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1 - Greetings and Introduction in German

This document provides an introduction to common greetings and phrases for introducing oneself in German. It covers how to say hello and goodbye, ask for and give names and occupations, discuss age and nationality, and express thanks or greetings for special occasions. Key phrases include "Hallo" for hello, "Mein Name ist..." for introducing one's name, and "Tschüss" or "Auf Wiedersehen" for goodbye.

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Abhijit Adiga
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4K views

1 - Greetings and Introduction in German

This document provides an introduction to common greetings and phrases for introducing oneself in German. It covers how to say hello and goodbye, ask for and give names and occupations, discuss age and nationality, and express thanks or greetings for special occasions. Key phrases include "Hallo" for hello, "Mein Name ist..." for introducing one's name, and "Tschüss" or "Auf Wiedersehen" for goodbye.

Uploaded by

Abhijit Adiga
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Home > Greetings and Introduction in German

Greetings and Introduction in German


How do you say hello and introduce yourself in
German?
The basics of the German language. Greetings, saying goodbye and basic
phrases to start speaking German

1 Saying hello
2 Saying our name
3 Asking what another person’s name is
4 Saying what our profession is
5 Asking what another person’s
profession is
6 Saying Your Age
7 Asking how old someone is
8 Saying where you are from
9 Where we are from and where we live
10 Asking about someone’s nationality
11 Language knowledge
12 Asking about someone’s German
13 Being Polite
14 What to say at special occasions
15 Saying Goodbye
16 Summary
17 Audiovisual supplement

Welcome to the first article for learning German from GermanVeryEasy.com. We


hope that the material we have prepared is helpful to you.

Here we go!

1. Saying hello

Hello in German is as easy as saying:

Hallo!
Hello!
The following is a list of the most common greetings in German:

Greetings Meaning

Hallo Hello

Servus Hello
(southern Germany)

Moin Hello
(northern Germany)

Grüß Dich Hello


(informal)

Grüß Gott Hello


(southern Germany)

Guten Morgen Good morning


(until 10:00)

Guten Tag Good morning


(from about 10:00 to 5:00)

Mahlzeit Good morning


(from 11:00 to 1:00)

Moin moin Good morning


(northern Germany)

Guten Abend Good evening


(starting at around 5:00)

Gute Nacht Good night

Sehr geehrter Herr Merkel Dear Mr. Merkel


(only in letters or e-mails)

Sehr geehrte Frau Merkel Dear Mrs. Merkel


(only in letters or e-mails)

2. Saying our name

We usually have to say our name when we introduce ourselves:

Mein Name ist Karl


My name is Karl

or:
Ich heiße Karl
My name is Karl

or more simple with the verb sein (to be):

Ich bin Karl


I’m Karl

3. Asking what another person’s name is

Politely:

Wie heißen Sie?


What’s your name?

To remain polite when we mention the name of another person, we do so with their
last name preceded by Herr (Mr.) or by Frau (Mrs.).

the informal way:

Wie heißt Du?


What’s your name?

With the informal way we can refer to another person with their first name.

4. Saying what our profession is

One of the phrases that you will be asked most is what you do.
A simple way to answer is:

Ich bin Lehrer


I’m a teacher

or:

Ich arbeite als Lehrer


I work as a teacher

5. Asking what another person’s


profession is

The formal way:

Was sind Sie von Beruf?


What’s your profession?
Was machen Sie beruflich?
What do you do for a living?

The informal way:

Was bist Du von Beruf?


What’s your profession?

Was machst Du beruflich?


What do you do for a living?

6. Saying Your Age

To say how old you are is simple:

Ich bin 30 Jahre alt


I’m 30 years old

Click on this link if you would like to review numbers in German.

7. Asking how old someone is

The formal way:

Wie alt sind Sie?


How old are you?

The informal way:

Wie alt bist Du?


How old are you?

8. Saying where you are from

The masculine form:

Ich bin Argentinier


I’m Argentinian

The feminine form:

Ich bin Argentinierin


I’m Argentinian

9. Where we are from and where we live


Learning these phrases is not a bad idea; you’ll have to use them hundreds of
times:

Ich komme aus Madrid


I’m from Madrid

Ich wohne in Stuttgart


I live in Stuttgart

10. Asking about someone’s nationality

Welche Staatsangehörigkeit haben Sie?


What’s your nationality?

11. Language knowledge

We will frequently have to talk about which languages we know:

Ich spreche Spanisch, Englisch und Deutsch


I speak Spanish, English and German

Ich spreche kein Deutsch [formal or informal]


I don’t speak German

Ich kann kein Deutsch


I don’t speak any German

Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch


I speak a little German

12. Asking about someone’s German

Formally:

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?


Do you speak German?

Informally:

Sprichst du Deutsch?
Do you speak German?

13. Being Polite


Danke
Thanks

Vielen Dank
Thanks a lot

Bitte
You’re welcome / no problem (response to "Danke")

More info at: Saying thanks in German

14. What to say at special occasions

Frohe Weihnachten
Merry Christmas

Frohes neues Jahr


Happy New Year

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag


Happy Birthday

More info at: Birthday Song

15. Saying Goodbye

The most common way to say goodbye is:

Tschüss !!!!
Bye!

In addition, below are the most common ways to say goodbye:

Ways to say goodbye Meaning

Tschüss goodbye

Ciao goodbye

Ade goodbye

Auf Wiedersehen see you

Auf Wiederhören goodbye


(only on the phone)

Bis bald see you soon


Bis später see you later

Mit freundlichen Grüßen Sincerely


(formal way to say goodbye in letters or e-mails)

Mit herzlichen Grüßen Kind regards


(informal way to say goodbye in letters or e-mails)

16. Summary

We are not going to be too tough on you because it’s the first lesson.

It’s okay if you learn to say:

Hallo
Hello

Mein Name ist ...


My name is …

Bis bald
See you soon

I don’t think that was difficult, we’ll see each other in the next German language
article.

Tschüss !!!!
Goodbye

17. Audiovisual supplement

We think you should watch a video with the very famous song Lili Marleen from
Marlene Dietrich for this first lesson. This song became very popular on both sides
during the Second World War.

When learning German you also have the chance to learn about an exciting culture.

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