How to say "Hi" in German? It would seem that it could be simpler than the usual greeting and the short word “hallo”, which is known to absolutely everyone who studies German, but there are many options and features of the greeting. We will analyze the most interesting ones together in our video, as well as in the article !!
Greeting in German is an important part of the conversation! Very often, depending on the greeting, the first impression of a person is formed. Today we will talk about the German system of greeting words and expressions: just about the complicated!
Although the culture of communication is changing in the direction of softening strict rules, the Germans still formally keep both with representatives of other countries and with each other.
This becomes apparent if we consider the variants of German greetings, which vary as by time of day when they are used as well as in different regions where they are in use.
FACT: In Bavaria and southern Germany, they usually say: Grüss Gott! . And in Berlin you can often hear: Schönen Tag!
In the morning you should use:
"Guten Morgen", or simply " Morgen", that is, "Good morning",
Or a generic phrase:
"Guten Tag", that is, "Hello." Guten Tag" also means "Good afternoon", so it can be used throughout the day.
FACT: By the way, the day in the German worldview system usually starts at 12:00
After about six in the evening, the Germans greet each other with the phrase:
"Guten Abend" means "Good evening".
"Gute Nacht", "Good night", is used either when saying goodbye at the end of the evening, or when the person actually goes to bed.
There is another greeting:
"Grüss dich", literally "I salute you." This phrase is used mainly by young people.
There are various regional variants of German greetings. For example, in Austria and southern Germany, the greeting is
"Grüss Gott", literally "hail God." And it is also common
"Servus!", literally "greetings"
If you are in doubt about which phrase to use in a given situation, you can always say
"Hallo", "Hello".
FACT: It's always better to start with a more formal address and gradually move to a less formal one if you feel that your interlocutor does not mind.
Since the Germans pay great attention to formalities, they constantly use titles. When referring to someone who is not your friend, always use words such as Herr, Frau, Dr ("Mr", "Madam", "Doctor") in combination with their last name - Herr, Frau, Dr Schmidt.
Let's expand our vocabulary!
For your convenience, we have made useful cheat sheets in which we have collected a selection of greetings for all occasions!
A little about goodbyes
A range of expressions can also be used to say goodbye, depending on the status of your interlocutor. If the situation is formal, you can say " Auf Wiedersehen", "Goodbye", literally: "until we see each other again." In a circle of friends or in an informal setting, you can use " Bisbald", "See you later", " Tschuss", "Bye" or " Sehen wir uns"- "See you" or See you. Want to learn German? Sign up for Deutsch Online school! To study, you need a computer, smartphone or tablet with Internet access, and you can study online from anywhere in the world at a convenient time for you.We all sooner or later met such situations when you met a German and then you meet him again and don’t know what to say. These elementary words are important in everyday life in Germany and especially for people who have recently started to get acquainted with the German language.
I hope that through this article you will learn about the different forms of greetings and farewells in the German language and German culture.
We will consider the following situations and where and what kind of greeting and farewell is appropriate.
My advice to you about learning German: To get you off to a good start, THIS (click here) German course for beginners is for you. It covers all the practical topics of the German language and more importantly, it has cool audios, which helped me a lot to learn German.
So, the main areas of application of this article:
-family
-Friends
-Colleagues
-familiar
- couples
The basic backbone of greetings in German looks something like this:
Guten Morgen! (good morning and pronounced "gutn morgen") good morning in Germany is considered from dawn to lunch (until about 10:30) Guten Tag!(good afternoon, it sounds “gutn tag”) they speak already from 10:30 and until about 17:00-18:00 Guten Abend!(good evening, it sounds “gutn abend”) from 18:00 to dark approximately 21:00-22:00. All these greetings are very appropriate to use if you don’t know people well and you don’t relate to them. An important exception to this situation is: Gute Nacht- this is not a greeting at night, but a wish for "good night" (when people go to bed). These three greetings apply everywhere and by everyone. At any German speakers the country will understand you and it will be appropriate in any situation. There is one more small change to these greetings. These greetings are simply abbreviated in relation to friends and acquaintances (to whom you refer). It sounds like this: Morgen(Good morning), Tag(Good afternoon), Abend(Good evening). This is how Germans greet each other in central, western and eastern Germany in cities such as Munster, Hannover, Dresden, Berlin, Rostock, Cologne and Mainz.
