Greetings and politeness in German
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on. Play the ten German words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 German phrases in this lesson
- HalloHAH-loh
- Hello
- Guten MorgenGOO-ten MOR-gen
- Good morning
- Guten AbendGOO-ten AH-bent
- Good evening
- Auf Wiedersehenowf VEE-der-zayn
- Goodbye
- Tschüsschewss
- See you
- BitteBIT-teh
- Please
- DankeDAHN-keh
- Thank you
- Gern geschehenGERN geh-SHAY-en
- You're welcome
- Tut mir leidtoot meer LITE
- Sorry
- Entschuldigungent-SHOOL-dee-goong
- Excuse me
- Freut michFROYT mikh
- Nice to meet you
The standard informal greeting used throughout the day. Works in most settings, from shops to casual encounters. Safe for all ages.
The polite morning greeting used until around noon. "Guten" is a compound adjective meaning "good." Common in offices, shops, and public transport.
Said arriving anywhere from about six in the evening.
The formal farewell, literally "until seeing again." In everyday speech, "Tschüss" (choos) is more common. Use "Auf Wiedersehen" in professional or formal contexts.
The friendly goodbye, used with anyone you say du to. Bis dann means see you then. Auf Wiedersehen is the polite one.
Always add "bitte" to a request to sound polite rather than demanding. Germans value directness, but "bitte" keeps the tone warm.
The everyday, versatile thank-you. Can be softened to "Danke schön" (thank you kindly) or strengthened to "Danke sehr" (thank you very much).
Literally "gladly done". "Bitte" (BIT-teh) also works, as it does for nearly everything.
Literally "it does me sorrow", the real apology.
A long compound word meaning roughly "de-guilting." Use it to get someone's attention, to squeeze past on the U-Bahn, or to apologize for a small mistake.
Literally "pleases me", said with a handshake.