German A1 · Greetings
Begrüßungsformen – A1 German Grammar
Greetings
In German you greet people differently depending on the time of day and on whether the situation is formal (polite, with strangers) or informal (with friends and family). The polite form starts with "Guten …", while informally you just say "Hallo".
| Time of day | Greeting (formal) | informal |
|---|---|---|
| morning (until ~10 am) | Guten Morgen | Morgen! |
| daytime | Guten Tag | Hallo |
| evening (from ~6 pm) | Guten Abend | Hallo / Hi |
| going to bed | Gute Nacht | — |
Regional: In the south you often hear Grüß Gott or Servus, in the north Moin.
Asking how someone is
- Wie geht es Ihnen? (formal) → Danke, gut. Und Ihnen? (Thanks, fine. And you?)
- Wie geht's? (informal) → Danke, gut. Und dir?
Saying goodbye
| formal | informal |
|---|---|
| Auf Wiedersehen | Tschüss |
| Bis bald (see you soon) | Bis dann / Ciao |
Common mistakes
- ❌ Gute Morgen → ✅ Guten Morgen (der Morgen is masculine → "Guten").
- ❌ Gute Tag → ✅ Guten Tag.
- ✅ But: Gute Nacht (die Nacht is feminine → "Gute").
Examples: Guten Morgen, Frau Meier! · Hallo, wie geht's? · Auf Wiedersehen, bis morgen! (Goodbye, see you tomorrow!)