Grüss Gott(sounds like “gruce goth”) in a literal translation into Russian: “may God bless you” or “God's blessing”, as well as “God's greeting”. This greeting is most often used in cities such as Munich, Stuttgart, Würzburg . In general, in the southern lands of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, this greeting is very common and is considered a tradition. You can use it at any time of the day. Mostly for people you already know.
A" Grüss Dich” (read: gryus dih - “Greetings to you”) can be heard everywhere in Germany. Most often, this German greeting is used for friends or long-term acquaintances with whom communication takes place in You.
Servus(sevus) is a typical Bavarian greeting and is also often used in Austria. If we already generalize this, then in those regions that are closer to the Alps. The word Sevus is used both for greeting and farewell. 
Servus very often they say to those people to to whom you are treated and with whom we are not acquainted. The history of this greeting goes back to the time of the Romans and in Latin, the word servus means "servant" or "servant". Since the Romans at one time climbed right up to England, and Germany was under Rome for a long time, but for some reason this word took root only in Bavaria And Austria. It is rumored that there was a much larger population at that time and there, and then it took root.
Hallo!(hallo). The most common greeting in Germany. It is used both for YOU and for You. You can easily say Hallo to your boss at work. English an analogue of this greeting Hello (hello, they don’t use it in Germany, but this is me as an example)
Moin! / Moin Moin(sounds like “ mine“) this word comes from the northern countries and is often used in the northern lands and cities of Germany (Kiel, hamburg, Lübeck, Flensburg, Rostock. You can use this word to friends, acquaintances and sometimes to strangers (most often it sounds in relation to strangers, not respectfully). Any time of day is appropriate for this word. And if you really really want to show your good mood, then say this word twice: Moin-moin!
Mahlzeit!(pronounced "malzeit") my experience of living in Germany shows that this greeting is pronounced at the dinner word and very often at meals. Very often they say it to colleagues, but for example, I would not say this to the boss
Hi/Hey!(Hai / Hey) used among young people and at any time
Na? /Na du?!(Sounds like Na? And the second option Na du?) is also an interesting word and has two meanings: 1) greeting. 2) Q: How are you? This word is used to friends or well-known people.
Since you have already read about the greeting, it’s a sin for you not to learn about farewells in German:
aufWiedersehen(aufvidasein) is one of the most common and everywhere appropriate farewells in the German language. From translation into Russian " auf Wiedersehen' means goodbye.
auf Wiederhoren (aufvidahören- literally means let's hear) this farewell is used when talking on phone. When you have finished the phone conversation and are about to say goodbye and say auf Wiederhören (provided that you will speak on the phone next time)
tschuss(Chus) is also a very common word that is used everywhere and will be understood everywhere. The origin of this word is French And Spanish"Bye". Since there was no Internet before and people passed words from mouth to mouth, it turned out to be a damaged phone. In this way, the farewell tschüss took on its present form. The word is used to familiar people and in most cases means this word " Bye". For example, at a business meeting, I would not use this word, but to colleagues at work it is already possible.
Tschau(chao) This farewell takes its roots from Switzerland, and they, respectively, from Italy. This is rather not a formal farewell, so it is better to use it with acquaintances or friends.
Bis spater(bis spat) means see you soon. It is used everywhere in Germany. And the meaning of this word is also interesting - this word is used for people whom they will still see today.
Bisbald(bis bald) means see you soon. But this farewell is already used when you don’t know when you will meet. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Voobshem it is not defined. Distributed throughout Germany.
If you have ideas for writing an important article, write your idea in the comments and I will contact you
If you still want to hear how these words sound in German, then this video is at your service:
How to say "Hi" in German? It would seem that it could be simpler than the usual greeting and the short word “hallo”, which is known to absolutely everyone who studies German, but there are many options and features of the greeting. We will analyze the most interesting ones together in our video, as well as in the article !!
Greeting in German is an important part of the conversation! Very often, depending on the greeting, the first impression of a person is formed. Today we will talk about the German system of greeting words and expressions: just about the complicated!
Although the culture of communication is changing in the direction of softening strict rules, the Germans still formally keep both with representatives of other countries and with each other.
This becomes apparent if we consider the variants of German greetings, which vary as by time of day when they are used as well as in different regions where they are in use.
