A1 · 1.5 · Begrüßung & Anrede
German greetings: hello, goodbye, du or Sie
Say Sie to adults you don’t know and at work. Say du to friends, family, children and classmates.
Saying hello
| When | Hello |
|---|---|
| Morning (until about 11) | Guten Morgen!Good morning! |
| Day | Guten Tag!Hello! (formal) |
| Evening (from about 6 p.m.) | Guten Abend!Good evening! |
| Any time, friendly | Hallo!Hi! |
Saying goodbye (any time of day)
| To | Goodbye |
|---|---|
| Anyone, polite | Auf Wiedersehen!Goodbye! |
| Friends, colleagues, shop staff | Tschüss!Bye! |
| In the evening | Schönen Abend noch!Have a nice evening! |
| Going to bed, or very late at night | Gute Nacht!Good night! |
du or Sie?
Sie: formal
Frau Becker, the doctor, the office, a customer, your boss (until they offer du).
Wie geht es Ihnen, Frau Becker?How are you, Mrs Becker?
du: friendly
Aylin in class, friends, family, children, often young colleagues.
Wie geht’s dir, Aylin?How are you, Aylin?
Answers to “How are you?”
Gut, danke. Und Ihnen?Good, thanks. And you?
Super!Great!
Es geht.So-so.
Nicht so gut.Not so good.
Good to know 1 1
1
1Not sure? Start with Sie. If someone says Wir können uns duzen (we can say du to each other), you can switch to du.
Real-life GermanIn southern Germany and Austria you will hear Grüß Gott (hello) and Servus (hi / bye). In the north, people say Moin (hi) all day.
Practise: Hello, goodbye, du or Sie10 questions with instant feedback · free, no account needed