Greetings and Congratulations in German
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Sometimes it's difficult to find just the right phrase for a particular occasion in a standard German-English dictionary. We want to help you solve that problem.
Whether it's a birthday, a graduation, a wedding, a promotion, a holiday, or whatever, you'd like to be able to say the right thing in German. For instance, if your friend is about to appear in a new theater production, how do you wish him or her "Break a leg!"? Well, in German the saying is even more gruesome: "Hals- und Beinbruch!" ("Break your neck and a leg!")
Nowadays German-speakers usually sing "Happy Birthday" in English, but they still have a uniquely German way of wishing the Geburtstagskind (birthday child) "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!" and there is also a traditional Geburtstagslied (song) called "Hoch soll er/sie leben!" (lit., "High [long] may he/she live!").
Then there are the celebrations (Feste) and holidays (Feiertage) of the season. From New Year's Eve (Silvester) to Christmas (Weihnachten) there are numerous times during the year when you may want to send holiday greetings. And don't forget that there are many holidays that are either not celebrated in Germany at all, or are celebrated at different times (Father's Day, Thanksgiving)—or are unique to a particular country (Germany's Tag der Deutschen Einheit, German Unification Day on Oct. 3). See the German Holiday Calendar for these and other special days.
Birthday/Geburtstag | Scenic | Vermischtes/Assorted
(and it's free!)
To help you find the right words for such occasions, we offer the Good Wishes Glossary. This special German-English lexicon is designed to help you find suitable phrases for just about any event in a person's life. And since life isn't always a bed of roses (kein Honiglecken), we have also included some expressions of sympathy, such as "Get well soon!" (Gute Besserung!). See our free greeting cards in German to send your own unique e-greeting.
NEXT > The Good Wishes Glossary
MORE > German Greeting Cards
Related Pages
Digital Greeting Cards
An article about sending free e-cards in German.
The Good Wishes Glossary
Our glossary of congratulations and good wishes in German.
German Holiday Calendar
A Feiertag-Kalender of official and other holidays in the German-speaking world.
Glossaries & Phrasebooks
Specialized English-German glossaries on a wide variety of topics.
German Newsletters
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German for Beginners
Our free online German course.
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