German greetings (Hello in German)

Lesson outline

1.How to say greetings in German?
2.How do I say "Hello" in German?
3.How to say "How are you?" in German?
4.How to say "Goodbye?" in Germany
5.Exercises
5.1.Greetings: Fill in the Blanks Exercise 1
5.2.Greetings: Fill in the Blanks Exercise 2
5.3.Greetings: Multiple Choice Exercise

How to say greetings in German?

The following lesson is a quick overview of how to greet in German! It is not only important to know how to greet another person, also it is important to know when to use formal or informal greetings. Some greetings are only reserved for friends and family members, others for profesionals and strangers. Enjoy the lesson!

Have a question?

Take online language lessons with a professional teacher

Native & verified teachers
Free trial lesson
Learning materials included

Donatella P.

Isabella V.

Diana M.

Nina T.

Sofia G.

Georg R.

Stefano C.

Dietmar L.

Marta D.

Sabrina B.

Sign up for free

How do I say "Hello" in German?

Depending on the daytime, there are - as in English - different ways to say "hello" in German.

English	German	When to use it...
Hello	Hallo	You can use "Hallo" at any daytime
Good morning	Guten Morgen	It is used in the morning, usually till 10AM/11AM
Good day	Guten Tag	This phrase is usually said between 12PM and 6PM
Good evening	Guten Abend	This greeting is used after 6 p.m

Guten Morgen, Guten Tag und Guten Abend are mostly reserved for formal situation. In informal situations (with friends or family), German people use mostly the greeting hello. Also, it is very common to just say hi as English speaking people do.

How to say "How are you?" in German?

Also, there are different ways to say How are you? in German! In the following list I explain you everything you need to know!

English	German	When to use it
How are you?	Wie geht es dir?	Informal way to ask "How are you?", you can use this phrase with friends, family or people your age
How are you?	Wie gehts?	Similar to "Wie geht es dir?", but even more casual
How are you?	Wie geht es Ihnen?	Formal way to ask "How are you?", you can use this phrase with older people, strangers or people in positions of authority
What's up?	Alles klar?	Very casual, you just use this phrase with friends

How to say "Goodbye?" in Germany

Like you already can image, there are also different way to say goodbye in German:

English	German
Bye	Tschüss: Informal and mostly used phrase to say goodbye Ciao: Can be used instead of tschüss, this actually italian phrase is used in Germany quite often Auf Wiedersehen: Formal way to say bye, also a bit old-fashioned
See you soon	Bis bald
See you later	Bis später
See you next time	Bis zum nächsten Mal
See you tomorrow	Bis Morgen
Have a good day	Schönen Tag
Have fun	Viel Spaß

Below is a short youtube video on German greetings and goodbyes that will guide you with the pronunciation. Also you should practice with our lessons in order to be able to perfectly greet in German! I hope you enjoyed the lesson, bis bald!