German Greetings
German greetings divide into formal and informal. Each entry below notes when it is used, and the du and Sie rule behind the split is explained at the end.
Formal greetings, for strangers and work
-
Guten Tag
GOO-ten tahk
-
Good day, hello
The safe default with anyone you do not know
-
Guten Morgen
GOO-ten MOR-gen
-
Good morning
Until about 11am
-
Guten Abend
GOO-ten AH-bent
-
Good evening
From about 6pm
-
Wie geht es Ihnen?
vee gayt es EE-nen
-
How are you?
The formal how are you, capital I in Ihnen
-
Auf Wiedersehen
owf VEE-der-zayn
-
Goodbye
Leaving a shop, an office, a formal meeting
-
Herzlich willkommen
HERTS-likh vil-KOM-en
-
Welcome
Informal greetings, for friends and family
-
Hallo
HA-lo
-
Hello
Works almost everywhere, at any hour
-
Hi
hi
-
Hi
Borrowed from English, common with younger speakers
-
Wie geht's?
vee gayts
-
How's it going?
Short for Wie geht es dir
-
Grüß dich
grooss dikh
-
Hi there
Warm and informal, mostly southern
-
Tschüss
chuuss
-
Bye
The everyday goodbye
-
Bis später
bis SHPAY-ter
-
See you later
-
Bis bald
bis balt
-
See you soon
-
Mach's gut
makhs goot
-
Take care
Said to someone leaving
-
Gute Nacht
GOO-teh nakht
-
Good night
Only when someone is going to bed, never as a hello
Regional greetings you will actually hear
-
Servus
ZER-voos
-
Hi, or bye
Bavaria and Austria, works coming and going
-
Moin
moyn
-
Hi
Northern Germany, correct at any hour despite sounding like morning
-
Grüß Gott
grooss got
-
Hello
Southern Germany and Austria, polite rather than religious
The du and Sie rule
German has two words for you. Sie is for strangers, officials, shopkeepers and anyone older you have not been invited to be casual with. Du is for friends, family, children and colleagues who have offered it.
The greeting follows the pronoun. Wie geht es Ihnen goes with Sie, Wie geht's goes with du.
When you are unsure, use Sie and Guten Tag. Germans switch you down to du when they are ready, and nobody is offended by being addressed too politely.
Keep learning German in Vocabloot
Snap anything and learn the German word for it, with pronunciation and an example sentence.
Coming soon to
the App Store
Coming soon to
Google Play
Free during early access. We only use your email to send your invite.