly are you?
They might also say:
Auf welcher Straße stehen Sie?
Owf VEL-khuh SHTRAH-seh SHTEH-ayn zee?
On which road are you?
2
YOU FINISH
Auf der A zwei, Richtung Hannover, kurz vor der Ausfahrt Braunschweig.
Owf dehr uh tsvigh, REEKH-toong Khuh-NOH-fuh, koorts for dehr OWS-fuhrt BROWNSH-vighk.
On the A two, towards Hanover, just before the Braunschweig exit.
THEY SAY
Bleiben Sie bitte hinter der Leitplanke, nicht auf der Fahrbahn. Der Helfer ist in dreißig Minuten da.BLIGH-bayn zee BEE-teh KHEEN-tuh dehr LIGHT-plahn-keh, neekht owf dehr FAHR-bahn. Dehr KHEL-fuh eest een DRIGH-seekh mee-NOO-tayn duh.
Please stay behind the guardrail, not on the carriageway. The helper will be there in thirty minutes.
The course is in the app
This dialogue is part of the course “German for life in Germany”: 416 situations with audio, a pronunciation guide and spaced review.
On the website the first dialogue, the 112 category, the rescue phrases and the “Basics” are fully open.
Words worth knowing
Pannenhilfe
PAH-nayn-kheel-feh
noun
breakdown service
guten
GOO-tayn
adjective
good (in greetings)
Tag
tahk
noun
day
habe
KHAH-beh
verb
I have
Panne
PAH-neh
noun
breakdown
Auto
OW-toh
noun
car
33 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.
If you did not understand
Können Sie das bitte wiederholen?
KYOH-nayn zee dahs BEE-teh vee-dehr-KHOH-layn?
Can you repeat that, please?
Können Sie bitte langsamer sprechen?
KYOH-nayn zee BEE-teh LAHNG-zuh-muh SHPREH-khayn?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
Ich spreche noch nicht gut Deutsch.
Eekh SHPREH-kheh nokh neekht goot doych.
I don't speak German well yet.
Similar situations
Your car will not start and a stranger offers to helpPanne / ADAC · A2 in the app
→You register the car at the ZulassungsstelleZulassung / Versicherung · A2 in the app
→You do not know which petrol to put in: Super or E10Tankstelle · A2 in the app
→At the petrol station till they offer you a car washTankstelle · A1 in the app
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