Greetings in German in various situations is given in the table below. The casual way of greeting someone is reserved only for friends and family. When meeting someone for the first time or when conversing with colleagues and elders it is always recommended to use the formal way of addressing. 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
| English | German |
|---|---|
| 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.. |
| 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. |