FACT: In Bavaria and southern Germany, they usually say: Grüss Gott! . And in Berlin you can often hear: Schönen Tag!
In the morning you should use:
"Guten Morgen", or simply " Morgen", that is, "Good morning",
Or a generic phrase:
"Guten Tag", that is, "Hello." Guten Tag" also means "Good afternoon", so it can be used throughout the day.
FACT: By the way, the day in the German worldview system usually starts at 12:00
After about six in the evening, the Germans greet each other with the phrase:
"Guten Abend" means "Good evening".
"Gute Nacht", "Good night", is used either when saying goodbye at the end of the evening, or when the person actually goes to bed.
There is another greeting:
"Grüss dich", literally "I salute you." This phrase is used mainly by young people.
There are various regional variants of German greetings. For example, in Austria and southern Germany, the greeting is
"Grüss Gott", literally "hail God." And it is also common
"Servus!", literally "greetings"
If you are in doubt about which phrase to use in a given situation, you can always say
"Hallo", "Hello".
FACT: It's always better to start with a more formal address and gradually move to a less formal one if you feel that your interlocutor does not mind.
Since the Germans pay great attention to formalities, they constantly use titles. When referring to someone who is not your friend, always use words such as Herr, Frau, Dr ("Mr", "Madam", "Doctor") in combination with their last name - Herr, Frau, Dr Schmidt.
Let's expand our vocabulary!
For your convenience, we have made useful cheat sheets in which we have collected a selection of greetings for all occasions!
A little about goodbyes
A range of expressions can also be used to say goodbye, depending on the status of your interlocutor. If the situation is formal, you can say " Auf Wiedersehen", "Goodbye", literally: "until we see each other again." In a circle of friends or in an informal setting, you can use " Bisbald", "See you later", " Tschuss", "Bye" or " Sehen wir uns"- "See you" or See you. Want to learn German? Sign up for Deutsch Online school! To study, you need a computer, smartphone or tablet with Internet access, and you can study online from anywhere in the world at a convenient time for you.And farewell is accompanied by certain phrases and gestures. How to say goodbye in German, we will consider below.
Goodbye wishes are pronounced immediately before parting and are accompanied by gestures that are also known in Russian culture: handshakes (gradually becoming obsolete), hugs, kisses, etc.
In the case when communication partners are separated by a certain distance, the national and cultural specificity manifests itself in farewell gestures: hand waving is performed in the frontal, and not sagittal, plane. The “air kiss” gesture differs from the corresponding Russian gesture in that in the final phase of the gesture, the hand turns with the palm away from the speaker. Hugs, kisses are characteristic of family, close, intimate relationships; a pat on the shoulder, on the back - a male youth gesture with a touch of familiarity.
. The most commonly used neutral form of farewell.
Auf Wiedersehen! - Goodbye!
. An abbreviated form of farewell, implies a relatively close acquaintance of the communicants. Used in informal communication.
Wiedersehen! - See you soon! / Bye! / See you later!
. An emphatically polite form of farewell, usually for a long time. It is used in official (less often in informal) communication by older people or in relation to a person with a higher social status.
Lebe/leben Sie wohl! - Farewell! / Farewell! / All the best!
Ich möchte Ihnen Lebewohl sagen. “I wanted to say goodbye to you. / Be healthy!
. Used in official communication.
Erlauben/gestatten Sie, dass ich mich verabschiede. - Allow me to bow! / Let me say goodbye!
Ich möchte mich verabschieden. “I would like to say goodbye.
. A polite form of farewell.
Darf ich mich verabschieden? - May I say goodbye?
. An outdated elegantly polite form of farewell; occurs only in the speech of the older generation, as a rule, men. Used in official communication. It can also be used ironically and in informal communication.
Ich empfehle mich! / Ich möchte mich empfehlen! - Allow me to take a break. / I have the honor to bow.
Habe die Ehre! - I have the honor!
. A form of farewell for a long time. Used without restrictions.
Auf ein baldiges/glückliches Wiedersehen! - See you soon! / See you soon!
. Remark at the end of a telephone conversation. Used without restrictions.
Auf Wiederhoren! - Goodbye!
. A form of farewell, contains good wishes. Used in informal communication among relatives and friends.
