German for Beginners: Lesson 1.1
Common Greetings and Courtesies
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Below you'll find a collection of common, everyday German greetings (Grüße) and pleasantries (Nettigkeiten). Be aware that German makes a clear distinction between formal and familiar forms of expression (Sie/formal 'you' versus du/first name, fam. 'you'). Phrases marked "familiar" or "casual" should only be used in informal, first-name situations. Germans tend to be more formal and use first names only in certain situations. We'll talk more about this in Lesson 2.
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AUDIO 
Listen to the German phrases below! Click on any linked word or phrase in the chart to hear it spoken in German.
| Grüße und Nettigkeiten German Greetings and Courtesies |
|
| Deutsch | English |
| Everyday Pleasantries | |
| Guten Tag! - Tag! | Hello! - Hi! |
| Grüß Gott! | Hello! (southern Germany & Austria) |
| Grüß dich! | Hello! (familiar, informal) |
| Guten Morgen! - Morgen! | Good morning! - Morning! |
| Guten Abend! | Good evening! |
| Gute Nacht! | Good night! |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? | How are you? |
| Wie geht's? | How are you? (familiar, informal) |
| Danke, gut. | Fine, thanks. |
| Also see: 10 Ways to Say 'Thank You' in German |
|
| Sehr gut. | Great. |
| Es geht. | Okay. So-so. |
| Nicht so gut. | Not so well. |
| Auf Wiedersehen. | Good-bye. |
| Tschüs! | Bye! See you later. (casual) |
| Requests - Bitten | |
| Was möchten Sie? | What would you like? |
| Ich möchte... | I would like... |
| Darf ich? | May I? |
| Können Sie mir helfen? | Can you help me? |
| Yes/No - Thanks - You're Welcome | |
| Bitte! - Ja, bitte! | Please! - Yes, please! |
| Danke! | Thanks! - No thanks! Note: "Danke!" in response to an offer usually means "No thanks!" If you want to indicate a positive response to an offer, say "Bitte!" |
| Danke schön! | Thank you! |
| Vielen Dank! | Thanks a lot! - Many thanks! |
| Bitte schön! | You're welcome! (in response to "Danke schön!") |
| Nein, danke! | No thanks! |
NEXT > Das Alphabet - Part 2 of this lesson - The German alphabet and its special characters.
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