Christopher is a young English writer and former medical student living in Berlin from 1929 to 1933. He earns money as a private English tutor for wealthy residents and stays in a flat run by Frl. Schroeder. He acts as a passive observer of the city, preferring to record the lives, eccentricities, and struggles of the people around him rather than intervene or share his own personal details.

Sally is a 19-year-old English actress and singer who performs at a club called the Lady Windermere. She lives a bohemian lifestyle, frequently discussing her lovers and attempting to project an image of a worldly, independent woman. Beneath her confident exterior, she is immature, prone to self-sabotage, and frequently struggles to maintain the romantic relationships she pursues.

Bernhard is the soft-spoken, enigmatic manager of the Landauers’ department store. He frequently appears exhausted and spiritually drained by the material demands of his family's business. To outsiders, his polite detachment often comes across as sarcastic or arrogant, masking a deep-seated loneliness and a growing detachment from reality.

Natalia is the 18-year-old daughter of the wealthy Landauer family. She is deeply interested in art, literature, and intellectual honesty, often pressing Christopher for his sincere opinions. Unlike Sally Bowles, Natalia is reserved, earnest, and deeply concerned about her family's financial future and the political climate in Germany.

Otto is a working-class teenager from Berlin who spends much of his free time dancing and flirting. He possesses a wide, innocent-looking grin that masks a mischievous and sometimes childish disposition. Though he frequently argues with his family and lacks direction in life, he maintains a strong underlying affection for his mother.

Frau Nowak is Otto's mother, a hard-working woman trying to keep her family together in a cramped Berlin slum. She suffers from a failing physical condition that is worsened by poverty and the constant arguments within her household. She frequently complains about the laziness of her children but cares deeply for their wellbeing.

Frl. Schroeder is the comical and affectionate landlady who rents rooms to Christopher and several other tenants. She was once independently wealthy but now sleeps behind a screen in the living room of her own flat. She involves herself heavily in the gossip and daily lives of her lodgers and acts as a maternal figure to Christopher.

Peter is a wealthy English man of similar age to Christopher who has a history of anxiety and nervous breakdowns. He financially supports Otto but struggles with extreme jealousy over Otto's flirtatious behavior with local women. He feels paralyzed by his situation, waiting for an outside force to resolve his tension.

Frl. Mayr is a music-hall performer and one of the lodgers in Frl. Schroeder's flat. She is an outspoken supporter of the Nazi party, frequently making prejudiced remarks and causing friction in the building with her aggressive behavior.

Bobby is a drink mixer at a west-end bar called the Troika and a lodger at Frl. Schroeder's apartment. He is highly flirtatious with his landlady but pursues secretive romantic encounters with another tenant, treating his employment as his entire identity.

Frl. Kost is a prostitute who rents a room from Frl. Schroeder. She is a source of drama in the household, particularly when her secret affair with another tenant is discovered, leading to intense arguments with her landlady.

Klaus is a young pianist who performs alongside Sally. He becomes romantically involved with her before leaving Berlin abruptly for a film job opportunity in England, where he quickly finds new romantic interests.

Fritz is an acquaintance of Christopher's who enjoys showing him the seedy underground nightlife of Berlin. He acts as a social connector, introducing Christopher to various eccentric characters and accompanying him on tours of the city's "dives."

Herr Nowak is the patriarch of the Nowak family. He frequently drinks heavily but maintains a cheerful, magnanimous attitude, insisting on the equality of all people regardless of their nationality.

Lothar is Otto's 20-year-old brother. He attends night school to earn a degree in engineering and is viewed by his mother as the model son, despite his troubling involvement with local Nazi politics.

Grete is the 12-year-old daughter in the Nowak household. She is often the target of playful teasing from her older brother Otto and scolding from her exhausted mother.

Herr Landauer is a wealthy department store owner and Natalia's father. He engages Christopher in intellectual conversations about English literature and law, demonstrating his highly educated and cultured background.

Frau Landauer is Natalia's mother and the wife of the department store owner. She belongs to a wealthy and educated Jewish family that finds itself increasingly targeted by rising political violence in Berlin.

Clive is a wealthy man who drinks heavily to cope with his personal unhappiness. He freely spends his money and strings Sally and Christopher along with promises of global travel before leaving abruptly.