German - Greetings (2024)

FAQs

How do I reply to German greetings? ›

You can opt to say “Freut Mich” (“Nice to meet you”) after the introduction, or you can always reply with “Ebenso” (literally “likewise”) in case they said it first. Wie heißen Sie?

Thus, in these four years I have always used Grüß Gott when speaking to people I would use Sie towards — except for early mornings or late evenings when I would have used (Guten) Morgen or Abend in Bavaria, too. The most common responses have been (in no particular order): 'Moin', 'Guten Tag' (or '… Morgen'/'…

Some common German greetings include "Guten Morgen" (Good morning), "Guten Tag" (Good day), "Hallo" (Hello), "Wie geht es Ihnen?" (How are you?), and "Auf Wiedersehen" (Goodbye).

And you answer, Gut, danke.. “I'm good, thanks.” And now you want to know how they are doing.

"Guten Morgen!": You can simply respond with the same greeting, "Guten Morgen," which means "Good morning" in German. "Morgen!": This is a shortened and informal way to respond, essentially saying "Morning!" to acknowledge the greeting. "Hallo!": You can respond with a friendly "Hello!" as a general greeting.

Grüß Gott is shortened from “Grüß dich Gott,” an old way of saying “God bless you” in German. The phrase is more religious than “Guten Tag” so it's a phrase befitting Germany's most religious and most Roman Catholic region.

The expression grüß Gott (German pronunciation: [ɡʁyːs ˈɡɔt]; from grüß dich Gott, originally '(may) God bless (you)') is a greeting, less often a farewell, in Southern Germany and Austria (more specifically the Upper German Sprachraum, especially in Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia, Austria, and South Tyrol).

Bitte schön (“you're very welcome”): If someone says, “Danke schön,” you would automatically respond, “Bitte schön.” It's saying, “You're very welcome,” responding to their level of thanks in kind. “Bitte sehr” is another way of saying “you're very welcome,” and is a good response to “Danke sehr.”

The word tschüss (bye) can be used in both formal and informal settings but it is more common in informal ones. There is also a variety of ways to spell it. But since you will mostly speak it that does not matter much. To say goodbye to your friends, you'll likely do so informally.

How do Germans say "thanks"? ›

Danke — Thanks!

This is the most common and straightforward way to say thank you in German. It's the equivalent of the English "thanks" and is suitable for most everyday situations. It's not very formal, per se, but it's acceptable regardless of who you're talking to.

As we've already mentioned if you want to say cheers in German you use the word “prost,” one of many must-know phrases for the beer halls of Oktoberfest.

Freut mich!

' means 'pleases me! ' German people will generally accept this as a normal way of being greeted by someone for the first time, but it's better to use one of the longer phrases so you don't come across as being too abrupt or informal.

You are welcome in German

And what are the appropriate responses? When someone says danke, the standard response is bitte. This normally means 'please', but within the context of responding to a 'thank you', it means 'you're welcome'. If instead they say danke schön, then you should reply by saying bitte schön.

Schönen Tag is a formal way of saying goodbye to acquaintances and people you don't know well, such as waiters, taxi drivers, or store employees. It is typical to reply with Danke, du auch (Thank you, likewise.)

In German, the most common response to "Danke" is "Bitte," which means "you're welcome." However, there are other variations such as "Gern geschehen" or "Kein Problem." It's always polite to respond to "Danke" with one of these phrases to show your appreciation for the person's gratitude.

Common formal greetings in Germany are “guten Morgen”, “guten Tag” and “guten Abend” depending on the time of day (morning, midday/afternoon or evening). In a highly formal setting you would reply with “sehr geehrt” or “sehr erfreut” (“very honored/pleased”) after someone introduced themselves.