How to Say Hello in Germany

Knowing basic German greetings is important if you are living, on vacation or on business in Germany. Like most cultures, Germans make a very clear distinction between a formal greeting and a greeting to relatives or friends. This article will show you almost all greetings in Germany.

Table of Contents

Formal greetings

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Get to know the listener. Say the following sentences if you are greeting businesses or people you are not close to. Most greetings are related to the time of day.

“Guten Morgen!” – Good morning!
- Usually used until noon. In some parts of Germany, it is only used until 10 am.
“Guten Tag!” – Have a nice day!
- Use this phrase from midday until 6pm.
“Guten Abend.” – Good evening.
- This phrase is often used after 6 pm.
If you are writing a letter, remember that “all nouns in German must be capitalized”.

Joke options. Usually in Vietnamese, asking is a polite way of communicating, “Hello!”. German is no exception.

“Wie geht es Ihnen?” – “How are you?” (grave).
“Geht es Ihnen gut?” – How are you?
“Sehr erfreut.” – Nice to meet you.
- Answer: “Gut, danke.” – I’m fine, thanks.
  “Es geht mir sehr gut.” – I’m very well.
  
  “Ziemlich gut.” – Also normal.
If you are asked such questions, it is customary to include “Und Ihnen?” – What about you? (grave).

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Learn the proper physical greetings. In every culture or region, there are differences in the standard of greeting, be it bowing, hugging, or shaking hands. In Germany it is a bit different from the rest of Europe.

Germans often prefer handshakes to greet non-family members instead of cheek kisses like most European countries; However, cheek kissing is still a common greeting in German-speaking countries.
Regulations on the number of kisses to be given as well as where and with whom vary from place to place. If you’re meeting someone for the first time, a handshake may be enough. And watch how the other person greets you. You’ll figure it out soon enough.

Intimate greeting

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Use everyday words to greet family and friends. Most places in Germany use the following sentences.

“Hallo!”, this word is Hello, no need to translate anymore and is also the most common word.
“Morgen,” “Tag,” and “‘n Abend” are contractions of the chronological greeting mentioned above.
“Sei gegrüßt.” – Please introduce… (introduce a person).
“Seid gegrüßt.” – Please introduce… (introduce more than one person).
- “Grüß Dich” translates into Vietnamese as “Hello brother/sister/ma’am”. Only use when you are too familiar with the opposite person.
- “ß” is sometimes pronounced like an “s” as in “wrong”.

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Make a question. To ask about a person’s health, you have many different options (as in Vietnamese):

“Wie geht es dir?” – Are you fine? (intimate).
“Wie geht’s?” – How’s it been so far? .
- Answer: “Es geht mir gut.” — Good.
  “Nicht schlecht.” — Not so bad.
Ask again: “Und dir?” — How about you? (intimate).

Regional differences

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Get used to the local language. Germany has a rich history and therefore each place has a different use of words.

“Moin Moin!” or “Moin!” is another way to say “Hello!” in Northern Germany, Hamburg, East Frisia and surrounding areas. It is used all the time and for everyone.
“Grüß Gott” translates to “God bless you”, and is considered a greeting in Southern Germany, Bavaria.
“Servus!” is another greeting unique to southern Germany, which translates to “hello.”

Advice

“Hallo” is now considered a semi-formal greeting. It is still used to greet friends, but is also available in shops, clinics, and restaurants.

Steps

Formal greetings

Intimate greeting

Regional differences

Advice

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