So you are considering visiting or moving to Berlin and wondering if English is widely spoken in the city or not?

Answer: well, it really depends. In our opinion Berlin is the easiest city in Germany when it comes to using English. The majority of young people do speak English & Berlin has plenty of expats as well who work in tech, more than any other German city.

A lot of people in tech only speak English and handle their life in the city using mostly English. However, these expats know when and where to use English.

In most restaurants you will be able to use English. However, finding a flat using English only would be pretty hard. Going to a ministry for some paper work and expecting to use English is a no-way … only in very lucky & exceptional cases … but it does happen.

However, the foreigners office (Ausländerbehörde Berlin) is a bit exceptional where a lot of employees do actually speak English.

Certain taxi apps like Taxi.eu allows you to book a taxi with a driver who speaks English.

So it really depends on the situation. But in general, yes you can handle life in Berlin using English.