German Allergy Card: How to Say Your
Food Allergy in German

The sentence structures to know

German allergy communication runs on two simple constructions. The first states your allergy directly:

Swap Erdnüsse for any allergen in the table below — Milch, Gluten, Sellerie — and the sentence still works. To ask about a dish rather than state your own allergy, use:

For a severe allergy, two more lines matter — these are the exact lines printed on the AllergyPass German card:

Every allergen in German, with pronunciation

These are the same terms the AllergyPass card prints — the words German food labels use under EU law, not casual dictionary translations:

Under German law (implementing the EU FIC Regulation), all 14 of the EU's mandatory allergens must appear in bold wherever they're used as an ingredient on packaged food, and restaurants must provide allergen information on request. Mustard and celery catch the most travelers off guard — both are EU-declared allergens that many visitors from outside Europe don't expect to see flagged at all.

How to say gluten-free in German

Gluten-free in German is glutenfrei — and unlike in many non-EU countries, the word carries real legal weight. Germany implements the EU's FIC Regulation, which puts gluten-containing cereals among the 14 allergens that must be declared in bold on packaged food, so glutenfrei on a label or a supermarket "frei von" (free-from) shelf reflects an actual standard rather than a marketing claim. Our Germany food allergy guide covers the frei-von sections at REWE, Edeka, Aldi, and Lidl in more detail.

Restaurants are the harder case. Traditional German bread (Brot) is almost exclusively wheat- and rye-based, both of which contain gluten, and it arrives at most meals automatically — so glutenfrei alone doesn't tell a server what to remove. Pair it with the allergen itself: Ich bin allergisch gegen Gluten ("I am allergic to gluten"), and for celiac disease specifically, name Weizen (wheat) and ask about the flour used to thicken gravies and sauces, a common hidden source even when a dish looks gluten-free on the plate.

The same German phrases work without modification in Austria, which applies the identical EU allergen law, and in German-speaking Switzerland — though Switzerland sits outside the EU and follows its own labeling rules, so a glutenfrei claim there is worth confirming rather than assuming.

Why written German beats spoken English

English proficiency in Germany is strong in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and other major cities, but it drops quickly at traditional Gaststätten, Bierhallen, and small regional restaurants — precisely the places where wheat, mustard, and celery show up unannounced in gravies, stocks, and condiments. Larger chains already keep a written Allergenkarte (allergen chart) behind the counter; a card in German using the same terms slots into that existing habit instead of asking a rushed server to translate an unfamiliar English sentence on the fly. That's the entire design principle behind the translation card approach, and it holds as much in Germany's beer halls as anywhere else in Europe.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say food allergy in German?

Food allergy in German is Lebensmittelallergie. The sentence structure German kitchens recognize is Ich bin allergisch gegen [allergen] — "I am allergic to [allergen]." For example, a peanut allergy is Ich bin allergisch gegen Erdnüsse. For a severe allergy, showing the sentence in writing is more reliable than saying it aloud, especially outside major cities.

How do you say gluten-free in German?

Gluten-free in German is glutenfrei. Unlike in many non-EU countries, the word carries real legal weight: Germany implements the EU's FIC Regulation, which requires gluten-containing cereals to be declared in bold on packaged food, so glutenfrei on a label reflects an actual standard. At restaurants, pair it with the allergen itself — Ich bin allergisch gegen Gluten — since flour is a common hidden thickener in gravies and sauces.

Do restaurants in Germany accept written allergy cards?

Yes — larger German restaurants and chains often already keep a written Allergenkarte (allergen chart) on hand, and a written card in German is read and acted on more reliably than spoken English, especially outside Berlin and Munich where staff English proficiency drops. State the allergen using the same German terms used on EU food labels, and flag mustard (Senf) and celery (Sellerie) specifically, since many non-European travelers don't know they're EU-mandated allergens.