Choose a greeting or farewell
A useful choice depends on whether you are beginning or ending the encounter, the time and your relationship. Clock times for greetings are not universal fixed cut-offs.
| German | Use |
|---|---|
| Hallo! | Hello; common in many everyday contexts. |
| Guten Morgen! | Good morning; a greeting. |
| Guten Tag! | Good day; a useful polite greeting. |
| Guten Abend! | Good evening; a greeting. |
| Wie geht es dir? | How are you? Informal singular. |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? | How are you? Polite address. |
| Tschüss! | Bye; a common everyday farewell. |
| Auf Wiedersehen! | Goodbye; suitable in many polite encounters. |
| Bis morgen! | See you tomorrow, when that is the intended next meeting. |
| Gute Nacht! | Good night; a farewell or wish before sleep. |
Replay a line, transcript and audio files
Hallo!
Open audio file 1Guten Morgen!
Open audio file 2Guten Tag!
Open audio file 3Guten Abend!
Open audio file 4Wie geht es dir?
Open audio file 5Wie geht es Ihnen?
Open audio file 6Tschüss!
Open audio file 7Auf Wiedersehen!
Open audio file 8Bis morgen!
Open audio file 9Gute Nacht!
Open audio file 10
Keep du and Sie consistent
The greeting Hallo does not by itself decide whether the rest of the conversation uses du or Sie. Follow the established form of address or choose a suitable polite question: Wie heißen Sie? With du, it is Wie heißt du?
In Wie geht es Ihnen?, Ihnen is dative and capitalized as polite address. In Wie geht es dir?, dir is the informal dative. A short reply such as Danke, gut. Und Ihnen? returns the question using the same address.
Begin, respond and close
This model uses Sie throughout. The first greeting does not require a long personal conversation; respond to the situation.
- A
- Guten Morgen. Wie geht es Ihnen?
- B
- Danke, gut. Und Ihnen?
- A
- Auch gut, danke. Ich muss jetzt los.
- B
- Dann bis morgen!
- A
- Auf Wiedersehen!
Change one part without losing the meaning
Turn the model into a conversation with a friend: Wie geht es dir? Danke, gut. Und dir? Then choose a farewell that fits whether you will actually meet tomorrow. Bis bald makes a less specific reference to a future meeting.
Use Guten Abend when greeting someone in the evening. Gute Nacht normally wishes someone a good night when leaving or before sleep. Those two expressions are different communication acts. For regional greetings, use the existing regional German guide.
Put it into practice
Try each task before opening the answer. Open questions show one possible model answer.
Choose a greeting when you arrive in the evening.
Answer and explanation
Guten Abend!
Gute Nacht is normally a night-time farewell or wish.
Complete polite address: Wie geht es __?
Answer and explanation
Ihnen
The polite dative pronoun is capitalized.
Complete informal address: Wie geht es __?
Answer and explanation
dir
Dir is dative of du.
Give a polite return question after Danke, gut.
Answer and explanation
Und Ihnen?
This keeps the Sie form of address.
Say goodbye when you will meet tomorrow.
Answer and explanation
Bis morgen!
The phrase names the intended next meeting.
Does Hallo always require du afterwards?
Answer and explanation
No. The established relationship and address matter.
A greeting does not set the whole address system on its own.
Questions learners ask
Is Gute Nacht an arrival greeting?
Usually not. Use Guten Abend to greet someone in the evening; Gute Nacht normally belongs to leaving or going to sleep.
Is there one fixed hour for switching greetings?
No universal cut-off applies everywhere. Observe the situation and local usage rather than memorising a rigid timetable.