Lass es dir/lasst es euch gut gehen! / Lass dir's/lasst euch's gut gehen! - Be healthy)! / All the best to you / you!
. A farewell remark at the end of dinner to the colleagues who remained at the table. Used without restrictions.
Mahlzeit! - Bon appetit! / Goodbye! / Bye!
. A casual form of farewell in the evening and at the same time a wish for a pleasant pastime.
Guten Abend! - Goodbye! Schönen Abend noch! - Good evening to you!
. A form of farewell in the late evening with a touch of good wishes.
Gute Nacht! — Good/good night!
. Emphasized polite form of farewell at a very late hour, at the same time a good wish.
Angenehme Nachtruhe! — Good/good night! / Good night!
. A common form of farewell before the weekend, at the same time a good wish.
Schones Wochenende! – (Wishing you) a pleasant stay on Saturday and Sunday/weekend!
. A form of farewell when leaving for a short time.
Wir sehen uns (ja) noch! - I don't say goodbye. / We'll see you again.
Ich sehe Sie/dich (ja) noch! - I'll see you/you again. / I don't say goodbye.
A casual form of farewell of well-known, constantly seeing each other people, parting for a short time. Used in informal communication.
Bis morgen/heute Abend! - Until tomorrow / until the evening!
. A casual shortened form of farewell. It is used in informal communication of constantly seeing people.
Bisbald/nachher/dann/später/gleich! - Bye! / See you later!
. An informal form of farewell. Used in informal communication.
Tschüss/tschüs! - Well, be! / Bye!
. Replicas demonstrate the disposition towards the interlocutor. The second replica is possible only as a reaction to the first. Used in informal communication.
Mach's/macht's gut! - Bye! / Best wishes! / All to you/you! / Happy!
Mach's/macht's besser! - And the same to you!
Having got acquainted with the basics of German grammar, we will consider a basic set of phrases that will be useful in various communication situations.
After studying this lesson, you will learn how to say hello and goodbye in German.
Greetings
Like any other language, German has several ways to greet someone. You can wish good morning or just say hello, or you can say a simple "hello". The main thing is to remember who your interlocutor is and in what relationship you are.
If you are greeting a stranger or people with whom you have a business relationship, then you can use the following phrases:
Guten Morgen[´gu: ten ´morgan] - Good morning. You can usually say this phrase before noon.
Guten Tag[´gu: ten ta: k] - Good afternoon. This phrase is used after noon until 6 pm.
Guten Abend[´gu:ten ´a:bent] - Good evening. This greeting is used after 6pm.
Also in German there is a neutral greeting Hallo [ha´lo], which means "Hello" and can be used in any situation. There is no analogue of the Russian word "hello" in German.
When meeting, in addition to greeting, you can also use a number of useful phrases or questions.
"Wie geht es Ihnen?"[vee gate es 'inen] - How are you (with you)? - do not forget that this question is a formality.
"Geht es Ihnen gut?"[gate es 'inan gut] - Are you all right?
The answer to this question is the phrase: Gut, danke.[gu:t ´danke] – It's fine, thank you.
Or a phrase Es geht mir sehr gut.[es gate mia zea gut] - I'm fine.
Or: Ziemlich good.[´tsimlich gu:t] - Good enough.
You can also use the phrase "Sehr erfreut."[zea er'froit] - Nice to meet you.
To be polite and ask a question back, use the phrase "Und Ihnen?"[unt ´inen] - And you?
Remember that all these phrases are very formal and are used in business communication situations.
In an informal communication situation, use analogues of the above phrases, namely:
"Wie geht es dir?"[vee gate es dia] - How are you (doing)?
This phrase in colloquial German is very often shortened to "Wie geht's?"[wee gates] - How are you?
The answer to this question could be: Es geht mir gut.[S gate mia gu:t] - I'm fine.
Super![´zu:pea] – Excellent!
"Nothing schlecht."[niht schlecht] - Not bad.
The answer is to ask the question: "Und dir?"– [unt dia] - And you?
As for pronunciation, remember that voiced g, b, d in German are voiceless, so in the word "guten" the first sound will be very close to the Russian sound "k".
It is interesting to note that some parts of Germany have their own peculiarities of greetings. For example, greeting "Moin Moin!"[moin moin] or just "Moin!" common in Northern Germany,
a phrase Grüss Gott[gryus goth] - in the South.
