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Basic German Greetings and Everyday Phrases

German greetings shift with both the time of day and how well you know the other person — these cover the handful you'll actually need.

Guten Tag — Hello / Good day

Pronounced goo-ten tahk. The standard formal greeting for daytime — safe with strangers, shopkeepers, or anyone you've just met.

Hallo — Hi

Pronounced hah-loh. Works at any time of day and with almost anyone, from close friends to casual acquaintances.

Guten Morgen / Guten Abend — Good morning / Good evening

Pronounced goo-ten mor-gen and goo-ten ah-bent. Time-specific greetings used instead of Guten Tag in the morning or evening.

Wie geht es Ihnen? / Wie geht's? — How are you?

The first (vee gate es ee-nen) is formal, for Sie (strangers, elders); the second (vee gates), short for Wie geht es dir, is casual, for du (friends).

Gut, danke — Good, thanks

Pronounced goot, dahn-kuh. The standard reply to either version of 'how are you'.

Ich heiße ~ — My name is ~

Pronounced ikh hy-suh. The basic self-introduction phrase — say your name right after it.

Freut mich — Nice to meet you

Pronounced froyt mikh. Said right after being introduced to someone new.

Danke / Vielen Dank — Thanks / Thank you very much

Danke (dahn-kuh) is the everyday word; Vielen Dank (fee-len dahnk) is used to express stronger gratitude.

Bitte — Please / You're welcome

Pronounced bit-tuh. A genuinely dual-purpose word — used both to make a polite request and to reply when someone thanks you.

Entschuldigung — Sorry / Excuse me

Pronounced ent-shool-dee-goong. Covers apologizing, asking someone to repeat themselves, or getting past someone in a crowd.

Auf Wiedersehen / Tschüss — Goodbye

Auf Wiedersehen (owf vee-der-zayn) is the formal farewell; Tschüss (chooss) is the relaxed version used among friends.

Du and Sie: Germany's formality switch

Like French, German splits 'you' into du (informal, for friends and peers) and Sie (formal, for strangers, elders, and professional contexts). It shows up in greetings like Wie geht's? versus Wie geht es Ihnen?, so it's safest to start with Sie with anyone you've just met and only switch to du once they suggest it.

Where German greetings are used beyond Germany

German is an official language not just in Germany but also in Austria, most of Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, and it has the largest number of native speakers of any language in the European Union. Regional accents and some vocabulary vary, but the greetings above are understood across the German-speaking world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hallo enough on its own?

Hallo works comfortably in most everyday situations regardless of time of day or who you're talking to. For more formal settings, it's worth also learning Guten Tag, which sounds a bit more polished.

Do Austrians and Swiss German speakers use the same greetings?

The core phrases here are understood throughout the German-speaking world, though Austria and Switzerland each have their own regional expressions and a noticeably different accent from standard German.