Begrüßungen — Greetings
German has clear formal and informal registers. Choosing the wrong one can feel rude. These are the first words you will use every single day.
DeutschEnglish
Hallo
Hello (informal, any time of day)
Hi
Hi (very casual, used among young people)
Guten Morgen
Good morning (until ~11am)
Guten Tag
Good day (formal, daytime greeting)
Guten Abend
Good evening (after ~6pm)
Gute Nacht
Good night (when going to bed only)
Formal (Sie)Informal (du)
Hello
Guten Tag
Hallo / Hi
Goodbye
Auf Wiedersehen
Tschüss / Tschau
See you soon
Bis bald
Bis bald
See you later
Bis später
Bis später
See you tomorrow
Bis morgen
Bis morgen
Regionale Varianten — Regional Variations
DeutschEnglish
Servus
Bavaria & Austria — informal hello AND goodbye
Grüß Gott
Bavaria & Austria — formal greeting (literally 'God's greeting')
Grüezi
Switzerland — standard formal greeting
Moin
Northern Germany — casual hello (any time of day)
Ein erstes Gespräch — A First Conversation
Guten Morgen!Wie geht es Ihnen?
ENGood morning! How are you? (formal context)
Hallo!Wie geht's?
ENHello! How's it going? (informal context)
Tschüssundeinen schönen Tag!
ENBye and have a nice day!
💡 'Gute Nacht' is ONLY for bedtime. Never use it as a parting greeting in the evening — say 'Guten Abend' when you arrive and 'Auf Wiedersehen' or 'Tschüss' when you leave.
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