If you need to wish a person good night, phrases will help you "Schlaf gut"[shlaf gut] - Sleep well,
or "Gute nacht"[´gute nakht] - Good night.
Parting
To end a conversation and say goodbye in German, the following phrases are used:
"Auf Wiedersehen!"[auf ´videa´zeen] - Goodbye! The shortened form Wiedersehen is used in informal communication.
"Auf Wiederhoren!"[auf 'videa'hyoren] - Goodbye! - This phrase is used when you are talking on the phone.
It is interesting to note that in the pronunciation in these two phrases, the sounds [f] and [v] practically merge into one, therefore [v] weakens and is pronounced close to the sound [f]. The vowels [i] and [e] are long, don't forget that.
"Tschüss!"[Chyus] - Bye! — An informal parting phrase.
If you want to sound more casual, I'll help you with phrases "Bis morgen!"[bis 'morgan] - See you tomorrow!
"Bisbald!"[bis balt] - Bye! See you soon!
"Bis dann!"[bis dan] - See you soon!
A common form of goodbye among teenagers and young people is the phrase "Tschau/ciao!"- Chao!
Goodbye is used in some parts of Germany Adieu![adyo] - Bye! This phrase was borrowed from French, which means "Go with God."
What is your name?
To introduce yourself, you will need phrases such as:
Ich heisse…. [ih ´haise] - My name is...
Mein Name ist….. [mein ´na: me] - My name is…. This phrase can be used when you want to say only the first name, or both the first and last name.
To give only a surname, phrases will help you:
Mein Vorname… [mein ´foana:me]
Mein family name... [mein fa´milienname]
If you are interested in the name of the interlocutor, you can ask the following questions:
Wie heissen Sie?[vi: ´haisen zi] - when referring to a person as "you".
Wie heist du?[vi: heist du] - when addressing a person to "you".
Wie heist ihr?[vi: heist ia] - when referring to a group of people on "you".
If you have already been asked this question, and you want to show interest in return, then you can use the short:
Und Sie?[Unt zee] - And you?
Und du?[Unt doo] - And you?
Be prepared to be politely addressed in Germany as Herr/Frau (Mr/Madam). Most often you will meet this appeal in a hotel or airport / vocal. For example:
Sind Sie Frau Weiss?[zint si frau weiss] - Are you Mrs. Weiss?
You can answer in two ways:
- agree - Ja, ich Frau Weiss[i, ih bin frau weiss]. - Yes, I'm Ms. Weiss.
- or disagree - Nein, ich bin Frau Schwarz[nein, ih bin frau schwartz]. - No, I'm Mrs. Schwartz.
Where are you from?
To say where you are from, use the following pattern:
Ich bin aus Russland. [ih bin aus 'ruslant]. Ich komme aus Russland [ih kome aus ruslant]. - I'm from Russia. Instead of a country, you can name a city or any other locality. To indicate where you currently live, use the verb wohnen. Don't forget to conjugate this verb by person!
Ich wohne in Moscow[ih vone in 'moskau] - I live in Moscow.
If you want to ask where your interlocutor is from or where they live, use these questions:
Woher kommen Sie?[wo´hea komen zi] - Where are you from?
It is interesting to note that in the interrogative word "woher" the particle "her" can be moved to the end of the question, so that it turns out:
Wo kommst du her?[comst do ha] - Where are you from?
You can also use these phrases:
Sind Sie aus Morocco?[zint zi aus ma´roko] - Are you from Morocco?
Kommen Sie aus Italien?[´komen zi aus it´alien] - Are you from Italy?
Aus welchem Land kommen Sie?[aus velhem lant komen zi] - What country are you from?
Another question related to this topic - "Wo sind Sie geboren?"[wo zint zi ge´boren]
"Wo bist du geboren?"[vo bist du ge´boren] - Where were you born?/Where were you born?
The answer is the phrase “Ich bin in……. geboren"[ih bin in….. ge´boren]. In place of the pass, put the desired settlement, for example, a city.
What is your telephone number?
If you want to know the phone number, then use the question "Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer?"[vi: ist ´ire tele´fonnumea], when addressing a person with “you”.
AND "Wie ist deine Telefonnummer?"[vi: ist 'daine tele'fonnumea] - if you communicate on "you".
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