The central Ge atoms in the structures of 3-(2-fluorophenyl)-3-(triphenylgermyl)propionic acid, [Ge(C(6)H(5))(3)(C(9)H(8)FO(2))], 3-(2-tolyl)-3-(tri-4-tolylgermyl)propionic acid, [Ge(C(7)H(7))(3)(C(10)H(11)O(2))], and 3-(4-tolyl)-3-(tribenzylgermyl)propionic acid, [Ge(C(7)H(7))(3)(C(10)H(11)O(2))], are four-coordinate with slightly distorted tetrahedral geometry. The Ge-Csp(3) distances [1.970 (3)-1.997 (3) A] are significantly longer than the Ge-C(aromatic) distances [1.940 (3)-1.959 (2) A]. In all three structures, the molecules form dimeric pairs about inversion centres through strong hydrogen-bonding interactions between carboxylic acid groups.