The following is an overview of essential German greetings (Grüße) you need to know when encountering a German speaker. Though the casual way of addressing someone in German is included, these sayings should be reserved only for close friends and family. As a general rule, always use the more formal way of speaking when in Germany, namely with Sie (formal you) instead of du (familiar you). See more in Lesson 2.
| Hello. | Hallo. Grüß dich! casual Grüß Gott! In southern Germany and Austria. Guten Tag. Hello/Good Day. Guten Morgen/Guten Abend. Good morning/evening. |
| Bye! | Auf Wiedersehen. Auf Wiederhören. Bye on the telephone. Tschüss! casual Bis bald! See you soon! Bis später! See you later! |
| How are you? |
Wie geht es Ihnen? formal Wie geht es dir? casual |
| I'm fine. I'm so-so. I'm not doing well. I'm doing better. | Es geht mir gut. Es geht. Es geht mir schlecht. Es geht mir besser. |
| Excuse me! |
Entschuldigen Sie bitte! formal Entschuldigung! casual |
| Pardon me? | Wie bitte? |
| Please. | Bitte. See more on Thank you and You're Welcome in German. |
| Thank you. | Danke. |
| I'm sorry. | Es tut mit leid. |
| Really? | Wirklich? |
| Gladly! | Gerne! |
| Nice to meet you. | Sehr erfreut. |
| Take care | Mach's gut. |
